Swanson goal sends Dash to another scoreless loss
(image via Houston Dash)
The Houston Dash were beaten 1-0 by the Chicago Red Stars with Mallory Swanson once again playing the villain against the ladies in orange. Houston failed to score for the fifth straight game and now head into the break for the Olympics with a lot of work to do in the second part of the season.
Assistant coach Ricky Clarke took charge of the team for the second straight game with head coach Fran Alonso still away with an illness. He slotted Courtney Petersen in at center back for the injured Tarciane with Ramona Bachmann moving to the wing.
The Dash came out early in the match looking to get onto the front foot. Yuki Nagasato nearly missed picking out Diana Ordonez in dangerous areas twice in the opening 25 minutes. Avery Patterson had a difficult chance on a header that looped high in the 13th minute. Andressa tried a shot from outside the box that also missed the target, as the Dash couldn’t string anything dangerous together.
As halftime approached, Chicago found the breakthrough from their star striker. Ramona Bachmann gave the ball away deep in the Dash end and Swanson drove inside. The USWNT attacker picked out the top corner to beat Jane Campbell from 20 yards out and give the Red Stars a 1-0 lead in the first minute of first half stoppage time.
The second half looked a lot like the first in how the Dash played. The defense stayed solid but there was no cohesion going forward. Amanda West, Barbara Olivieri, and Belle Briede all came on to try and make an impact but all they could muster was a yellow card from Olivieri late on.
Clarke put center back Jyllissa Harris on for the last few minutes as a target forward and she came close to getting a head on an Olivieri cross. The Dash wouldn’t get any closer to finding that elusive goal and the final whistle blew for a 1-0 Chicago win.
Houston will return to play on July 20 in the NWSL x LIGA MX Femenil Summer Cup away against the Kansas City Current. The next regular season match will not be until August 23, at home against the Orlando Pride.
