Credit KC WoSo
By Juan Carlos Maygua
Houston Dash and Kansas City faced off in another match of the NWSL season. Two teams that play an attacking style of football guaranteed a night of highlights for the fans in attendance.
The game started with Kansas City making dangerous passes on the wings. The team gained control at a quick rate after opening the score through Amy Rodriguez. Her awareness and quick movement inside the box was key for the first goal of the game. From that point onward Kansas remained on the field with possession on the wings. Houston Dash finished the first 45 minutes with chances that endangered Kansas City.
The second half told a different story, in a twist Houston Dash came into the field with a more attacking mindset, halftime team talks tend to cause this effect, but the difference was noticeable. Nichelle Prince and Kristie Mewis took over the attacking aspect of the team and took advantage of their speed on both wings. Houston’s pressure would pay off when they equalized the game after Rachel Daly scored a header, catching the Kansas City goalie-off position. Houston Dash continued their pressure over Kansas and scored another header from a corner kick. Shea Grooms was found unmarked and changed the dynamic of the game. In addition, Kansas City would close the game without a player on the field. Elizabeth Ball earned a second yellow after a mistimed tackle.
In a movie-like scenario, Kansas City would pull off one last effort to walk away with at least a point. Taylor Leach would be responsible for the shocking comeback with yet another header inside the box. To make things more epic Leach scored the equalizer on additional time. The game would finish with a tied scoreboard, but it was one of those games that you had to watch to understand how dramatic things turned out. Head Coach Huw Williams pointed out after the game that the outcome was as valuable as a win. “If we started the game-winning and the final result meant we were defeated it would have been unfortunate”.