By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved
HOUSTON, TEXAS (April 10, 2021) The Houston Dash began the defense of their 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup title by battling to a scoreless draw against the Chicago Red Stars on Friday evening. The crowd in attendance at BBVA Stadium saw a spirited defensive battle.in which neither team could get the ball into the goal. With the draw, both teams pick up one point; placing them tied for second in the Cup's West Division standings.
Portland Thorns FC sit atop the West with their 2-1 win over Kansas City. OL Reign hold onto fourth place, having yet to play a match.
The Dash were playing without the services of seven of their players; six who were away on International Duty. Allysha Chapman, Nichelle Prince, and Sophie Schmidt are currently with the Canadian National Team while Rachel Daly is with England. Jane Campbell and Kristie Mewis are on roster duty for the United States.
Dash goalkeeper Lindsey Harris kept a clean sheet in her Dash debut, a feat that no other goalkeeper before her accomplished. The Austin native made a spectacular diving save in the 18th minute to deny Chicago center back Kayla Sharples. After a Chicago corner was initially cleared, the Red Stars cycled the ball back around to the right flank for a cross. Sharples ran onto it and volleyed it on target from six yards, but Harris leapt across her goal to snatch the shot out of the air.
When questioned about making the first save of the game early in the first half, Harris stated:
"Yeah, I usually go into games super nervous until I get my first touches on the ball. It came in (the 18th minute) and (Kayla Sharples) was wide open, but I don't know what happened. I saw it and I just jumped at it. I remember afterwards kind of crawling into a ball and just saying 'don't drop it.' First touch on the ball, so just don't drop it. I kind of curled up into it just to make sure it was safe."
Head coach James Clarkson talked about the draw in his post game meeting with the press.
“It was great to be back out there. Ten weeks was a really long time for a preseason – you could see the excitement of the players all the way through. The effort they put in tonight was fantastic. We knew it would be a little bit rusty because we hadn’t played since October other than each other in preseason. We know it's going to take a couple of weeks, but what they could ultimate control was ultimately fantastic.”
No comments:
Post a Comment