Houston Dash at North Carolina Courage: Highlights, stats, and quotes
(image via Houston Dash)
The Houston Dash lost their first game of the 2024 season, and the first under new head coach Fran Alonso, 5-1 to the North Carolina Courage. A Maria Sanchez free kick resulted in an own goal for Houston’s only tally of the night. The Dash will return to Shell Energy Stadium on Saturday for their home opener, hosting Racing Louisville.
MATCH SUMMARY
North Carolina Courage 5-1 Houston Dash
Saturday, March 16, 2024
Venue: WakeMed Soccer Park - Cary, North Carolina
Referee: Anya Voigt
Assistants: Zach McWhorter, Katarzyna Wasiak
Fourth Official: John Matto
VAR: Karen Coulson
Attendance: 5,878
Weather: 68 degrees, partly sunny skies
SCORING SUMMARY
NCC: Malia Berkely (penalty kick) 19’
NCC: Haley Hopkins (unassisted) 54’
HOU: Kaleigh Kurtz (own goal) 65’
NCC: Bianca St. Georges (Manaka Matsukubo) 76’
NCC: Bianca St. Georges (unassisted) 86’
NCC: Dani Weatherholt (Victoria Pickett) 90+9’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
HOU: Sophie Schmidt (caution; foul) 37’
NCC: Denise O’ Sullivan (caution; foul) 45’
LINEUPS & STATS
North Carolina Courage: Casey Murphy, Felicitas Rauch, Malia Berkely, Kaleigh Kurtz, Ryan Williams, Narumi Miura (Dani Weatherholt 74), Ashley Sanchez (Riley Jackson 90), Denise O'Sullivan, Haley Hopkins (Victoria Pickett 90), Brianna Pinto (Manaka Matsukubo 63), Tyler Lussi (Bianca St. Georges 74)
Unused Substitutes: Jenna Winebrenner, Landy Mertz, Maya McCutcheon, Marisa Bova
Total shots: 20 (Haley Hopkins 5)
Shots on goal: 8 (Haley Hopkins and Bianca St. Georges tied with 2)
Fouls: 8 (Ryan Williams 2)
Offside: 5 (Ryan Williams and Tyler Lussi tied with 2)
Corner kicks: 5
Saves: 3 (Casey Murphy 3)
Houston Dash: Jane Campbell, Sarah Puntigam (Croix Soto 63), Jyllissa Harris, Courtney Petersen, Avery Patterson, María Sánchez, Sophie Schmidt, Belle Briede (Barbara Olivieri 63), Andressa Alves (Kiki Van Zanten 63), Cece Kizer (Michelle Alozie 74), Diana Ordóñez
Unused substitutes: Havana Solaun, Yuki Nagasato, Sophie Hirst, Emily Alvarado
Total shots: 7 (Sarah Puntigam and Sophie Schmidt tied with 2)
Shots on goal: 3 (three players tied with 1)
Fouls: 6 (Andressa 3)
Offside: 2 (Avery Patterson 2)
Corner kicks: 7
Saves: 3 (Jane Campbell 3)
HOUSTON DASH HEAD COACH FRAN ALONSO
On the result:
"The positive is that I can't fault the attitude from the players, even when the game became difficult. We got frustrated with some of the decisions that from the bench seemed very clear. We really thought we were going to have some VAR decisions go our way. Despite that, the girls kept fighting. It's a new style than from what we did last year and we're still learning."
HOUSTON DASH GOALKEEPER JANE CAMPBELL
“We're still trying to sort some things out. We have a new style, new coach and tons of new players. We knew coming in here, the Courage for a very good team and we know they've added some talent to their group from last year. It was going to be hard to come here anyways. We all thought the game was going to go a little differently, but we didn't play our best. We definitely made mistakes and they capitalized, and you can't make that many mistakes against that good of a team. It's a good learning lesson for all of us. Congrats to my teammates who made their first appearances and got on and first caps of the year. It's a big honor and a big deal. We have a long road ahead of us. We'll take this one on the chin and get ready for our home opener next weekend."
