Dash suffer gut wrenching defeat to Angel City FC
(image via Houston Dash)
The Houston Dash’s playoff hopes were crushed in a 2-1 defeat against Angel City FC in the final home game of the season. Houston led at the half before conceding a second half equalizer and then a winner in stoppage time.
Interestingly, interim head coach Sarah Lowdon made zero chances from the team that won 2-0 against NY/NJ Gotham FC last Sunday with Nichelle Price and Michelle Alozie as the two strikers upfront.
In the opening minutes of the game, Angel City FC had much of the ball and a couple of early corners. The first chance for the Dash came in the 10th minute when Caprice Dydasco fired on goal. The rebound fell to the foot of Andressa Alves but the Brazilian skied the chance from close range.
In the 25th minute, Dydasco was once again dangerous on the right flank. The fullback squared the ball in front of goal, but Andressa couldn’t get a clean touch and it was deflected behind for a goal kick. Minutes later, Andressa flicked a header to Prince all alone in front but her shot was right at the goalkeeper.
As halftime approached, the Dash applied more pressure on the opposition with the counterattack. Prince was played into the space on the left and delivered an excellent ball to Andressa, who placed it in the bottom right corner to give the Dash the 1-0 lead at the break.
In the beginning of the second half, both teams were fighting to get clear chances on goal. Angel City FC grew and grew in confidence by the minute. The game shifted when Angel City brought Alyssa Thompson on in the 66th minute. It didn’t take long before her impact was felt on the pitch. A through ball from Savannah McCaskill opened the Dash defense and left Thompson one on one with Jane Campbell to equalize in the 68th minute.
As the final minutes of the second half were coming to an end, the Dash focused on getting a late winner but left themselves open for a counterattack. It’s there where Angel City took advantage of the space. In the first minute of second half stoppage time, Thompson collected the ball at the top of the box and sent it wide to Katlyn Johnson. Her first time pass found the path of McCaskill who slotted past Campbell to make the score 2-1 and give Angel City all three points, all but ending the Dash’s playoff hopes.
“We gave it everything, we just lacked quality in the in the box unfortunately,” interim head coach Sarah Lowdon said after the match. “When you have 27 shots and 10 on target, you get punished in this league if you don't finish them.” Lowdon, who won her first two games in charge to get the team back into the playoff picture said it’s disappointing to end like this. “I'm just disappointed for the players to be honest,” she said. “I can’t fault the effort. You see when we gave the ball away, where we've got people that are sprinting to get back, and again, I'm just disappointed for them. It's a heartbreaking way to lose. You play all season, it's a long season we saw obviously started in January and you play for moments like this, to kind of finish opportunities in the last two games of the season. It’s just unfortunate. I'm just really disappointed for them to be honest, because they'll see the work they put in day-in and day-out.”
The playoffs are pretty much grim at this point for Houston, sitting in 9th with everything against them and many matches needing to go their way. The Dash will need to beat Orlando next Sunday, have OL Reign lose to Chicago, and have a four goal swing in goal difference with the Reign, have Angel City draw or lose to Portland, and have Louisville draw or lose to San Diego. Captain Sophie Schmidt knows they still have a slim chance. “It's exciting that there's still something to play for in that last game,” she said after the loss. “We know that it's not going to be easy. This league is crazy, like in terms of the competitiveness of it and the possibilities that could happen. We've put ourselves in a position to still be in the fight. We're going to put everything we have into that last game. Unfortunately, we couldn't help ourselves tonight. We'll try to make sure we do get the job done next game.”
The Dash’s final game of the regular season will be away at Orlando Pride on October 15th at 4:00PM on Paramount+.
