After getting an early goal from Danielle Colaprico, the Chicago Red Stars looked like they could a key three points at home. But the Houston Dash grabbed a late equalizer from Rachel Daly to snatch a point from Chicago and finish the game 1-1.
Huerta gives the Red Stars the lead in the first half
After a delay to some thunderstorms in the area, the game finally got underway at Toyota Park. It didn't take long for the Red Stars to strike quickly and get the first score of the game. The Red Stars tried something unique in a short corner from captain Vanessa DiBernado to striker Sofia Huerta. She then took a curling shot towards Dash keeper Bianca Henninger's far post. The shot took a deflection from Huerta's teammate Danielle Colaprico and went into the back of the net. It was the first goal of the season for the former Rookie of the Year and it got Chicago off to the perfect start.
With the goal coming in the second minute of the game, Chicago was able to seize control of the game for the next twenty minutes. They nearly added a second when Cara Walls laid a pass off to DiBernardo. Her shot went past Henninger and pinged right off the crossbar. It almost gave Chicago a 2-0 lead and it was a sense of relief for the Dash to see the shot go right off the crossbar. It was a frustrating night for DiBernado has she had some great chances that just did not go in, including three in the first half.
Houston grabs one late
The Red Stars controlled the first half, but the Dash started to grab momentum back in the second 45 minutes. Even with the Dash starting to show signs of life, the Red Stars grabbed the first major chance.
Again it was DiBernado who had another A+ chance in the match. In the 68th minute, she had the ball just outside the box and let out a rocket. Once again, the ball went by Henninger but again the ball would not go in. It was cleared off the line by a Dash defender in what was an amazing defense effort.
With Chicago unable to grab that key second goal, all Houston needed was one chance. One chance to grab to an equalizer and a point. That chance came in the 82nd minute. Daly, who didn't have many chances throughout the whole game, got a ball with some space inside the penalty area. She then turned and smashed a shot into the back of the net. Red Stars goalie Michelle Dalton had no chance as Daly grabbed her third goal of the season and got the Dash their point.
That was the last major chance as both teams had semi-chances in the four minutes of stoppage time but nothing serious. Chicago will walk away from this feeling hard done by not converting their chances while the Dash will feel good that they walked away from the game with a point.