Dash vs Portland Thorns: Highlights, stats, and quotes
(image via Houston Dash)
The Houston Dash came from behind to beat the Portland Thorns 2-1 on Friday night at Shell Energy Stadium. Houston was behind at halftime but second half goals from Joelle Anderson and Ebony Salmon gave the Dash the three points.
MATCH SUMMARY
Houston Dash 2 – 1 Portland Thorns FC
Friday, May 12, 2023
Venue: Shell Energy Stadium - Houston, Texas
Referee: Ekaterina Koroleva
Assistants: Katarzyna Wasiak, Matthew Seem
Fourth Official: Hector Hernandez
VAR: Jorge Gonzalez
Attendance: 4,638
Weather: 84 degrees, mostly cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY
POR: Rocky Rodriguez (Olivia Moultrie) 34’
HOU: Joelle Andersoni (unassisted) 59’
HOU: Ebony Salmon (María Sánchez) 71’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
POR: Meaghan Nally (caution; foul) 90’
LINEUPS & STATS
Houston Dash: Jane Campbell; Allysha Chapman, Natalie Jacobs, Katie Lind, Caprice Dydasco; Sophie Schmidt (C) Marisa Viggiano (Joelle Anderson 46), Sophie Hirst (Havana Solaun 90+7); Bárbara Olivieri (Michelle Alozie 29), Ebony Salmon (Madelyn Desiano 87), María Sánchez (Lindsi Jennings 90+6)
Unused Substitutes: Emily Alvarado, Jyllissa Harris, Courtney Petersen, Shea Groom
Total shots: 12
Shots on goal: 4
Fouls: 4
Offside: 4
Corner kicks: 7
Saves: 2
Portland Thorns FC: Bella Bixby (C); Meghan Klingenberg (Reyna Reyes 77), Meaghan Nally, Kelli Hubly, Natalia Kuikka; Sam Coffey (Taylor Porter 70), Crystal Dunn, Morgan Weaver (Adriana Leon 71); Olivia Moultrie (Izzy D’Aquila,77), Rocky Rodríguez (Christine Sinclair 60), Sophia Smith
Unused substitutes: Emily Menges, Hina Sugita, Michele Vasconcelos, Shelby Hogan
Total shots: 13
Shots on goal: 4
Fouls: 5
Offside: 3
Corner kicks: 7
Saves: 3
HOUSTON DASH HEAD COACH SAM LAITY
On the win:
“I’m proud of the team and very satisfied with their mentality to grind that out sets the players into the
game. I’m really proud of the team, it was an absolute warrior effort. Bárbara Olivieri came off with an
injury, so we had to make the adjustment and that gave us a chance to tweak the system and massive
credit to the players for change into a system that we'd that we were predominately used in preseason
but haven't used in the game now in the regular season. Great credit to the players that was incredibly
fun.”
On what motivated them going into the second half:
“Well, the important thing was how we finished the half. We closed the lines down a little bit, our shape
was better, our pressure on the ball was better. We still weren't quite good enough on the ball. But I
think that gave us hope going in at halftime that you know what we're in the game because the first 20
minutes or so, we were not close to unity. Good for the players to see them get themselves back in the
game. I think that was really important that we went into halftime only a goal down but also, we were
on top of that point while not creating our chances but that was really important for the mindset going
in and obviously you know, Joelle [Anderson] came on and changed the game, she moved the ball
forward for us and we have to be honest with you we have missed her. She's a talented player.”
On the two goals:
“Well, for me, it's about bloody time. I'm sure Ebony (Salmon) will say the same thing. I'm sure that will
take the pressure off. We talked about getting in the right areas and trying to make the right decisions. I
think sometimes when you're a bit of force you rush things in and around the box. You take shots from
areas that you wouldn't normally take and I think that was the case. That was a really important goal for
us and a really important goal for her. That will help push her on to score more, she's a player that tends
to score goals in waves so expect to see more of that. Joelle’s goal was massive. Getting us back into the
game they looked tired out in the second half. I will say I'm incredibly disappointed that the penalty
wasn't given.
On the first goal of the game:
“Barbara [Olivieri] is a creative player and a flair player. She has a lot to learn, especially on the defensive side of the game, but she has got talent. She can change games with a little drop of the shoulder and a through ball, a shot or a cross. She's a player that we've looked at and thought that she can contribute on the attacking end off the field and she proved that today. We see it all the time in training. She was a set back by a little injury she had about a month or so ago. She's a she's a bright prospect. Still plenty of work to be done, especially at this level on a regular basis but very happy with where she's at. I think the goal represented some rare qualities and I think when you've got a player like [Maria] Sanchez on the field that can deliver balls like that, that's something that we've talked about this week. We've got to find other ways for us to be dangerous and dynamic. With the service that we have from Sanchez, Caprice [Dydasco] and even [Madelyn] Desiano, we can be a big threat and that could be another layer to our game where teams can be caught under pressure.”
On breaking Portland’s undefeated streak:
“The victory tonight really stemmed from our p
erformance in Portland. My understanding is that they
have been unbeaten in the last 57 games when they've been winning at halftime. Incredible credit to
the to the team for breaking that stat.”
HOUSTON DASH FORWARD EBONY SALMON
(image via Houston Dash)
On scoring her goal:
"For me, that was the first goal of the season. It has been very frustrating the past few games as a
forward and not scoring. I have been getting in the right positions and today I got into good positions
again Just to take that goal, the winning goal is really exciting. When Joelle (Anderson) came in the
second half, she changed the game. For both of us it is really good and the team is really happy to get
the win again.
On defeating Portland:
"We learned a lot from today's performance. Very happy that we got the win but there is definitely a lot
to learn from, to take from the game. As a team, going out there and doing that against one of the best
teams in the league just shows us where we are at. It shows us what we are capable of. Now, going
forward we know we are good enough and we have to believe that and putting out performances like
that from the start of the game."
On playing as the center forward:
"Yeah, it's obviously a lot different. The team is asking a lot of different things from me, but that's the
position I've played most of my career. Being back in there tonight was good for me and I just wanted to
stretch the backline as much, as much as possible, something that we didn't do enough last week. That
created opportunities for us. That is where my goal came from tonight."
HOUSTON DASH MIDFIELDER JOELLE ANDERSON
On the win:
"It was a great win. We came out a little flat and Portland is a really good team with the ball. You have to
game plan really well. We did a much better job at the end of the first half of battling to the very last
minute. We knew they were going to be tough, that they were going to battle. Our job was to stick
together and pulling out the win."
On her goal:
"It has been a while for me, just getting that confidence back. Getting that goal meant a lot for me, to
show that I missed being out there with the girls. It was a really big goal for me and I got a lot of
confidence from it.”
On defeating Portland:
"Helping the team out in whatever role I can. I have been injured for the past few months ant that took
a bit of a mental toll on me. Being back out there and scoring that goal, I wanted to show that I can be
an impact player for the team. That I can create chances, score. I am really happy with my performance
today and just really happy to be out on the field. I know I can be a game changer, I have goals in me. I
am really excited for the rest of the season."
