To close out week 9 of the National Women's Soccer League, the Houston Dash and Washington Spirit will meet for the first time this season. Both teams have a quick turnaround after each having a midweek game. Both Houston and Washington will fight to get their second win of the week.
History
Washington leads the series with a record of 7-1-3. They have also scored 15 goals against Houston and allowed 10. The last time the two teams met was last season on July 15th. Houston won the match 2-1 with goals from Poliana and Andressinha and the lone goal for Washington coming from Estelle Johnson. Both Poliana and Andressinha are no longer with the Dash anymore. The two teams played each other two other times last season. By the end of the season the Houston had won the season series but both teams had scored three goals. Kealia Ohai was the other goalscorer for Houston and Mallory Pugh and Cheyna Matthews were the others for Washington.
Houston looks for second win at home
The Dash are coming off a high after a midweek matchup against Seattle Reign FC. The Dash were able to defeat the Reign 2-1 for their first win in franchise history over Seattle. Houston showed their mentality of not being dead yet and continued to fight even after Seattle got on the board first. Kristie Mewis scored the tying goal off a set piece from Rachel Daly and then Veronica Latsko scored her second late goal of the season to give them the win.
Houston wants to keep this mentality alive and look to continue their winning streak at home. Houston has a record of 1-1-3 at home and will look to get more wins under their belt. Houston had a rocky start to the season but have proven to be able to hold some of the best teams in the league to only a small goal allowance. In the last five games Houston has tied Chicago Red Stars and Portland Thorns, lost to Utah Royals FC 1-0 and then just beat Seattle. With the adjustments in their lineup and finally getting Mewis and Daly off of the backline and into the attacking third, they have been able to score more goals and get more points. If the Dash can keep this attacking mentality up they could very well get their second win at home against a team that's struggling on the road.
Washington has yet to win on the road
As Washington travels to Houston they will look for their first win on the road for this season. The Spirit have struggled to get points on the road and at home too. Washington has lost three of their five games and have gotten two wins at home. The Spirit are coming off of their second win of the season after defeating Sky Blue FC in a midweek game with a late goal from Ashley Hatch.
The Spirit have scored eight goals so far this season but have allowed 12. Washington played North Carolina Courage and then Portland back to back. The Spirit were able to keep both teams to just one goal but both of them were scored later into the second half. As shown against Seattle, Houston has the ability to score late and Latsko has scored twice after the 90 minute mark this season. The Spirit are going to have to get on the board first but also make sure they don't let Houston get back into it late in the game. The Spirit just welcomed back Rose Lavelle, who is known for scoring goals. The Spirit are going to have to be able to use their goal scorers and take the first win on the road.
You can watch this game on the go90 app or at nwslsoccer.com.