**Houston, Texas** – The Houston Dash defeated the Orlando Pride by a whopping five goals at PNC Stadium on Friday night. Forward Nichelle Prince scored the club’s first-ever hat-trick and her first-ever hat-trick at the club level and teammates Rachel Daly and Michelle Alozie added goals of their own in the rout.
In the 27 ^th minute, Houston was able to notch the game’s first goal in a somewhat chaotic scene via a breakaway led by forward Nichelle Prince. A counterattack up the right side, forward Rachel Daly lifted a well-weighted ball over the defense for Prince to latch onto just inside the penalty area. Taking a touch to avoid the onrushing Pride goalkeeper Erin McLeod, Prince was able to slot her shot low past McLeod that was cleared by an Orlando defender into the back of the net with the goal ultimately going under Prince’s name.
Then, just five minutes later, Houston doubled its advantage through a spectacular diving header from Daly. A switch of play to the left side saw midfielder María Sánchez scope out Daly from 40 yards out, and she swung in a looping cross in the middle of the box that fell perfectly toward Daly’s run. Leaping into the air to meet the ball, Daly then powered a headed effort over McLeod, who was a few yards off her line, to add a second goal for the hosts.
Not done yet, Houston would then add a third goal in the 39 ^th minute as again Nichelle Prince was at the center of the action. Streaking down the left side of the field, Prince received a pass from teammate Marisa Viggiano inside the 18-yard box. Cutting inside and onto her right foot, the forward rifled an effort on goal that deflected off a Pride player and rippled the back of the net as the Dash went three-up on Orlando inside the game’s opening 40 minutes of action.
At the halftime interval, the Dash had put a major dent in the hopes of the Pride when it came to getting anything out of their trip to Houston. Two goals from Nichelle Prince sandwiched by a goal for Rachel Daly had all but put a result out of reach, though there were still 45 minutes to play.
Into the second half, it took Houston just four minutes to find a goal as the forward Prince ended up bagging a hat-trick off a loose ball just a few yards out from goal. In possession near the endline, a hard challenge from a Pride defender left the ball unattended just a few yards to the left of the Orlando goal. Picking up possession again, Prince clipped a left-footed effort over McLeod’s head to the side netting on the right side of goal as she completed the Dash’s first-ever hat-trick.
In the 56 ^th minute, Orlando had a great glimpse on goal as they looked to pull one back. A beautiful cross from the left side of the field into the middle of the penalty area found forward Sydney Leroux, but her header would bounce off the left post and back into play before eventually being cleared as the chance went begging and the Pride continued without a goal.
Two minutes later, Leroux produced another half-chance for Orlando as she broke into the final third. Bullying a Dash defender off the ball on the left side of the field, Leroux cut in and created some space at the top of the box. Attempting to curl an effort to the upper far corner, she sent a well-directed effort high but also wide of the goalframe.
Right on the hour mark, Houston again threatened the Orlando goal by hitting the crossbar following a set-piece situation. Lining up a free kick on the left, Sánchez sent a hopeful ball into the penalty area that ended up on the head of defender Haley Hanson. Directing the effort toward goal, Hanson’s header looped off the defense and off the left side of the crossbar only for Orlando to end up getting the ball clear as the teams exchanged chances heading into the final 30 minutes of play.
In the 87 ^th minute, Houston put the proverbial cherry on top of the match with its fifth and final goal through substitute Michelle Alozie close in on goal. Just minutes after missing from a similar position, Alozie sprinted onto a through ball and was able to dribble in close to the six-yard box where she produced a calm, cool finish to slide her shot low past McLeod and into goal.
Houston was then able to see out the match comfortably as its 5-0 win marked its largest regular season margin since a 4-0 win over Racing Louisville in September 2021. The result sees the Dash increase their unbeaten run to five games (W3 D2), while Orlando suffers its second loss in the last three games with only one point earned in those three matches.

Match Highlights

Match Highlights