Momentum rises ahead of match
Even without many of its regulars, team surges into playoff contention
James Clarkson seemed like he didn’t want to admit it but ultimately, he had no choice — his Dash are riding some impressive momentum.
With four wins in their last five matches, the Dash have climbed from ninth place out of 10 teams to fourth and currently occupy the final playoff berth.
Heading into Sunday’s road game against the Chicago Red Stars, however, Clarkson was careful to point out that although the Dash are on a run of great form, they are not in as good a spot as they could be.
Had they not conceded late goals in back-to-back games in May, they’d be at the top of the standings.
“I still think we’re a long way from really getting a full rhythm,” Clarkson said. “We look at the table, and we should be in a better position than what we’re in. We left too many points on the table early in the season, but our response has been very good.”
That response began with a come-from-behind home win over the same Red Stars team they’ll face Sunday on the road. Both teams will be missing key players, who are with their Olympic teams.
The Dash (4-3-1, 13 points) will miss six starters in Rachel Daly, Nichelle Prince, Kristie Mewis, Sophie Schmidt, Allysha Chapman and Jane Campbell. Three players — Alyssa Naeher, Julie Ertz and Tierna Davidson — will miss the game for the Red Stars (3-4-2, 11 points).
It’s a problem teams throughout the league will face over the next two months as the games are contested in Tokyo. Knowing this stage of the season would be here eventually, Clarkson was hard at work over the last two months adding players to give the Dash some much-needed punch in the attack.
One of those moves paid off last week when Jasmyne Spencer, who came to the Dash via trade on May 31,
scored the opening goal in a 2-0 win over OL Reign — the team that traded her to Houston.
Players like Spencer, Gabby Seiler, Veronica Latsko and rookie Makamae Gomera-Stevens will be tasked with filling bigger roles and adding points for the rest of the summer.
“We’re going to have to find ways to win, and some days it may not be pretty,” Clarkson said. “And we might have to get numbers behind the ball. We may have to be efficient in front of goal, but we’ve got to find ways to be competitive and make sure that we’re continuing to push on and continue to go forward.”
Clarkson may even need to call on forward Michelle Alozie, who was added to the team as a National Team Replacement Player.
Alozie doesn’t have a full NWSL contract, but she’ll be an important player when it comes to stretching the field. If she can be effective in that role, opposing teams will not be able to press the Dash as aggressively.
Alozie won’t be fazed either. A former standout at Yale and the University of Tennessee, Alozie spent one season playing with the best team in Kazakhstan.
While there, she got experience playing in the UEFA Champions League and got valuable minutes to put on
tape. That helped her get noticed by NWSL teams, and the Dash invited her to be a training player in anticipation of needing several this summer.
She debuted last week as a second-half sub and hopes to get called on again this weekend as the Dash continue their quest to their first playoff berth.
“We have pushed up so far in the table, and I’m just so excited to see what we have coming up,” Alozie said. “We know that we need to get these three points and stay ahead of what we’ve put together as a team. We’re all excited are very hungry for this game.”