‘Home’ finale on road a new test

On Tuesday morning, the Dash loaded onto a bus for a six-hour ride to Edinburgh.

It is not for a chance to see what soccer culture is like in the Valley. It is not for a chance to tour the facility where Dynamo USL-affiliate Rio Grande Valley FC plays its home games.

It is for the Dash to play their own home game.

The Dash (7-13-2) will play host to the North Carolina Courage (15-6-1) on Wednesday night at H-E-B Park. The game had to be rescheduled and relocated after Hurricane Harvey interrupted the schedule.

It is the second Dash home game that had to be relocated. They played Seattle Reign FC in Frisco on Sept. 3.

“We have to go down there and make the best of it,” interim coach Omar Morales said. “Make it as much of a home game as we can inside the locker room with the players and make sure that we come out and perform the way we performed at certain times (in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Chicago). If we do that, we’ll get a result.”

Getting a result against North Carolina is a big deal no matter where the game is played. The Courage have been in first place all season and have clinched a home game in the playoffs. They can clinch the NWSL Shield with at least a draw against the Dash.

The Dash fell to the Courage 1-0 in North Carolina on Sept. 9. Like many of their games over the last two months, they had some good spells but were ineffective in the attacking third.

They finally found life in front of the goal against Chicago on Saturday but still lost for the sixth time in seven games. It has been a rough stretch for all involved, but throughout the difficulty, they have said they’re working hard and aiming for three points.

The Dash have two more chances to do that — Wednesday against North Carolina and Sunday at FC Kansas City.

“Every game we want to win. That’s our mentality,” midfielder Cari Roccaro said after Saturday’s game. “We are not slacking off. We have to recover and get ready to bus down at RGV and play North Carolina there. That’s the team at the top of the table. If we show we can beat a team like that, it’ll be great for us.”