Solid start gives way to draw in Cup finale
Groom finds net in first half, but lead doesn’t stick
The Dash were up to the task against one of the National Women’s Soccer League’s best teams Sunday night, but they couldn’t manage more than a share of the points.
Shea Groom scored in the first half to give the Dash the lead, but Christine Sinclair answered for the Portland Thorns in the second half to finish off a 1-1 draw at BBVA Stadium.
It was the final game of the NWSL Challenge Cup group stage. The Dash (10-3, six points) finished second to Portland (3-0-1, 10 points) in the West Division.
Portland, which had clinched the division before Sunday’s game, will host the Challenge Cup championship game against NY/NJ Gotham FC on Saturday. The Dash will wait for their regular-season opener on the road against Gotham FC on May 15.
Even though there was nothing to play for Sunday night, Dash coach James Clarkson said he was “bitterly disappointed” that his team didn’t win.
“The effort, the commitment from the players has been outstanding,” Clarkson said. “What a fantastic goal (we scored), and (we came) very close to creating some really good opportunities on the counterattack. And yeah, I thought it was a fantastic game. For dead rubber and not mattering … for me it was the best game so far in the Challenge Cup.”
The Dash held a 1-0 lead through the majority of the second half before Portland pulled level in the 77th minute.
Portland’s Simone Charley got space down the right flank and had a cross deflected by a Dash player. The ball rolled across the top of the penalty area, and Sinclair — the world’s alltime leading international scorer — hit a soft, low shot that trickled over the goal line after Dash goalkeeper Jane Campbell got a glove on it.
The Thorns controlled much of the second half up to that point, much like they did in the first half before the Dash found their footing.
Once they did, they created several promising opportunities and finally broke through in the second minute of added time in the first half.
The goal came on an impressive sequence that started with Rachel Daly in the middle third and ended with Groom hitting it into the goal on a slide.
Daly hit an outside-the-foot pass down the left flank to Veronica Latsko, who beat the right back to the ball just before it got to the end line. On her first touch, Latsko pulled it back toward the penalty spot, and a Portland defender deflected it into Groom’s path.
Groom slid to hit it just before another defender and finished it clean into the side netting.
“It was a big team goal, and I’m excited that it came in the run of play — a little bit more of a build-up goal,” Groom said. “It’s always good to score at BBVA, and I think we put on a good show tonight and should have won the game.”
The Dash were in position to score the opener thanks to some top-notch work by Campbell. She made a highlight-reel save on Crystal Dunn in the 26th minute.
Dunn shot from outside the top of the penalty area and aimed the ball toward the far post. Campbell dove to her right and touched it wide. It was one of several strong saves for Campbell.
“One of our goals this year is to not get beat at BBVA and make this one of the hardest places to play in the league,” Groom said. “We didn’t lose, but conceding a goal feels like a little bit of a loss for us. But you know, I’m happy with the progress.”