First strike
Chicago converts in waning minutes to offset Keever’s first-half strike
The Dash’s Rachel Daly congratulates Kimberly Keever on her goal that opened the scoring.
Just when it looked like the Dash were closing in on their third consecutive season-opening victory Sunday, midfielder Taylor Comeau found the back of the net in the 91st minute to even the score and help the Chicago Red Stars escape with a 1-1 draw.
“I think the players executed the game plan very, very well until the last phase of the game,” Dash first-year coach Vera Pauw said. “It’s a shame because we were in control for the whole game. We started to make a few unnecessary fouls and that brought all the pressure on us.”
The Dash goal came in the 38th minute when former Portland forward Savannah Jordan dribbled right before crossing the ball to the left side of the box, where midfielder Kimberly Keever took a quick touch and scored.
“Savannah just did a great job getting wide and getting a shot off, I think,” Keever said. “I just ended up being in the right place. I think we knew we could’ve done better but I also think we are a better team than this result.”
Air let out of stadium
Seconds before the final minutes of stoppage time, Comeau connected off a corner kick, knocking the ball past goalkeeper Jane Campbell.
The score deflated the crowd of 5,846 at BBVA Compass Stadium after such a sound performance. Although Chicago controlled possession for most of the game (58.8 percent), the Dash created chances throughout the match.
They put four of 12 shots on target and limited the Red Stars to one first-half shot.
“I think it has more to do with us coming together as a team and working on different attacking patterns and being versatile in the back and bringing it forward,” rookie forward Veronica Latsko said. “I think our attack just varies and that helped us a lot throughout the game.
The Dash (0-0-1) had won three consecutive National Women’s Soccer League season openers, going 3-1 entering Sunday’s match. They won last year’s opener 2-0 and the 2016 opener 3-1 over the Red Stars, but Chicago leads the series 5-2-5.
An opening win would’ve been a hopeful start for Pauw and her team, which looks to improve on last year’s eighthplace finish and contend for a playoff berth. The Dash are the only existing NWSL team that hasn’t made the playoffs since joining the league in 2014 (the Utah Royals opened their inaugural season Saturday).
Chicago (0-0-1) opened the season without Australian star Sam Kerr, who’s out helping her country qualify for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and several others. The Dash were without forward Kyah Simon (hamstring) and midfielder Thembi Kgatlana (excused absence).
Pauw said the team is disappointed to lose late, but content to take the point in the standings.
Opportunistic foe
“Overall I can say that we can be proud,” Pauw said. “We have a completely new team and dominating an opponent in the way that we did until the last phase when they were starting to play opportunistic; I can only give compliments about that.
“This is how we need to play to be able to have a chance. We all know that we have high-quality players but there’s a lot of young players that need to grow and it starts with winning the fight on the pitch.”