Tickets for Houston Dash playoff debut on sale Tuesday

Photo courtesy of USA Today, Jon Durr, and Houston Dash

HOUSTON, TEXAS (October 2, 2022) Tickets for the first playoff game in Houston Dash history will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. CDT on Tuesday, Oct. 4, the team announced today.  

The Dash will kick off the 2022 NWSL Playoffs powered by Shell Energy against the Kansas City Current at 4 p.m. CDT on Sunday, Oct. 16 at PNC Stadium. Houston’s quarterfinal match will be live streamed nationally

on Paramount+. 

Tickets will be available at HoustonDash.com starting at $7 in the upper level as part of the popular 713 Night promotion, which features $7 tickets, $1 hot dogs and $3 beer. Additionally, the first 10,000 fans at the playoff opener will receive a free Dash Rally Towel courtesy of Shell Energy. This match is expected to surpass the Dash attendance record, previously set at 13,025 against Chicago on July 12, 2015.  

 Houston Dash 365 Season Ticket Members will have the first opportunity to secure their seats and purchase additional tickets during an exclusive Member Presale on Monday, Oct. 3 beginning at 11 a.m. All other fans can register for priority access at HoustonDash.com to secure seats before they go on sale to the public. Limited hospitality packages and group experiences are available starting Monday, Oct. 3.  

The Dash finished the 2022 regular season fourth in the NWSL table after a 2-1 win in the season finale at Washington on Saturday night, ending the year with a 10-6-6 mark. Houston and Kansas City split the regular-season series with a win apiece. The Dash defeated the Current 2-0 in Kansas City in the second week of the season and KC returned the favor with a 2-1 win in Houston on July 1. 

Led by England national team star Ebony Salmon’s nine goals, Houston’s attack produced 35 goals this year, which was third-most in the league. Defensively, goalkeeper Jane Campbell recorded six clean sheets behind a back four that conceded just 27 goals in 22 games. 

 A win on October 16 would result in the Dash traveling to Seattle to face OL Reign in the NWSL semifinal on October 23 at Lumen Field. The winner of that match will head to DC for the NWSL Championship at Audi Field on October 29. The Dash will aim bring the first NWSL Championship to Houston to go alongside their 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup championship.

Houston Dash advance to NWSL Playoffs with win over Washington Spirit

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved 

WASHINGTON, DC (October 2, 2022) The Houston Dash made history on Saturday evening when they secured their first ever home playoff berth with a 2-1 win over the Washington Spirit. The Dash will play their first NWSL postseason match on October 16 at PNC Stadium against the number five seed, which is yet to be determined as the time of this post.  

Below is a link to the match highlight video of the game, as provided by the National Women's Soccer League and the Houston Dash.

Houston Dash vs. Washington Spirit  

HCU Huskies down Lamar Cardinals 37-34

Story and photo by Robert H Kelly 

Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved 

 
BEAUMONT, TEXAS (October 1, 2022) The Houston Christian University Huskies picked up their second win of the season, and move to 1-0 in Southland Conference play as a results of their 37-34 win over the Lamar Cardinals at Provost Umphrey Stadium on Saturday. With the victory, The Huskies move to 3-4 lifetime against the Cardinals send sets up their second conference matchup of the season against the Nicholls Colonels on Saturday, October 8 at Husky Stadium in Houston.

The Huskies jumped out to a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter when the Lamar offense could not hold onto the ball, allowing HCU to recover two fumbles and return them for touchdowns. The first occurred at 13:30 mark when Cardinal running back Damashja Harris lost the ball at the 18-yard line. An alert Rodney Dansby picked up the ball and rambled the 18 yards to the endzone for the score. Kicker Alberto Arroyo added the extra point to put the Huskies up 7-0.  

After the kickoff, Lamar started the next drive and advanced the ball to their own 45-yard line when wide receiver Jalen Dumment was tackled for a five-yard loss. The tackle by Vernon Harrell allowed Coi Miller to pick up the fumble and rush the 45 yards to the endzone for the second HCU touchdown of the day.  Arroyo again added the kicking conversion to give the Huskies a 14-0 lead with 12:06 left in the first half. 

 
Lamar jumped right back into the game, when kickoff return specialist Damashja Harris received the ball on the goal line and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown. The return established a new program record for the Cardinals. 

The Huskies came back with 10 more points in the second quarter to increase their lead to 24-7 at halftime. The first of the 10 points came when Justin Fomby found wide receiver Kyle Reynolds open in the flat and connected with a 28-yard pass for the score. Arroyo again added the extra point, along with a 34-yard field goal, at the 2:11 mark of the quarter to close out the first-half scoring. 

 
In the third quarter, the Huskies continued their scoring assault when Kari Reynolds caught a 40-yard Fomby pass for another six points, along with an additional Arroyo extra point to cap a three-play, 55-yard drive. The Fomby-to-Raynolds combo again scored a touchdown at the 7:20 mark (a three-yard pass). The conversion attempt by Hutton Haire failed, making the score 37-7 in favor of the Huskies. 

 
Lamar cut the Husky lead to 23 when quarterback Mike Chandler was being pressured and threw up a desperation pass, which was caught by Devyn Gibbs, on a lunge; and fell into the endzone for the score. Chris Esqueda kicked the conversion to complete a six-play, 70-yard drive that lasted 2:53. 

In the fourth quarter, Lamar took advantage of the Huskies not achieving a first down on four consecutive possessions to score an additional 14 points; and cut their deficit to 10 points. The scored at the 10:16 mark to complete a six-play, 36-yard drive in addition to a nine-play, 77-yard drive with 5:56 remaining in the game.

The Cardinals were not going to stop their comeback attempt when Chandler, from a no huddle shotgun position, kept the ball and carried the ball the final 13 yards of a 68-yard drive for the score; cutting the HCU lead to three. After an onside kick,, the Huskies recovered the attempt and played the ball for four plays; and punting to Lamar; giving the Cardinals the ball on their own five-yard line with 25 seconds remaining, After four quick plays, the clock ran out, with HCU securing the three-point win.

Sam Rayburn falls to Channelview in District 22-6A action

Story and photo by Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved

CHANNELVIEW, TEXAS (September 30, 2022) Darius Clark-James threw for three touchdowns and rushed for one more as the Channelview Falcons downed the Sam Rayburn Texans by the score of 62-21 ar Ray Maddry Stadium on Friday night.

Bryce Parker carried the ball three times for 91 yards and one touchdown for the Falcons, with David Watson, Marquis Neal and Derreon Williams all adding receiving TDs. For the Texans, Jesus Mendoza carried the ball nine times for 154 yards with one touchdown.

The Texans are now 2-4 for the season and 0-2 in UIL District 22-6A action. Their wins have come against Houston Milby (20-0) on September 2 and Houston Chavez (19-13) on September 17. They will next face fellow Pasadena ISD foe South Houston on October 13 at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Pasadena.

With the win over Sam Rayburn, the Falcons have posted a 3-2 season record, with a 1-0 mark in district action. Their next contest is on Thursday, October 8 versus South Houston, also at Pasadena's district stadium.

In other District 22-6A ganes, Pasadena Memorial downed South Houston 55-48, with Dobie topping Pasadena 59-12. Deer Park was idle.

Guatemala and Honduras meet in international friendly in Houston

By Robert H Kelly

Photo by Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography

Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (September 27, 2022) PNC Stadium played host to an international friendly soccer match with saw Honduras and Guatemala facing off in front of over 10,000 fans in Houston. The contest was an excellent opportunity specifically for fans of both country's national teams, but also all soccer fans in general. After a combination of intense and passionate play, Honduras emerged with a 2-1 win.

Guatemala found paydirt first, in the 32nd minute, when striker Darwin Lorn found the back of the net to give Los Chapines a 1-0 lead. That score remained through halftime and until the 70th minute when Guatemala defender Nicolas Samayoa gave Honduras an own goal to even the score at one. Seventeen minutes later, Los Catrachos took the lead when midfielder Edwin Solano scored  to secure the win.

 

North Shore Mustangs roll over Spring Lions 42-0

Photo by
Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography
Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved

SPRING, TEXAS (September 3, 2022) The No. 2 ranked North Shore Mustangs scored 14 points in ecah of the first three quarters in route to a 42-0 win over the Spring Lions at Planet Ford Stadium in Spring on Saturday evening. After a one-hour, 22-minute rain and lightning delay, both teams took to the field in front of a soggy, but enthusiastic crowd. The win pushed the Mustangs' season record to 2-0, leading up to a Friday, September 9 matchup against No. 8 Spring Westfield.

In other action of UIL District 21-6A teams, Summer Creek downed Clear Falls 42-0, with Kingwood winning a close game, 17-10 against Katy Jordan.  The remining five 21-6A teams all dropped their non-district game to complete week two of the 2022 season. No. 10 Atascocita fell to No. 5 Katy 35-28, Beaumont Westbrook fell to Manvel 41-21, C.E. King lost to Allen 49-14, with Humble falling to Klein Forest 24-17. Beaumont United closed out the losses, falling to Port Neches-Groves 49-0.

Houston Dash and Washington Spirit battle to 2-2 draw

Photo courtesy of Houston Dash

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (August 27, 2022) Trailing by one goal going into added time of the second half, the Houston Dash scored the equalizer for a 2-2 draw against the Washington Spirit at PNC Stadium on Saturday evening. The draw secured one point for the Dash; raising their season record to 8-5-4 (W-L-D) and 29 points for the season. 

Houston struck gold first in the 22nd minute when defender Sophie Schmidt drilled the ball past Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury. The Dash retained the lead into the second half, when Washington scores two goals within four minutes. Forward Ashley Hatch happened to be in the right place, in the 51st and 54th minutes to score the brace. Still trailing at the end of regulation, Michelle Alozie scored her second goal in her Dash career to allow Houston to avoid a loss. 

The defender talked about the goal after the match.

“Yeah, honest, I feel like I kind of blacked out but I do remember (FW Valerie Gauvin) hitting it down and I was kind of just there ready for anything that spat out and thankfully it spat out right next to my foot and I just smashed it low post so I’m just glad it went in. I’m glad that Val was able to get the first contact down and I’m glad the keeper was able to not contain the ball and allow me to get that goal in for the team.”

The Dash will next face Angel City at home on Sunday, September 11, 2022 at PNC Stadium. 

Houston Dynamo FC head coach Paulo Nagamura press conference on August 13, 2022 after 3-2 loss to Montreal

By Chris Price

Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (August 13, 2022) This video is from the post-game press conference of the Houston Dynamo's 3-2 loss to Club de Foot Montreal at PNC Stadium on Saturday evening. Houston head coach Paulo Nagamura discusses the match and takes questions from the press; in both English and Spanish.

Eight Pasadena ISD swimmers named academic all-state

Submitted photo, Used with permission.

By Chris Price
Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved

PASADENA, TEXAS (July 15, 2022) Four recently graduated and four current senior Pasadena Independent School District swimmers and divers were recently recognized for their achievements in both the classroom and the pool by being named to three different coaching associations’ academic all-state teams for 2021-2022.

The Texas Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association (TISCA) recognized Pasadena Memorial High School’s recently graduated seniors Rachel Del Angel, Cinthea Martinez, and Zulema Pica, along with current seniors Madison Arcizo and Jenae Flores. Del Angel, Martinez, and Pica were two-time recipients of the award, having also been honored in 2021-2022.

Pasadena High School recently graduated senior Ana Mercado and current senior Emely Lopez were also honored by TISCA, along with 2022 Sam Rayburn High School graduate Mitzy Gonzalez-Perez.

The Texas High School Coaches Association (THSCA) and the Texas Girls Coaches Association (TGCA) also bestowed academic all-state honors on Memorial’s Del Angel, Martinez, and Pica.

These eight Pasadena ISD student-athletes were the only selections from District 22-6A. Del Angel is headed to Ouachita Baptist University in the fall and will be continuing her swimming career at the NCAA Division II level. Pica and Martinez will be attending college at Stephen F Austin State University, while Mercado and Gonzalez are slated to attend San Jacinto College in the fall.

As for Lopez, Arcizo, and Flores, they will return to their respective high schools for their senior year and compete in their final season as high school athletes.

Houston Dynamo FC 1, Charlotte FC 2 slideshow

By Chris Price

Photo(s) by Darla S Tamulitis
Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (Sunday, July 3, 2022) The Houston Dynamo FC dropped a 2-1 decision to Charlotte FC at PNC Stadium in Houston on Sunday evening. Senior photographer Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography, was on hand to photograph all the action. Click here to view all the game action photos.

Houston Dynamo FC falls to Charlotte FC 2-1

Photo to Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography, Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved

HOUSTON, TEXAS (Sunday, July 3, 2022) When ask in the post-game press conference if there was any positives he could take from the Houston Dynamo FC 2-1 loss to Charlotte FC, Dynamo head coach Paulo Nagamura responded; and was very blunt with his answer.

“Positives—not many to be honest with you. I think one of the things that we have been praising that we need to be better is consistency and when you play two games like you play against Chicago and Portland, that in my opinion was two good games, even though we didn’t get a result in Portland and you come today with that kind of performance – that worries me. That’s something that we need to work on, our consistency and especially playing at home. I have been talking and I been saying this many times; we need to be more dominant. In the game today one thing that we take away is that our giveaways will affect our game especially at home and I think today it did big time.”

Houston started the game like they intended to control the game from the very first minute. In the first half, Houston trailed 1-0, on an own goal in the 28th minute by Dynamo midfielder Matias Vera. They led on shots (9-7) and corner kicks (4-1). and ended the first half trailing by one. Nagamura added to his comments when questioned about the own goal.

"Every time you go down 1-0, you know that team is going to wait for it and counter. To be honest, I think both goals are very soft goals by us. We could have done much better than we did on both goals and again it was just a bad day overall for us.”

Photo by Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography, Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved

In the second half, the Dynamo lost focus and could not find the focus and aggressiveness shown in the first 45 minutes. Charlotte added to its lead in the 74th minute when forward Andre Shinyashiki came off the bench and punched one past Houston goalkeeper Steve Clark straight from the top of the box. Seven minutes later, the Dynamo were able to get on the scoreboard when forward Fafa Picault (shown above) also came off the bench to score and prevent Houston from being shut out.

Houston captain Tim Parker also express his lack of satisfaction in the Dyanmo's performance when questioned by the press.

“It was disappointing. When teams come down to Houston, especially with the crowd we had tonight and the fans which we haven’t seen in a while - it is disappointing to obviously not get the three points, but also not play as well as we thought we were going to.” 

The Dynamo will play their next two matches against in-state rivals. They will first face FC Dallas on Saturday, July 9 at PNC Stadium. Three days later, they travel to Q2 Stadium to face Austin FC.

With the loss, Houston drops to 6-3-9 (W-D-L) with 16 games remaining in the season.

  

Houston Dash down North Carolina Courage 4-3

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved

CARY, NORTH CAROLINA (June 19, 2022) The Houston Dash secured thee points and ascended to second place in the NWSL standings with a 4-3 win over the North Carolina Courage at WakeMed Soccer Park. With the win, Houston posts a 5-3-2 record, for 18 points behind the San Diego Wave going into the international break.

Former Houston Dash midfielder Denise O'Sulivan found the back of the goal first, in the sixth minute, to put the Courage up 1-0. The Dash responded nine minutes later when Maria Sanchez scored her first goal of season to tie the score at one in the 15th minute.

The score remained at 1-1 through the reminder of the first half, and two minutes into the second half. Then, in the 47th minute, the Dash erupted with three goals in four minutes. Elizabeth Eddy secured the brace with back-to-back goals in the 47th and 50th minute. Nichelle Prince added an additional goal one minute later (51st minute).

The Courage came back to cut the score to 3-4 when Diana Ordonoz and Débora Cristiane de Oliveira scored goals in the 57th and 59th minutes, respectively.