NWSL Rewind: Drought is over in Houston

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Jul 18, 2016

Just one point separates the top three teams in the NWSL as the Portland Thorns dropped their second straight game after starting out unbeaten in 12 games.

Their 3-0 loss at Houston left the Thorns tied with the Washington Spirit and a one point ahead of the Western New York Flash.

Houston's win over Portland ended a string of six straight losses by 1-0 margins. Rachel Daly's goal in the 17th minute was the Dash's first goal since May 7.



Dash coach Randy Waldrum said it was inevitable that his team would end its drought.

“I think it’s harder to do what we did, going six games 1-0 than it was to actually score," he said, "so we really wanted it tonight, especially since we were home. We’re 10 games in, we still have 10 games. It might sound silly to others, but hey, if we win all 10 games, we’re in the playoffs. As much as we’re looking one game ahead only, we’re also cognizant that there’s still a chance at the playoffs."

Week 13 Results:
JULY 16
Orlando 0 Chicago 1 (Comeau 23).
Att.: 7,247.
Houston 3 (Daly 17, Brooks 68, Ohai 83) Portland  0.
Att.: 5,661.
FC Kansas City 2 (Silva 69, Groom 91+) Washington 3 (Banini 48, 83, Lohman 58).
Att.: 2,013.
Seattle 1 (Melis 13) WNY Flash 1 (McDonald 45).
Att.: 4,521.
JULY 17
Boston 2 (Salem 13, King 83) Sky Blue FC 3 (Killion 28, Galton 37, Skroski 74).
Att.: 3,314.

NWSL Standings:
PTS TEAM W-L-T GF/GA
26 Portland 7-2-5 19/12
26 Washington 8-2-2 19/10
25 WNY Flash 8-4-1 26/14
21 Chicago 6-4-3 12/12
------------------------------------
19 Sky Blue FC 5-4-4 16/17
18 Orlando 6-7-0 12/13
17 Seattle 4-4-5 13/11
13 FC Kansas City 3-6-4 10/13
10 Houston 3-7-1 9/11
4 Boston 1-11-1 6/29

Week 14 Schedule:
JULY 23
Sky Blue FC vs. Washington
WNY Flash vs. FC Kansas City
Chicago vs. Houston
Seattle vs. Orlando