Two games in the National Women’s Soccer League tonight. The Space Race rematch came to Orlando, broadcast on CBS. Later, North Carolina visit Kansas City.
Orlando Pride 1, Houston Dash 1
The Skinny: The Dash came out swinging away from home. They put a lot of early pressure on Orlando and were rewarded with possessions in their attacking third. The goal came ten minutes in when Shea Groom tried to slip the ball in behind for Nichelle Prince, Ali Riley got to the ball first but there was a major miscommunication with Amy Turner and Rachel Daly beat everyone to it, smashing it far post.
Rachel Daly opens the scoring early for Houston! Miscommunication at the back for Orlando and Daly is there to take advantage.#ORLvHOU | 0 – 1 pic.twitter.com/3pBkXCB6gz
— The Equalizer (@EqualizerSoccer) September 5, 2021
— The Equalizer (@EqualizerSoccer) September 5, 2021
Houston looked dangerous after this mostly on the counterattack and set pieces, as they had all their players back to defend. Houston’s defense meant Orlando had a good amount of possession but couldn’t get it close to goal, all the bodies in the way kept the Pride away from the box, forcing almost exclusively long shots.
Orlando came out of halftime with good energy, but it was more of the same. They had possession and good build up play, but they weren’t getting anywhere with it. Fifteen minutes in to the second half Ashlyn Harris got a knock to the head that forced her out of the match she had already made a couple huge saves in. Canadian Gold Medalist Erin Mcleod replaced her and held strong for the rest of the match. Either the stoppage giving them time to discuss, or the injury to their captain, really fired the home team up. The always heated Space Race got particularly chippy from this point on. Both teams made several substitutions hoping to change the game, one did. Taylor Kornieck came on and scored the equalizer five minutes later with a header off the corner kick.
Taylor Kornieck ties it up for the Pride with just ten minutes remaining!!#ORLvHOU | 1 – 1 pic.twitter.com/aSMQ6TWEEr
— The Equalizer (@EqualizerSoccer) September 5, 2021
— The Equalizer (@EqualizerSoccer) September 5, 2021
Both teams continued to push for another but even the ten minutes of stoppage time couldn’t find either side a winning goal.
One Key Moment: Houston had a couple chances to double their advantage in the first half but Ashlyn Harris once again came up huge for her club. These 35’ saves kept the Pride in the game and allowed them to come back and steal a point in this one.
.@AshlynHarris, serving up SOTW nominees on the regular 
#ORLvHOU | https://t.co/vmDqcK3jfH | #NWS21 pic.twitter.com/Q0Sm8dZ8RL
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) September 5, 2021
#ORLvHOU | https://t.co/vmDqcK3jfH | #NWS21 pic.twitter.com/Q0Sm8dZ8RL— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) September 5, 2021
Inside the Game: Overall, the match was fairly even and this is a fair result for both sides. Orlando had been growing into the game since being scored on, and even though they didn’t get close to goal often, they were threatening and controlling possession. On the other hand, Houston will feel they should’ve held on for all three points in this one having held the lead for 70 minutes. So, the Dash’s struggles closing out games defensively continue.
The Goals:
- Houston Dash — Rachel Daly, 10′
- Orlando Pride — Taylor Kornieck (Meggie Dougherty Howard), 79′
–– Bella Munson
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