Prince set for playoff push before key Portland match
For much of Nichelle Prince’s career with the Dash, the last couple of weeks of the regular season have always been about planning for the offseason.
Houston has never been a serious contender to qualify for the playoffs, so it was easy for the players to go through the motions in the final few games.
That’s not the case this year. Prince and her Dash teammates are thinking about lifting the league championship trophy for the first time. Whether they can do that will depend largely on the result of Sunday’s home game against the league-leading Portland Thorns (12-6-4, 40 points).
Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the newly named PNC Stadium. It’s the penultimate game of the regular season, and with the standings so tight, the Dash need all the points they can get.
“In the past when we got to this point of the season, we’ve just tried to get through it,” Prince said. “This year, we don’t want to just get through the season. We know that there’s so much more to accomplish. It has been a long year, but we didn’t get all this way just to get to the end of the year.
“We really want to make a statement this year, and we think that if we can get in, we can win.”
Houston (9-8-5, 32 points) missed a great opportunity to add points when it lost to last-place Kansas City on Wednesday. Still, qualifying for its first playoff berth is still in its control.
After Sunday’s game against the league leaders, the Dash will end the regular season with a road game with the Washington Spirit, which enters the weekend in sole possession of third place and one point ahead of a three-way tie for fourth that includes the Dash. Six teams will make the playoffs.
In order to maintain control of their fate, however, the Dash likely need to win on Sunday. That’s always tough to do against Portland, but this time around the Thorns will have some extra motivation — revenge. The Dash beat the Thorns in Portland last week.
“The biggest thing right now is that we did play them a couple of weeks ago and we know that we can beat them,” Prince said. “In the past, it’s been like ‘the big bad Portland team,’ and we were the underdogs. Right now, this is going to be a good matchup knowing that we have had a good couple of weeks and we know that we can beat them.”
There are a lot of aspects that could make a difference in the game, but for Dash coach James Clarkson it is all about the early moments.
The Dash have had trouble conceding goals in the opening minutes, including their July 24 home game against Portland. Sophia Smith scored for the Thorns, and that was the difference as the Dash lost 1-0.
In the Oct. 6 meeting in Portland, Houston forward Rachel Daly scored in the 18th minute, and midfielder Kristie Mewis doubled the lead five minutes later. The Dash won 3-2.
“How we start this game on Sunday is going to play a major role in the outcome of the game,” Clarkson said. “But ultimately, we’re going to need all of our players playing really high level in order to not just be competitive, but in order to win the game.”