**HARRISON, N.J.** – The Houston Dash secured a momentum swinging 2-0 road win over Gotham FC on Sunday night, with goals in both halves in addition to a missed Gotham penalty determining the result. The loss kept Gotham in 3 ^rd place with 30 points from 20 games played, while Houston are up to 7 ^th place with 26 points as the end of the regular season inches nearer.
The hosts were eager to jump out in front with a chance falling for forward Lynn Williams in the 3 ^rd minute. Fellow forward Katie Stengel was on the ball and moving ahead for Gotham when she dished it to Williams just outside the penalty area to the left. Surveying her options, Williams chose to try and pick out the far post with a finessed shot. However, Houston goalkeeper Jane Campbell was able to push it wide and out of play for a corner kick in the end.
Then, in the 36 ^th minute, Gotham drove forward again through attacker Midge Purce, who was in possession cruising down the right flank. Purce was able to work her way near the endline where she fired a low effort toward the near post that Campbell again had to parry away to prevent the opening goal. Eight minutes later, Williams again tested Campbell except this time with an effort from distance, but the goalkeeper was able to get great height on her leap to tip the ball over the bar and out.
However, just before the break, Houston stunned the home crowd when forward Michelle Alozie beat Mandy Haught with a strong finish from close in in the fifth minute of added time. Alozie had been played in by an acrobatic flick from teammate Nichelle Prince Joseph, which saw her race onto a ball in behind the Gotham defense and somehow sneak a drive past Haught who had come off her line in the hopes of stopping the chance.
The led to the Dash holding a slender advantage despite most of the game’s chances falling Gotham’s way in the first half.
Gotham continued its pursuits for a goal in the 53 ^rd minute when defender Kristen Edmonds clipped the bar from about 14 yards out to start the second half. Williams had been on the left flank when she cut up field and attempted to find Purce with a curling cross toward the back post. However, Purce’s effort was blocked from that position, resulting in the ball rolling into Edmonds’s path. Taking the shot on her left foot, Edmonds watched as it grazed the bar and ended up just high in the end.
Instead, Gotham’s deficit would be stretched to two goals when Alozie scored her second of the night in the 67 ^th minute after chipping Haught from 20-plus yards out. Attacker María Sánchez had played a clean ball over the top to an onside Alozie, leaving the forward with every opportunity to race between defenders and have a clear path at goal. This forced Haught off her line as she attempted to somehow smother Alozie’s effort, but Alozie was able to lift it over despite her collision with Haught as the ball rolled across the goalline.
Gotham’s brief path into the match came as Esther González was fouled inside the area, resulting in a Gotham penalty in the fifth of 10 added minutes. However, forward Jenna Nighswonger stepped up to take but failed to convert as she struck the inside of the right post and looked on in agony as the ball slid away from goal.
This allowed Houston to hold out for the remaining few minutes without much pressure on goal, and the Dash would end up earning a big road victory to keep their playoff hopes alive with two weeks remaining.

Match Highlights

Match Highlights