Houston Dash at Utah Royals: Highlights, stats, and quotes
(image via Houston Dash)
The Houston Dash earned a point Saturday after a 0-0 draw with Utah Royals on the road. It was the second clean sheet of the season for Houston. Ramona Bachmann and Paige Nielsen made their debuts for the club in the match.
MATCH SUMMARY
Utah Royals FC 0-0 Houston Dash
Saturday, April 27, 2024
Venue: America First Field - Sandy, Utah
Referee: Shawn Tehini
Assistants: Melissa Gonzalez, Cameron Siler
Fourth Official: Jamie Padilla
VAR: Adore Monroy
Attendance: 10,349
Weather: 46 degrees, scattered showers
SCORING SUMMARY
None
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
HOU: Andressa (caution; foul) 21’
UTA: Paige Monaghan (caution; persistent infringement) 42’
HOU: Ramona Bachmann (caution; time wasting) 54’
HOU: Barbara Olivieri (caution; foul) 85’
UTA: Amy Rodriguez (ejection; foul and abusive language) 90+5’
LINEUPS & STATS
Utah Royals FC: Mandy Haught; Madison Pogarch, Lauren Flynn, Kate Del Flava, Olivia Griffitts; Mikayla Cluff; Zoe Burns (Brecken Mozingo 62’), Amandine Henry; Ally Sentnor, Paige Monaghan, Hannah Betfort (Cameron Tucker 84’)
Unused Substitutes: Carly Nelson, Cristina Roque, Michele Vasconcelos, Addisyn Merrick, Frankie Tagliaferri, Emily Gray
Total shots: 11 (Paige Monaghan 4)
Shots on goal: 4 (four players tied with 1)
Fouls: 16 (Mikayla Cluff 4)
Offside: 0
Corner kicks: 5
Saves: 1 (Mandy Haught 1)
Houston Dash: Jane Campbell (c); Sarah Puntigam, Natalie Jacobs (Sophie Hirst 64’), Paige Nielsen; Sophie Schmidt; Ramona Bachmann (Yuki Nagasato 75’), Elin Rubensson, Andressa (Barbara Olivieri 64’), Avery Patterson, Diana Ordóñez, Michelle Alozie (Amanda West 46’)
Unused substitutes: Heather Hinz, Belle Briede, Jyllissa Harris, Courtney Petersen
Total shots: 7 (Diana Ordóñez and Amanda West tied with 2)
Shots on goal: 2 (Diana Ordóñez and Amanda West tied with 1)
Fouls: 18 (Ramona Bachmann and Sophie Schmidt tied with 3)
Offside: 1 (Michelle Alozie 1)
Corner kicks: 4
Saves: 4 (Jane Campbell 4)
HOUSTON DASH HEAD COACH FRAN ALONSO
On the game:
"We had different goals coming into this game, like not conceding so many chances. In that aspect, this was a step in the right direction. We are still consolidating our playing style. The performances (from new players added to the team) have been very good. I'm disappointed that we did not get the win. But I see many positives."
On Paige Nielsen:
"She gave us a lot of defensively and offensively. You can see that she is a player that knows the league. She gave us stability in the backline. She just played all 90 minutes. We left one substitution window because we didn't know if she was going to last the whole game. She did not have any problems. She will just get better and better the more she establishes connections with her teammates. This was the very first game for her with her new teammates, and she had a very good performance. I'm very excited about the future."
HOUSTON DASH DEFENDER PAIGE NIELSEN
On her first game with the team:
"A clean sheet is always nice. We were fully expecting to come home with three points, so that is a disappointment. It is a start, and we can grow from here. I'm excited about what we can do in the future. We have some footballers on the team and I love the style of play that we're trying to implement. I hope we continue to grow on that."
On the transition to Houston:
"It's been a lot. I had to pack up and move within 48 hours. I had to process a lot of emotions. I was with Angel City from the beginning. I hope I helped build an amazing program there. I was not fully ready for a change, but it happened, and I had to process everything in two days and try to move forward. I am not going to say it wasn't hard because it is. I have a wife and dogs back in LA and it is a lot to transition, but the club is helping a lot with that. Really, I needed to get through this week and then we get a couple of days off. I'm still excited to build and grow with the team here, but I forgot people's names today. In order for me to be a leader and take on a bigger role, I hope I can gain more relationships with the players. The players are awesome. They are really nice and they're super welcoming. So that helped a ton."
