The surging Houston Dash will travel to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Seattle Reign in the second matchup of the season. Houston is coming off of a thrilling 2-1 comeback win over the Orlando Pride. The team was down 1-0, but goals from Kealia Ohai and Sofia Huerta late in the second half secured them three points. Seattle is coming off of an equally-as-thrilling Cascadia match as Jodie Taylor scored in the 89thminute to give the Reign the 1-0 win over their rival Portland Thorns.
The Reign are currently second in the lead, holding the tiebreaker against Orlando. Through 14 games, they have a 6-3-5 record and 23 points. Houston still sits in seventh place but Is just six points behind the Reign and five points out of playoff position. They currently have a 4-5-5 record and 17 points.
Reign’s offense and defense must create production
Both squads contain offensive threats that will test the defensive sides. Megan Rapinoe and Taylor have netted most of the goals for the home side this season. Rapinoe currently has five goals and two assists this season while Taylor is right behind her with four goals and one assist.
The Reign have struggled lately to get on the scoresheet, having only netted four goals in their last eight matches including four scoreless draws over that span. Last week provided a spark, ending their four-game unbeaten streak, but the offense will need to create production.
Despite a 4-1 loss to the North Carolina Courage on June 23, the goalkeeping for the Reign has been consistently stable. Lydia Williams is likely to start in goal. The Australian-international has 25 saves this season, five goals against and five shutouts.
Houston needs a win to help with playoff push
The Dash are trying to make the playoffs for the first time in their franchise and still have a chance. They will need their offense to step up and create goals. Rachel Daly leads the team in goals with four and Ohai is right behind her with three goals and an assist. Since the team traded for Huerta, she has scored two goals in two games, including the game-winning penalty kick against Orlando.
Defenders Amber Brooks and Janine van Wyk need to continue to play solid defense to seal at least a point. Van Wyk currently leads the legue in blocks with 19 and has 68 clearances and 35 interceptions. Brooks is second in the league for interceptions with 50 so far this season.
Jane Campbell, the Dash’s starting keeper, has 41 saves this season but only one shutout. The last match against Seattle Campbell made five saves to help her team seal the win.
The match that will commence Week 15 is scheduled to kickoff at 7:00 p.m. PT and will be streaming live on go90.com and the go90 app which is available for download on iOS and Android devices.