Lowdon looks to rally Dash, starting tonight in Louisville: What to watch for
(image via Houston Dash)
The Houston Dash are on the road tonight to face Racing Louisville at Lynn Family Stadium. The Dash are looking to bounce back from 1-0 loss to San Diego Wave their last time out. Racing Louisville lost the Challenge Cup final 2-0 to North Carolina in their last match, on Saturday.
When: Friday, September 15 | 6:30 PM CT kickoff
Where: Lynn Family Stadium; Louisville, Kentucky
TV/Stream: Paramount+
Recent changes
It’s been two weeks since the Dash’s loss at San Diego. Since then. Houston parted ways with head coach Sam Laity, transferred Ebony Salmon to Aston Villa, and named Sarah Lowdon interim head coach for the remainder of the season. This was all pretty unexpected, especially at the end of the season where the team can still make the playoffs. Many have been left wondering how it will impact the team in these last matches. “I said, 'As athletes and as coaches in this space, that we need to plan for adversity because it's going to happen. We’ve already kind of hit some adversity in the last couple of days,” Lowdon said in her pre-match press conference. “That was the first message. We just need a plan for that and it's going to happen, and we need to move forward and do what's best over the next four games." I think that’s the right message and see what the team can achieve in the last four games.
One focal point
With the departure of Salmon, Diana Ordonez is left as the main striker for the team. It will be up to her and the other attacking players to create more chances on the offensive end. “For me it's just about instilling confidence and belief,” Lowdon said reflecting on what the team can do to create more scoring opportunities. “I think the worst thing you can do when you're not scoring goals is focus on the outcome. You have to focus on the process. There's some things and tweaks that we've made and training just to try and put the players in positions of where we think they'll be in this game. We've built in some time to work on the final pass in training. Hopefully that provides a difference." Now with Diana as the only striker, hopefully Lowdon can put together the tactics and supporting cast to score much-needed goals.
Changes to the system
Usually when a new coach comes in, the style of play will change from the previous coach. The Dash have some of the best stats on the defensive side but haven’t been able to transition that to the attacking part of their game. “There will be some tweaks,” Lowdon said when asked about changes to the lineup. “We have a foundation over the last eight months that we're going to build upon, but there will probably be some small tweaks that you'll see too.” Sarah is right on this end. The Dash have a solid core on defense with no need to change everything up. Her job now is to rally the players and make the adjustments needed to get a result tonight.
Availability Report
Houston Dash - Out: Michelle Alozie (suspension), Ella Dederick (right knee - season-ending injury), Emily Curran (left knee - season-ending injury), Shea Groom (left knee – season-ending injury), Devon Kerr (excused absence), Allysha Chapman (excused absense), Havana Solaun (left foot - 45DL); Questionable: Ryan Gareis (knee)
Racing Louisville - Out: Jordan Baggett (lower leg), Jordyn Bloomer (back - 45DL), Rebecca Holloway (thigh), Jaelin Howell (hip), Uchenna Kanu (hip), Jess McDonald (maternity leave), Wang Shuang (international duty - China)
Predicted Lineup
