Upstart Dash top Red Stars, 2-0, to win the Challenge Cup

SANDY, UTAH (AP) » As the underdog Houston Dash celebrated winning the Challenge Cup title, forward Rachel Daly was asked if she could define the team’s identity after the month-long tournament.

“Winners,” the Dash cocaptain simply said.

Sophie Schmidt scored on an early penalty kick and

Shea Groom added a stoppage-time goal to give Houston the trophy with a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Red Stars on Sunday.

The tournament was the National Women’s Soccer League’s re-boot after the regular season was shut down by the coronavirus outbreak. Houston, in its seventh year in the league, had never previously made the playoffs.

“Grit and determination and courage, I could use all of those cliche words but they actually mean something within our team,” Daly said. “After every postgame I say ‘Nothing breaks our circle, and if anything breaks our circle, we’ll lose.’ Today nothing broke our circle.”

The Red Stars went to the

NWSL championship game last season, but were routed 4-0 by the North Carolina Courage.

Houston was aggressive from the start. Kristie Mewis was on the run when she was fouled by Kayla Sharples for a Dash penalty kick. Schmidt nailed the PK in the fifth minute. It was the tournament’s first penalty kick in regulation. The Red Stars nearly drew even in the 15th minute, but Savannah McCaskill’s header off a rebound hit the post.

McCaskill had another chance from distance in the 67th minute, but Houston goalkeeper Jane Campbell tipped it up and over the crossbar.

The Dash took a hit in the 29th minute when Mewis had to come out of the game with a hamstring injury. She sobbed as she was subbed out.

The NWSL was the first professional team sport to return in the United States. Eight of the league’s nine teams have been sequestered in Utah for the duration of the tournament, which started on June 27.