In the busiest week of the NWSL 2016 season, the Houston Dash return home from the Pacific Northwest to finish off the week by hosting the Boston Breakers. Both teams have officially been eliminated from playoff contention and with two matches to go, it’ll be all about how strong they can finish this season.
Boston trying to gain momentum
Currently last on the table by eight points, the Breakers hope to end the season on a good note. After drawing with the Western New York Flash on Wednesday night, they hope to build on that and steal points from the Dash. Wednesday’s match brought some positives for Boston, having scored two goals on the third place team. As the season comes to a close they have been surprising teams by taking points out of games. Players such as Natasha Dowie, Kristie Mewis and Kyah Simon have really made a difference in the Breakers attack and will cause problems for Houston with their goal-scoring abilities.
Houston’s playoff dream over
After Wednesday’s 3-0 loss to the Portland Thorns, the Dash will miss out on playoffs once again. Despite looking rather threatening as the season turned around, they were unable to stay in the race for post-season. They sit at ninth place above the Breakers with 19 points on the season and could possibly make a push for the middle of the table if they’re able to collect all six points in their last two games. The remainder of their season will be at home in BBVA Compass Stadium, giving them the home field advantage.
With the whole roster back together, Houston’s attack has been more threatening. They’ve been able to create chances and find the back of the net more often than not. Wednesday night was the first time since July 9 where the Dash were shut out, ironically losing 3-0 to the team they beat with the same scoreline on July 16. They look to finish the season strong at home, finally having all their pieces together and working well. Kealia Ohai still leads the league in goals with nine and hopes to add more this weekend against the team she earned a brace against last month. With Rachel Daly back in the mix after having a national team camp in England, the two should be able to connect on the field and pose major threats to Boston backline.
The Houston Dash are home to host the Boston Breakers at BBVA Compass Stadium on Sunday, September 11. Kick off is at 7 pm ET.