The NWSL playoffs started off with a bang, as a high-tension affair in front of a huge crowd saw the Kansas City Current stun the Houston Dash to sneak out with a 2-1 victory.
An early penalty kick from Lo’eau LaBonta silenced a huge Houston crowd, but Sophie Schmidt’s expertly-taken volley got the home side level in the 21st minute. Both teams then had numerous outstanding chances go narrowly awry, setting up a dramatic finish. In the tenth minute of stoppage time, Current wingback Kate Del Fava, with virtually the last kick of the game, guided a cross that sneaked past Ally Prisock over the line.
For Houston, it’s a truly hard-luck result. For one thing, it’s the latest stoppage-time game-winner in NWSL history. They also out-shot KC 20-6, and though the Dash had to dodge some bullets in what was an end-to-end game, they’ll also wonder how the heck they didn’t win this one.
“It is football, it was cruel with us today,” said Dash interim head coach Juan Carlos Amorós, and you could hardly argue with him. However, KC will want it put on the record that having AD Franch in the form of her life, and a standout display from veteran Kristen Edmonds, was also a big factor.
Here are four takeaways from this one, plus the highlights:
Dash’s day, regardless of the result
A team that has historically struggled to get any attention in Houston finally got the big stage. Yes, this team got some love for winning the 2020 Challenge Cup, but do you remember 2020? Covid safety measures meant fans were pulling up in their cars to applaud from a huge distance, and then everyone went back to toughing out a miserable year. That team celebrated hard, but they also celebrated in isolation.
Today, after years of near-misses, big misses, and frankly some neglect from their former owners, the Dash got their party. A crowd of 21,284 turned up for the first Houston playoff game ever, setting an NWSL record as well as a club record.
Official Houston Dash attendance: 21,284
The largest crowd at a #NWSL playoff match ever.
2nd largest Texas woo crowd – (behind USA v Mexico 2003)
— Theo Lloyd-Hughes (@theolloydhughes) October 16, 2022
The important thing here is that the Dash, for the first time in their existence, seem to have a way forward. There’s a path for this team to not just have this one playoff appearance before fading into mediocrity, but to be a year-after-year playoff team. Juan Carlos Amorós has found a system that works (and entertains), and numerous players have taken clear steps forward as individuals.
There is, in other words, reason for a casual fan to buy tickets, and that’s how you truly break through. The people that showed up to PNC Stadium for the first time got drama, tension, and end-to-end play. The tactical stalemate that infects so many knockout games in leagues everywhere was simply not part of the equation.
It’s a brutal loss, but for the Dash, it’s also the start of something.
NWSL Celebration of the Year watch
Lo’eau LaBonta appears to be dead set on making sure KC celebrates every goal, and Pro Soccer Wire is hopeful that this drive spreads league-wide.
This week, it’s a Rockettes tribute, as the Current’s celebrations are expanding into full-team productions rather than one person putting on a display.
THE CELLY TEAM STRIKES AGAIN 💃 pic.twitter.com/TqU2hpYBiq
— KC Current (@thekccurrent) October 16, 2022
Lavogez’s injury is a challenge
It wasn’t all good for Kansas City, who watched Claire Lavogez carried off with a worrisome-looking injury.
“Claire’s too early to tell,” KC coach Matt Potter told media after the match. Potter indicated that Lavogez did manage to come to the bench on crutches later in the second half, but it’s still a potentially difficult injury to navigate for the Current. As they’re currently built, Lavogez is the one player who sometimes slows the game down, adding a bit of pause to a team that can otherwise skew towards being go-go-go.
KC also struggled with the more human concern of seeing Lavogez in such obvious pain. Multiple Current players checked in on her, and it took the entire team about 15 minutes to regain their tempo and focus levels. Houston very nearly put themselves in front during this spell, and while the Current deserve massive credit for sorting themselves out, it also makes one wonder how they’ll cope if the French veteran is out next weekend when they take on OL Reign.
Salmon sub raises eyebrows
On one hand, Amorós made a bold substitution that nearly worked like a charm. In the 75th minute, he pulled Ebony Salmon — the Dash’s leading scorer — for veteran winger Elizabeth Eddy, moving Michelle Alozie into the vacated No. 9 role.
Alozie caused the KC back three fits, and in stoppage time found herself in alone on Franch. It’s exactly the situation you want for your striker, but Franch was in heroic form all night, and produced arguably her biggest save of the year to block Alozie’s angled shot. The Current would go on to score the winner six minutes or so later.
However, that’s the kind of chance Salmon has been burying since being traded from Racing Louisville, and like he said, sometimes the game is cruel. With Salmon having just returned from international duty with England, it’s fair to wonder whether 75 minutes was all she had to give on the day.
“I think we needed a bit more on that forward line. I think Liz was coming with fresh legs,” explained Amorós when asked directly about the choice. “Nothing more than a tactical, technical decision.”
Enjoy the highlights from a wild one
📼 absolute chaos from start to finish 📼#HOUvKC presented by @Nationwide pic.twitter.com/ZloHMAlKbt
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) October 17, 2022
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