The Portland Thorns spoiled the Houston Dash’s NWSL debut, winning 1-0 off a 23rd minute goal by Allie Long.
The Dash thought that they had tied the match in the waning moments of stoppage time when a Becky Edwards header found the back of the net on the final set play of the game, but the goal was waived offside.
Houston was forced to deal with adversity early on as midfielder Brittany Bock went down with left knee sprain in the second minute and rookie forward Kealia Ohai rolled her ankle in the ninth minute. Both players returned, but Bock went down a second time in the 19th minute, forcing the midfielder off the field.
It was off of the substitution where Thorns forward Jessica McDonald took a long throw in the attacking third, which found Long making a run at the near post. Long flicked a header towards the far post that caught the Dash back line and goalkeeper Erin McCleod off guard.
Houston looked like it had the potential to be very dangerous but were unable to test Thorns goalkeeper Nadine Angerer consistently. Midfielder Jordan Jackson had two golden opportunities in the first 15 minutes of the match. Her header off an Arianna Romero free kick went just high in the fifth minute. Six minutes later, forward Stephanie Ochs whipped a cross in that Jackson settled but her shot off the bounce sailed over the goal.
Ochs had an opportunity of her own in the 76th minute as she chested down a pass before putting her shot well over the crossbar.
Second half substitute Tiffany McCarty created two chances within five minutes of each other, with the first coming in the 84 th minute. The former Washington Spirit forward got in one Angerer but was unable to find the ball after being swarmed by two Portland defenders and Angerer.
Five minutes later, Jordan found herself unmarked on the backpost and played a cross on the ground along the six-yard box but McCarty was unable to get a foot on it and Thorns defender Nikki Marshall slid to clear it out of danger.
Scoring Summary:
POR – Long (1) – 23’
Lineups:
POR: Nadine Angerer, Courtney Niemiec, Nikki Marshall, Emily Menges, Rebecca Moros (Jackie Acevedo, 82), Amber Brooks, Allie Long, Sinead Farrelly, Angie Kerr (Mana Shim, 75), Christine Sinclair, Jessica McDonald (Sarah Huffman, 71)
HOU: Erin McLeod, Arianna Romero, Osinachi Ohale, Holly Hein, Nikki Washington, Brittany Bock (Teresa Noyola, 23), Jordan Jackson, Becky Edwards, Kealia Ohai (Lindsay Elston, 58), Ella Masar, Stephanie Ochs (Tiffany McCarty, 78)
Misconduct Summary
POR: Allie Long (Caution), 15
HOU: Ella Masar (Caution), 74
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