Dash look for payback in North Carolina: What to watch for
(image via Houston Dash)
The Houston Dash are on the road tonight at WakeMed Soccer Park to face the North Carolina Courage. The Dash are on a five-match unbeaten streak after a nil-nil draw against Angel City FC last weekend. The Courage are on a four-game winning streak after a 1-0 win against Racing Louisville their last time out. North Carolina beat Houston at Shell Energy Stadium earlier this season in a game that was ended early because of lightning.
When: Saturday, July 1 | 6:30 PM CT kickoff
Where: WakeMed Soccer Park; Cary, North Carolina
TV/Stream: Paramount +
It’s a different league now
This will be the first matchday that most of the teams will be without their World Cup players. It won’t be a surprise if the league and matches will be different from what we are used to. For the Dash, captain Sophie Schmidt, Allysha Chapman, and Nichelle Prince left for the Canada Camp while Havana Solaun has joined Jamaica to prepare for the World Cup. The good news for the Dash is that Inform winger Michelle Alozie is still available for one more game. The Courage will be without some their best players with Kerolin Nicoli, Denise O’Sullivan, Casey Murphy, and Emily Fox off for World Cup duty. This could give the Dash the upper hand on paper, but it’s all up to what plays out on the field.
Redemption arc time
The last time the Dash faced the Courage the match ended with a 1-0 loss after the match was stopped in the 53rd minute due to inclement weather. “Highly motivated, especially after what happened here against North Carolina when the game was stopped after 52 minutes,” head coach Sam Laity said this week. “The motivation is not just how the game finished, but also how we started the game. I think that was the last time we've had a poor performance like that from the start again. Ever since then we've started games well. We’re excited, it’s another opportunity for us.” It will be crucial for the Dash to take advantage of opportunities and start well. Forward Diana Ordóñez echoed the same sentiment. “Last game we just got picked apart a little bit too easily, a little bit too spread out, and we let them have the ball too much,” Ordóñez told the media. “This time it will be important for us to let them play, but to also know when to press and to go as a unit and to not get too stretched out.”
Need to put away chances
The struggle for most fans this season is seeing the Dash failing to put away their chances. Houston is scoring just 0.8 goals per match, with only 10 goals this regular season, and they have created 12 chances for goals, per FotMob. The Dash have struggled to score, and Sam Laity is working on fixing the issue. “There's a tendency to probably rush things or to take too much time to focus on getting the perfect angle and the perfect opportunity to shoot,” Laity said Thursday. “Sometimes you can be thinking less about technique, more about power. It's about slowing the game down when you're in that moment and just focusing on execution of your execution of your technique. Number one, decision making, but then technical execution.” Ordóñez also knows the struggle and plans to improve where she can. “Being more clinical, it’s something as a team that we've struggled at throughout the season, putting the ball in the back of the net,” the Dash striker said. “So it's our responsibility up top to put our chances away. We're doing a better job of creating quality chances. But again, like the one percent that he's talking about, myself included, I'll be the first to raise my hand. I just need to be more clinical.” Hopefully, this game can be the turning point to get the Houston offense back on track.
Availability Report
Houston Dash - Out: Ella Dederick (right knee - season-ending injury), Emily Curran (left knee - season-ending injury), Makamae Gomera-Stevens (left knee - season-ending injury), Devon Kerr (excused absence), Shea Groom (Knee – Season-Ending Injury), Katie Lind (suspension); International Duty: Allysha Chapman (Canada), Nichelle Prince (Canada), Sophie Schmidt (Canada), Havana Solaun (Jamaica)
North Carolina Courage - Out: Emily Gray (knee - season-ending injury), Clara Robbins (lower leg), Meredith Speck (knee); Questionable: Estelle Johnson (lower leg); International Duty: Emily Fox (USA), Mille Gejl (Denmark), Rikke Madsen (Denmark), Casey Murphy (USA), Kerolin Nicoli (Brazil), Denise O’Sullivan (Ireland)
Predicted Lineup
