Slow start leads to loss of game, first place
In the team’s first-ever game as the top team in the National Women's Soccer League, the Dash surrendered two goals in the first 15 minutes in a 2-1 loss Sunday to the Chicago Red Stars at BBVA Compass Stadium.
“The first 20 minutes we came out slow. It’s the slowest we’ve come out the whole time I’ve been with the group,” Dash coach James Clarkson said. “To give a team like this a two-goal start, we dug ourselves into a really big hole.
“But I think the response from the players was fantastic. They didn’t given in and we could just as easily have gotten beaten by four or five there.”
The first goal came just eight minutes in when Chicago forward Sam Kerr broke loose and raced into the area, prompting Dash goalkeeper Jane Campbell to come forward. Kerr eluded Campbell then slotted the opening score despite two defenders for the Dash (3-2-1, 10 points) attempting to guard the goal line.
Two minutes after, Kerr took a short cross and beamed a shot that was deflected by Campbell’s face.
A minute later, in what would become a regular occurrence through the first quarter of the match, Kerr found space again. In the 11th minute, the Australian blew past her countrywoman, Clare Polkinghorne, but her shot was saved by Campbell.
But in the 13th minute, in virtually the same sequence, Kerr burst past the center back again. As she galloped into open space once more, a defender raced from the other side of the field to diffuse the attack. But before she could arrive, Kerr sent a high shot into the back of the net for a 2-0 lead for Chicago (3-1-2, 11 points).
“I think the first 15, 20 minutes we gave them too much time and space in the midfield,” Polkinghorne said. “I think we picked it up and defensively sorted ourselves out a little, but you can’t give a quality team a two-goal head start.”
Staring at an early hole, the Dash tried to string together an offensive surge.
Their efforts were rewarded in the 26th minute when forward Kayla McCoy elevated for the ball in Chicago’s half. The rookie was unable to control the ball, but she was able to tap it into the path of a streaking Sofia Huerta. Facing her former club for the first time, the Dash midfielder burst forward with the ball then slid a shot past goalkeeper Emily Boyd to halve the deficit. It was Huerta’s second goal of the season.
The Dash nearly equalized in the 31st minute when the team worked the ball from the perimeter into the area, but the ball veered too far from the outstretched foot of a diving McCoy, who made her first career start with Rachel Daly sitting as a result of a red card she picked up against Utah last week.
“It was a bit overwhelming for the first time,” said McCoy, who was given a round of applause and congratulations by teammates after being announced as the starter before the game. “It’s definitely nice to get a game under my belt before I go off to national team.”
Following the match, McCoy will depart for a pre-World Cup camp with Jamaica. Chicago’s Kerr, Polkinghorne and Dash teammate Kyah Simon also will leave their teams to join Australia.
After ascending to the top of the league standings, the Dash drop to a three-way tie for second with Utah and the Washington Spirit. The Red Stars become the new league leaders with a onepoint edge over Houston and the others.
“We kept pushing and pushing, but we just couldn’t find that chance and score that goal,” Clarkson said. “We obviously can’t give top players that much time and space. Lesson learned.”