Houston Dynamo FC Host Miami and Dash Travel to Nation's Capital
April 21, 2023 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Houston Dash News Release
HOUSTON - Houston Dynamo FC host Inter Miami and the Houston Dash close the week in the nation's capital when they face the Washington Sprit on Saturday. Houston Dynamo 2 close a two-game homestand on Sunday, April 23 when they host the Tacoma Defiance.
WHO: Houston Dash at Washington Spirit Houston Dynamo FC vs. Inter Miami CF Houston Dynamo 2 vs. Tacoma Defiance
WHEN: Saturday, April 22 - 6:00 p.m. CT Saturday, April 22 - 7:30 p.m. CT Sunday, April 16 - 6:30 p.m. CT
STREAM/TV: Paramount +
Play-by-play: Michael Watts and Jill Loyden MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
English: Eric Krakauer and Lloyd Sam
Spanish: Raul Guzman and Sonny Guadarrama MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Play-by-play: James Hadnot
RADIO: - ENGLISH: ESPN 97.5 FM (Glenn Davis and Bobby Boswell)
SPANISH: TUDN Deportes Houston 93.3 FM (Daniel Mejia and Cesar Procel) -
DASH SHIFT FOCUS TO LEAGUE PLAY
The Houston Dash will wrap up its final match of a three-game regular season road trip when the team travels to the nation's capital on Saturday to take on the Washington Spirit at Audi Field. Houston is 1-0-1 in road games this season and enters Saturday's match unbeaten.
The Dash are looking to extend its unbeaten streak in road matches to five games and earn its second road win of the season. Saturday also marks the end of a busy stretch of matches for the team after playing in three matches across an eight-day stretch. Houston played the Kansas City Current on Wednesday evening at Shell Energy Stadium in the opening match of the Challenge Cup. Several rookies made their NWSL debut in the match, including three of Houston's draft selections; defenders Jylissa Harris and Lindsi Jennings and midfielder Sophie Hirst.
Defender Katie Lind returned to the starting line up on Wednesday night after being sidelined due to an injury through the first three games of the regular season. Lind, formerly Naughton, holds the record for consecutive starts with 18 and minutes played (1601) in Challenge Cup play dating back to the tournament's inception in 2020. Houston Dash head coach Sam Laity mentioned in his postgame comments that he was pleased to see the defender play a full 90 minutes. Lind has a been a key figure in the Dash back line since arriving in January 2020. The Norte Dame product played every minute of the last two NWSL regular seasons for the Dash, earning back-to-back Ironwoman honors.
Washington enters Saturday's match with a 2-0-1 record in regular season play and currently sits in second place behind Portland. The Spirit are now led by head coach Mark Parsons, who was announced as the team's manager late last year. The Spirit are led by USWNT forwards Trinity Rodman and Ashley Hatch. Rodman has scored twice this season a tallied an assist on one of Hatch's three goals this year. Together the duo has scored all of Washington's goals so far in 2023.
Houston returns to Shell Energy Stadium on Friday, April 28 to host the North Carolina Courage. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT.
DYNAMO RETURN TO SHELL ENERGY STADIUM
The Dynamo return to Shell Energy Stadium on Saturday to host Inter Miami, their second opponent from the Eastern Conference to visit the Bayou City this year. The Dynamo look to remain undefeated at Shell Energy Stadium following three consecutive victories in Houston to open the home slate this season.
The Dynamo earned their first point away from home last weekend with a 1-1 draw at Red Bull Arena against the New York Red Bulls. Ivan Franco tallied his first assist of the season after he came off the bench in the 53rd minute. He found midfielder Coco Carrasquilla inside the box for the go-ahead goal. That was the first goal for the Panamanian international who finished with two shots on the evening.
The Dynamo backline was under heavy pressure at Red Bull Arena and the centerback duo of Teenage Hadebe and Ethan Bartlow combined for 19 clearances and five interceptions. Defender Franco Escobar won all seven of his tackles and Daniel Steres finished with seven clearances and three tackles won. Goalkeeper Steve Clark finished with six saves against the Red Bulls.
Brooklyn Raines, a Homegrown player for the Dynamo, earned his third start of the season last Saturday. The teenager won two duels and finished with two recoveries against the Red Bulls.
The Dynamo won the last meeting between both teams, a 3-1 triumph at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale last season. Saturday's game will be the first time Inter Miami visit Shell Energy Stadium and the third all-time meeting between the two teams. The all-time series is currently split with one victory for each side.
The Dynamo travel to Tampa Bay, Florida next week to face the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The team will not have a match the following weekend as the match originally scheduled for April 29 against LAFC was moved to June 14. The Dynamo return to Shell Energy Stadium on May 6 to host Real Salt Lake.
DYANMO 2 CLOSE HOMESTAND AT SABERCATS STADIUM
Houston Dynamo 2 look to close its two game homestand against the Tacoma Defiance by capturing three points at home for the first time this season. Dynamo 2 earned their first points at home last Sunday after beating LAFC 2 in a shootout after the game finished tied at the end of regulation.
Goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell made two saves in the shootout and helped Dynamo Dos earn its first home points of the season. Tarbell, who the night before was in Harrison, New Jersey with the Dynamo first team, finished with eight saves. The experienced veteran earned high praise from Dynamo 2 head coach Kenny Bundy for the leadership qualities he exhibited during the match both on-and-off the field.
Tacoma Defiance enters the match after taking a break from league play last week and enters Sunday's match with a 1-1-1 overall record. Tacoma will make back-to-back trips to Texas in a three-week span after facing Austin FC II on Friday, April 7. Tacoma fell on the road to Austin 2-1 in the final minutes of second half stoppage time after a goal occurred in the 90+4 minute of the game.
Here are three key points ahead of the three fixtures:
DASH WRAP UP THREE STRAIGHT ROAD GAMES IN LEAGUE PLAY: The Dash have only lost twice in the last 13 regular season road games dating back to 2022 and has earned 27 road points since the start of the 2022 season. The Dash are unbeaten through three games this campaign and have earned four of six possible points on the road in league play. Houston nearly took three points against the reigning NWSL champions, Portland Thorns, last Friday. Defender Courtney Peterson challenged for a second ball inside the box in the second half of the match but the goal was disallowed by the referee. In Houston's first road match of 2023, the Dash weathered the elements in a windy match in Bridgeview, Illinois against the Chicago Red Stars and earned a key three points to extend its winning streak over the Chicago Red Stars to three matches.
DYNAMO UNDEFEATED AT HOME: Dynamo look to remain undefeated at home following three shutout victories at Shell Energy Stadium this year. The Dynamo earned their first victory of the season with a 2-0 victory over Austin FC on March 18. Houston tallied their second victory of the year the following week with a 1-0 triumph over New York City FC. Houston's latest victory also came at home with a 3-0 win over the LA Galaxy.
DYNAMO 2 FACE PLAYOFF FOE: Dynamo 2 and Tacoma Defiance were two of the top teams in the Western Conference last season. Houston and Tacoma met in the first round of the MLS NEXT Pro playoffs last September in the Pacific Northwest. The two evenly matched teams played to the final whistle before going to a shootout. Tacoma defeated Houston in the shootout by the smallest margin. The Defiance currently sits in eighth place, right above Dynamo 2 in the league standings with a 1-1-1 overall record.
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National Women's Soccer League Stories from April 21, 2023
- Spirit Returns to Audi Field Looking to Keep Unbeaten Regular Season Alive - Washington Spirit
- Houston Dynamo FC Host Miami and Dash Travel to Nation's Capital - Houston Dash
- Angel City vs San Diego this Sunday - Angel City FC
- Houston Dash Shift Focus to League Play on the Road - Houston Dash
- What to Watch for in Racing at Portland Thorns - Racing Louisville FC
- Gotham FC to Face North Carolina Courage at Red Bull Arena on Saturday, April 22 - NJ/NY Gotham FC
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