HOUSTON – The Houston Dash fell 4-1 against Portland Thorns Friday night at Shell Energy Stadium, unable to secure back-to-back regular season wins for the first time since 2023. Here are three thoughts from Houston’s loss to Portland.
Four minutes of doom
Four minutes doomed the Dash. Both sides matched up evenly the first 20 minutes until the Dash quickly allowed a pair of goals. The defense was unable to close down on Pietra Tordin, who took advantage as soon as she was able to turn around, ripping a left-footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom left corner in the 26th minute.
Payton Linnehan made it 2-0 four minutes later with a left-footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom left corner.
“It’s frustrating for sure, but that’s football, right,” Dash coach Fabrice Gautrat said. “Some moments of the game you can be great, but you can’t turn off for those moments. And I thought we were a bit naive. And again, we talk a lot about being disciplined and whatever your role is, and doing it to the best of our ability. And I mean, of course, I’m upset, but we also have to learn and grow from it as well.”
Houston remains 10th in the NWSL standings through nine games with 10 points. Meanwhile, Portland extended its unbeaten streak to five games, jumping to fourth place in the standings with 16 points.
Deflating late first half
The Dash almost escaped the first half with a 2-0 deficit, which is considered the worst lead in soccer. The second half could have been another story if it weren’t for the late penalty conceded by Dash defender Christen Westphal after a foul in the penalty area. After VAR review, Sam Coffey converted the PK for the 3-0 lead in the eighth minute of stoppage time. Portland knew what it was doing, as they had the most PKs awarded league-wide heading into the game.
Following the fourth goal, the whole team huddled up for a brief moment to reset mentally. Defender Katie Lind said the season is about the journey, not the destination.
“Teams are smart,” defender Katie Lind said.
“They’re going to do everything they can to get a PK in this league. Forwards are going to make it look as realistic as possible. I think it was unfortunate that it took so long to get to the VAR. …So that’s all part of the game. We got to roll with the punches and do the best we can. But yeah, definitely now teams are looking to do that more often, so we got to be ready for that.”
Van Zanten debuts
It’s been a long time coming for midfielder Kiki Van Zanten, who made her season debut against Portland. Van Zanten was removed from the Season Ending Injury list early April after suffering a foot injury vs. the Washington Spirit in April of 2024.
Van Zanten made five total appearances last year, earning one start. She returned to the pitch in the 72nd minute, replacing Ryan Gareis. She almost made it a two-score game 10 minutes after entering but her right-footed shot from the center of the box just missed to the right.
“I thought she brought some good energy,” Gautrat said. “I think she could have had the second goal. I mean, that cut back from Avery I thought was great. And she’s, what, a couple yards off that. So I think if she scores that’s a different game. But we definitely had conversations, and I’m glad we actually got her some minutes under her belt.”
The Dash will host Bay FC next Saturday at 4 p.m. at Shell Energy Stadium.