Louisville, Kentucky
– The Houston Dash completed an improbable comeback as they battled back from a two-goal deficit to defeat Racing Louisville FC, 3-2, at Lynn Family Stadium on Friday night.
Louisville, Kentucky
– The Houston Dash completed an improbable comeback as they battled back from a two-goal deficit to defeat Racing Louisville FC, 3-2, at Lynn Family Stadium on Friday night. As the pair of sides tried to figure each other out early on, the Dash had the first best look on goal when forward Rachel Daly chased a loose ball into the penalty area only to have Racing defender Addisyn Merrick match her stride-for-stride and block the effort on Lund’s goal. In the 16 th minute, though, Racing jumped out to the lead for the second time in as many games as high pressure from midfielder Kirsten Davis resulted in her scoring the first goal of her career. Stepping in front of a looped back pass between the Dash defense and goalkeeper Jane Campbell, Davis did well to end up in possession before firing home at the far post. One key adjustment made for Racing in the first half that could have affected their play was the substitution of defender Emily Fox, who had to make way for debutant Julia Lester due to injury. Despite the change, the hosts continued to press on and threaten the Dash goal, and their pressure again paid off just before the break as they doubled their advantage. Following in on a cleared cross from the right flank, forward Jessica McDonald tallied her first goal in Racing colors as she produced an acrobatic volley that landed in the top right corner of the goal for her side’s second goal. Due to a number of injuries and the set of goals, four minutes were added at the end of the opening 45 minutes but the half ended with Racing up two to the good against Houston. The Dash opened the second half with an emphasis on attack and did their best to test Racing goalkeeper Katie Lund in the opening few minutes. Despite cross after cross into the Racing penalty area, the hosts’ defense did well to repel just about everything that came their way. Into the second half, Houston immediately came out the more attacking of the two sides as Michelle Prince, who looked Houston’s best threat in the match up to that point, drove into the Racing penalty area and played a dangerous ball across goal that was cleared off the line by the defense to preserve the clean sheet. Continuing to press toward the Racing goal, the Dash would end up pulling one back in the 56 th minute through midfielder María Sánchez. Following a set-piece delivery into the penalty area that was initially cleared by the Racing defense, the ball pinballed around the box and eventually fell to Sánchez’s feet at the penalty spot. From there, the midfielder produced a well-struck half-volley to beat Lund and open the scoring for her side, though her goal was only the beginning of a wild comeback. Two minutes later, Houston would find their equalizer through midfielder Marisa Viggiano to stun Racing into temporary shock. Again involved in the build-up to the goal, Sánchez hustled down the left flank and danced into the penalty area where the played a ball to the feet of Viggiano at the near post, where a one-touch finish gave Lund no chance as the visitors pulled level. Still knocking at the Racing door, though, Houston’s consistent pressure led to the forward Daly winning a penalty for her side in the 64 rd minute as the defender Merrick was judged to have handled the ball on a sliding challenge. Stepping up to the spot, Daly converted from 12 yards out one minute later to give the Dash an improbable lead just past the hour mark. The pair of teams would continue to ask questions of the other’s defense, and though Houston looked the more likely of the two to find another goal, a wild comeback would end up complete as the Dash took three points back to Houston. The result leaves Houston in 3 rd in the Central Division following Kansas City's win over Chicago, while Racing sit bottom with just one point after last week’s draw with the Current.