Credit Lauren Stefl
By Juan Carlos Maygua
Houston Dash resumed their activity in the Challenge Cup as they visited Kansas City. The visitors came from two scoreless matches, while Kansas looked to turn things around after their defeat in the last game. A motivating factor for the locals was the opportunity to play their first professional game in franchise history at home with fans in attendance.
There is popular soccer belief that highlights the importance of goals over possession percentages since you need goals to win. Houston capitalized on that saying by completing a 3-1 victory over Kansas. Kristie Mewis started things off in the first half after a shot from outside the box, in a solo play that is a trademark in her finishing style. Rachel Daly would put the team up by two after scoring from the penalty spot right before halftime.
Mewis would return to the scoreboard in the second half to score the third and final goal for the dash However, Kansas did manage to score one back in the 76th minute through Michele Vasconcelos. After the game, both Houston manager James Clarkson and Kristie Mewis expressed their disappointment after conceding that goal. “Coming from two goalless games we wanted to keep the clean sheet today”. Rachel Daly however, emphasized that the team is still far from its best form.
Houston Dash may have seen fewer numbers in terms of possession, but the 3 goals leave them with more confidence for their next game. The team returns to Houston to face off against Portland, in hopes to continue this goal streak. In contrast to Kansas, who saw their home opener overshadowed by a difficult result.