**CARY, N.C.** – The North Carolina Courage relied on a goal from forward Tyler Lussi in the 59 ^th minute to defeat the Houston Dash, 1-0, in a rematch of the weather-shortened contest in Houston in April. The Courage have now won four straight league games, including five out of the last six games.
The Courage were first to nearly find the back of the net when goalkeeper Jane Campbell was called into action in the 9 ^th minute. Forward Brittany Ratcliffe found herself on the ball after a deflected through pass, which gave her the opportunity to close in on Campbell and her goal. However, though Ratcliffe did well to stave off the pressure, her shot was not enough to get past the veteran goalkeeper and we remained in a deadlock.
North Carolina continued to press on the Houston goal with chances in the 30 ^th and 33 ^rd minute, but Pinto’s shot in the 33 ^rd minute is as close as either side would come in the first half. A scramble near the edge of the box led to the ball falling in Pinto’s path, but as she fired toward goal, she could not keep her effort from inching just wide of the far post as all remained scoreless.
Houston’s best chance came in the 36 ^th minute when a good recovery by a Dash defender then saw her whip the ball into the box. However, Courage goalkeeper Kelly Rowland was more than comfortable with the save.
Just before the break, though, Campbell was forced into action twice more as forward Tyler Lussi tested her in the 44 ^th minute before she was required to sprint off her line and make an emergency clearance to prevent North Carolina from getting in behind.
At the halftime whistle, both sides were eager to find an opening goal but would have to wait a bit longer to experience it.
Into the second half, Rowland was called into action in similar fashion as Campbell was at the end of the first half when she had to come off her line and make a clearance to prevent an onrushing Houston attack in the 55 ^th minute.
However, four minutes later, Lussi would open the scoring for the on-fire Courage in the 59 ^th minute as she chased a ball into the box and picked out the top left corner with a stunning effort. Lussi had been played into the penalty area on the right side, but in seeing her limited options, she opted to shoot instead of cross and ripped a shot near the roof of the net to help her side in front.
Ten minutes later, a save from Campbell in the 69 ^th minute prevented forward Tess Boade from finding a second goal for the Courage on the evening. Boade was on the ball in the left side of the box where she was able to get a shot off, but Campbell was close enough to stop the initial effort and ended the move by collecting the ball in the end.
Despite a late push by the Dash, North Carolina were able to hold on through four minutes of added time as the Courage push ahead again in the table. The win leaves North Carolina in 2 ^nd place with 26 points, level with 1 ^st place Portland temporarily but behind them on goal differential ahead of the Thorns contest on Saturday night. Meanwhile, the Dash sit in 7 ^th place and are now winless in four straight league matches.

Match Highlights

Match Highlights