Houston Dash forward Carli Lloyd returned to Houston and trained with the team on Thursday following her stint with Manchester City. Lloyd spent the first half of the year in England where she helped Manchester City to a semifinal spot in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, where her side fell to Alex Morgan’s Lyon, and a […]

Houston Dash forward Carli Lloyd returned to Houston and trained with the team on Thursday following her stint with Manchester City.Lloyd spent the first half of the year in England where she helped Manchester City to a semifinal spot in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, where her side fell to Alex Morgan’s Lyon, and a second place finish in the FA WSL Spring Series. She rejoins a Dash team that has struggled to start the season, going 2-6-0 through the first eight weeks of the season and is playing its first game since Omar Morales was named interim coach for the remainder of the season following the departure of Randy Waldrum. “We’re going to do our best to push for a playoff spot,” Lloyd said after her first practice with the team this year. “The great thing about this league is you can start off pretty poorly, pretty bad, but if you just keep climbing that table as the season goes on, we have a good chance and a good opportunity. We’re going to go out there, we’re going to fight, we’re going to do our best.” [Youtube oembed has failed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3jpN2wnoGA] Morales wouldn’t say whether Lloyd will start on Saturday vs. the Pride, but did confirm she would make an appearance. “She will play on Saturday, I’ll give you that,” he said. “I think she’ll have an immediate impact. “We expect her to do great things for us. … She’s a leader and we need leaders. On certain parts of the field, we have a young team. I think she’s going to bring that leadership and that extra voice that we need.” [Empty Body] The Houston Dash host the Orlando Pride on Saturday, June 17, at 8:30 p.m. ET.