Houston Dash, Orlando Pride battle to 2-2 draw at BBVA Stadium

Sophia Huerta (11) is congratulated by
Kealia Ohai (hugging) after Houston's first goal.
Photo by Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loco Photography
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (June 15, 2019) Two second-half goals by the Houston Dash were sandwiched between two scores by the Orlando Pride, as both teams battled to a 2-2 draw in National Women's Soccer League action at BBVA Stadium in Houston. The draw pushes the Dash record to 3-2-3, 12 points for the season, while the Pride moves to 0-7-2 (2 points).

Midfielder Joanna Boyles got the Pride on the board in the 13th minute with an early goal from 19 yards out, off a free kick. Two minutes into the second half, Kealia Ohai beat the Pride defense to the goal line and fed a perfect low cross to Sofia Huerta for her third score of the season. Twenty minutes later, Kristie Mewis drilled a left-footer shot from outside the box to give Houston a 2-1 lead. It did not last long, as Danica Evens came off the bench to score the equalizer in the 71st minute for Orlando.

Mewis stated after the game:

“I think I’ve wanted it for a long time, and I felt pretty good tonight. I just felt on and struck it pretty well. Obviously, we had a great play before that but I think we just had so many chances and we just couldn’t put enough of them away. It was really fun to get my first goal but it doesn’t mean as much as it should, I guess.”

Houston is off to the best start in club history under head coach James Clarkson with 12 points in eight games played. He discussed the result of the game with the press in the post-match presser.

“I’m really disappointed. I didn’t think we played particularly well in the first half, but in the second half we came out and took it to them. We scored two good goals, created many other chances but unfortunately, we gave out another soft goal away. I think if we look at both their goals, they’re really poor from our standpoint. You can’t fault the player’s effort. They’ve really put everything into the game, but we’ve cost ourselves two points tonight. It’s really frustrating.”

The last time Houston played Orlando was on May 5, where they went on to take a 1-0 win. Ohai scored the game winning goal in the seventh minute; her first of the season.

Houston was playing without the services of seven players who are taking part in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France. Lindsay Agnew, Allysha Chapman, Nichelle Prince, and Sophie Schmidt are representing Canada, while Rachel Daly is playing for England. In addition, Clare Polkinghorne is on the Australian roster and Kayla McCoy in playing for Jamaica.

Next up for the Dash is a Saturday, June 22 match against the Washington Spirit at Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Maryland. Houston's next home game will be on July 13, where they host the Chicago Red Stars with a 7:30 p.m. CDT start. The game will be broadcast on Yahoo Sports.