Houston Dash at NJ/NY Gotham FC: Highlights, stats, and quotes
(image via Houston Dash)
The Houston Dash conceded in second half stoppage time to fall 2-1 to NJ/NY Gotham FC Sunday afternoon in New Jersey. Diana Ordóñez scored her fifth goal of the season for Houston in the first half.
MATCH SUMMARY
NJ/NY Gotham FC 2-1 Houston Dash
Sunday, September 8, 2024
Venue: Red Bull Arena - Harrison, New Jersey
Referee: Joshua Encarnacion
Assistants: Matthew Rodman, Austin Holt
Fourth Official: Jennifer Dumaine
Attendance: 5,883
Weather: 75 degrees, sunny
SCORING SUMMARY
NJNY: Yazmeen Ryan (Esther González) 10’
HOU: Diana Ordóñez (Avery Patterson) 17’
NJNY: Esther González (Lynn Williams) 90+3’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
NJNY: Delanie Sheehan (caution; foul) 33’
HOU: Tarciane (caution; foul) 49’
NJNY: Jessica Silva (caution; foul) 79’
LINEUPS & STATS
NJ/NY Gotham FC: Ann-Katrin Berger, Jenna Nighswonger (Taryn Torres 63’), Emily Sonnett, Nealy Martin (Kelley O’Hara 90’), Jess Carter (Mandy Freeman 78’), Delanie Sheehan (Lynn Williams 78’), Tierna Davidson (C), Yazmeen Ryan, Katie Stengel, Crystal Dunn (Jessica Silva 63’ (McCall Zerboni 90+8’)), Esther González
Unused Substitutes: Michelle Betos, Bruinha, Cassie Miller
Total shots: 9 (Esther González 4)
Shots on goal: 3 (Esther González 2)
Fouls: 14 (Esther González 3)
Offside: 1 (Crystal Dunn 1)
Corner kicks: 7
Saves: 2 (Ann-Katrin Berger 2)
Houston Dash: Jane Campbell (C), Paige Nielsen, Tarciane (Havana Solaun 88’), Jyllissa Harris, Sarah Puntigam, Sophie Schmidt (Elin Rubensson 46’), Yuki Nagasato (Belle Briede 74’), Avery Patterson, Michelle Alozie (Allysha Chapman 83’), Diana Ordóñez, Andressa Alves
Unused substitutes: Natalie Jacobs, Heather Hinz, Ryan Gareis, Croix Soto, Ramona Bachmann
Total shots: 7 (Diana Ordóñez 2)
Shots on goal: 3 (Diana Ordóñez 2)
Fouls: 14 (Diana Ordóñez 6)
Offside: 3 (Diana Ordóñez 2)
Corner kicks: 6
Saves: 1 (Jane Campbell 1)
HOUSTON DASH ASSISTANT COACH RICKY CLARKE
On the match:
"We spoke about this at the end of the game, we stopped Gotham from playing the way they wanted to play. Unfortunately, it's another loss for us, but there's so many positives to take out of that game. Offensively, we caused them a lot of problems. Our goal was scored by going into those areas, and we knew if we got into those areas, we'd create chances. It's another game that unfortunately slipped away from us. So many positives to take from the character and the ability to compete. We just need to start to change the wind a little bit here with some of these next games that are coming up. We take it one game at a time. We move on. Step into Washington next week and we get after it."
On the game plan against Gotham:
"Gotham is a team that wants to get the ball from one side, and they want to attack the other side as quick as possible. They want to draw you in. Then they want to go in and change the tempo and go play from the other side. We knew that if we let them do that, they would cause us problems. For us, the box prevented them from doing that. The box also prevented them from being able to play through us as well. In the wide areas, I thought Michelle (Alozie) and Avery (Patterson) were brilliant, even (Allysha Chapman) when she came on. I felt we controlled those spaces. Unfortunately, it was one of the moments where there was a change with Tarciane and we just gave up a little bit too much space from a long vertical ball. These are things we will look at. These are things we'll go back to and address. There were so many positives offensively. If you look at the way Gotham changed, it's a reflection of how good we were in those areas. The first goal was a deflection and fell at their feet. But for me there were so many positives we just have to keep changing the wind. We must keep finding ways to get results, close games, keep working and stick together. That was the message we said at the end. We've got to stick together. We've got to keep that commitment, character and we got to take that into Washington."
On the Dash defense:
"Tarciane plays well because of the shape and the way that we play. Paige was great today in controlling spaces. Jyllissa (Harris) stepped up and in her hometown and plays the way she played. I was so impressed with the way that she carried herself. The back line, I thought, was excellent. There were moments where Sophie (Schmidt) dropped into the back line. At one point, Sarah Puntigam played in the back line towards the end. For me it's a team effort when people shine. Today you saw that."
On the Dash offense:
"As the game went on, they had players that changed the game from an attacking perspective. They went more vertical and that pinned us back a little bit. If you look at the way Avery (Patterson) and Michelle (Alozie) played, I think we got into those wide areas. We knew that they wanted to be expansive in possession of the ball. So, we knew the space and the speed was always in the wide areas. Andressa and Yuki (Nagasato) playing underneath Diana Ordóñez. If the ball went to Diana we'd combine and get our 10 underneath the ball and get our wing backs in. It's not always like that, every team presents different problems. However, we knew if we did that and executed against Gotham, there would be space in those areas and towards the end line. There were moments where we got into those spaces that we could have perhaps taken advantage of a little bit more. We keep going. We keep trying to find those spaces. We keep trying to get into those places and that's what we can keep doing."
HOUSTON DASH FORWARD DIANA ORDÓÑEZ
On the game:
"We played a good game. We executed the game plan pretty well. We had a really long week of training, and we had a lot of principles that we needed to implement, coming off a really tough loss at home. The team played well. Obviously, the result didn't show that. There are still little things that we have to tighten up, but I think overall it's a good performance for us to be able to build off of."
On her goal:
"I am grateful to God every time I score a goal, that's first and foremost. Outstanding touch from Jyllissa (Harris), when I saw her take that touch by the defender who was pressing her, I knew that we were in. That is a world-class touch. I'm happy for her and the performance she put in this game. Obviously, not having too many minutes, she did a great job. That touch set up the play for the goal. Great touch in, Andressa found herself in the pocket that we had been speaking about all week and then Avery (Patterson) just doing what she does. She's been outstanding as a rookie and super helpful to our team and I'll take her against anybody 1v1. My bread and butter is to attack the back post and when I saw her cutting to the end line, I just floated to the back post. It was a little awkward. It wasn't my prettiest header, but I knew I had to get some pace behind it. Just grateful that it went in. It was a good team goal and very much what we had practiced all week."
On defending for long periods:
"That's something that we've struggled with a little bit. Having to defend so much that by the time we get the ball, we're too tired to go forward. The energy was really good today. We were able to put in a really strong defensive performance and then also be pretty dangerous when we got a little bit higher up the field. It's just a hard thing to balance because our structure and our organized defense starts with the forwards. We have to press. We have to get to the ball. We have to keep the ball on one side. That's part of the job description, too. As much as we want to just hang out and score goals, we have to put in the defensive work if we want to win the ball higher up the field. What helped us in this game is that even though we pressed high, when we did win the ball, we sustained possession a lot better. We weren't forcing balls in. We weren't trying to play people that weren't on. If we got in line and it wasn't on, we'd turn around and we kept the ball. That was something that we wanted to focus on, if we are going to be defending for big chunks of the game, then we need to be able to sustain possession when we win the ball back. I think we did a better job of that today. You go high, press high, you win the ball. If you can't transition immediately, just keep it, move the ball around, let them run a little bit. We catch our breath and then we're able to go again."
On the match up against Gotham:
"That's the beauty of the NWSL, right? We're playing the defending champions, and we put in a good performance, we had a chance to take home a point, at least for a large part of the game. That's why we love playing in this league. We know that every time we step on the field, we have a chance to win the game no matter what place we're in. Tarciane has been super consistent since she got here. She is just that. She is a bully. She does it to me every day, all week, in training. She's done it to me on the international stage and she makes me better. Our backline and Jane (Campbell) and our sixes did such a good job defensively. They are so sound. Even though our results might not show for it, I think considering the circumstances they do an incredible job. It's not just Tarciane, but she has a tall task. When we played Orlando a couple of weeks ago, she probably gave Barbara Banda the best game that she's seen all season against any center back. That's a very difficult thing to do. Again, playing against Esther Gonzalez, that's not an easy task. They were getting at it. They were getting very physical. She held her own very well. When our teammates are putting their body on the line and they're making plays and they're very passionate about the game, that is very infectious. It passes on. To see the energy, to see people pressing, to see people slide tackling, making saves and just putting it all out there for the team. That's what we want to do all the time. When people watch the Houston Dash, that's what we want them to see. We're going to be taking care of each other, having each other's backs, rotating for each other, covering each other's positions if we're out of position. That's just the type of team that we want to be. Today was a good display of that.”
