Tag: Rachel Daly

Rachel Daly leaves Houston Dash, signs with Aston Villa

The Dash’s all-time leading scorer is off to the WSL

After six-and-a-half years, Rachel Daly has left the Houston Dash, signing with Aston Villa in the Women’s Super League in England.

Villa on Tuesday announced that they had signed Daly to a three-year contract, paying Houston an unspecified transfer fee to complete the deal.

“My time in Houston has been a journey. Not many people can say they have played at the same club for seven years. I am honored to have worn orange for that length of time,” Daly told the Dash team site. “I absolutely love this club and the city of Houston. I have created memories that will last a lifetime. I feel happy knowing that I am leaving this club in a much better place than when I arrived. I can’t wait to see the future success of the Houston Dash. I want to thank everyone, from the bottom of my heart.”

In a personal statement posted to her Twitter account, Daly cited a desire to be closer to her family back in England as the motivation for the move.

“It pains me to say goodbye,” wrote Daly. “This past year for myself and my family has been incredibly tough. The silver lining has been bringing football home and getting the opportunity to be around family. This made me realize this is exactly what I needed, to be home.”

Daly leaves Houston as the club’s all-time leading goalscorer, having posted 37 regular season goals. She had been Houston’s captain for years, and was named MVP of the 2020 Challenge Cup, which saw the Dash win a trophy for the first time. Recently, Daly was a starter for England as they won Euro 2022 in what could be a landmark moment for women’s soccer in the country.

“This is a big signing for us and one we’ve worked hard on completing. Rachel is a top forward and a proven goalscorer,” said Villa manager Carla Ward in a team statement announcing the move. “Having performed admirably at full-back this summer, she showed us that she is a player you simply need in your team. But for us, she is a forward and we can’t wait to see her scoring goals.”

While losing your captain and all-time leading scorer in the middle of the season is never ideal, Houston seems to already have a solution in place. With Daly away with England, the Dash traded for Ebony Salmon, who has scored six times in five games since a midseason trade from Racing Louisville.

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England into Euro 2022 final after storming past Sweden 4-0

Ruthless finishing took England into the Euro 2022 final

A scintillating second half saw England smash Sweden 4-0, taking the hosts into the Euro 2022 final on Sunday.

A frenetic early pace actually favored Sweden, with Mary Earps kicking away a good look from Sofia Jakobsson within the first minute. Stina Blackstenius hit the crossbar shortly thereafter in an end-to-end opening.

Sweden had a distinct advantage in terms of chances, but England struck first in the 34th minute. A break up the left side from Rachel Daly and Lauren Hemp didn’t quite work out, but Lucy Bronze collected the ball before it went out and drove a cross back into the box for Beth Mead, who lashed home a half-volley, her sixth of the tournament.

England then got a further boost barely 70 seconds after the second half got underway. A corner to the back post found Lucy Bronze, whose header sneaked its way through a crowd before tucking into the bottom corner.

Mead—standing directly in front of Sweden goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl—was suspected of being offside, but a VAR check cleared the goal, giving England a 2-0 lead.

Hemp then cracked a point-blank sitter off the crossbar after being expertly set up by Alessia Russo. Earps robbed Sweden of a goal, but at the other end the hosts put the game to bed with an extraordinary goal in the 68th minute.

A sublime passing sequence seemed to set up a sure chance for Russo, only for the substitute to fire right at Lindahl. Sweden felt they had escaped, but Russo moved to the rebound and blindly backheeled it, catching Lindahl and everyone else by complete surprise to make it 3-0.

Lindahl’s day went from bad to worse as the veteran failed to catch Fran Kirby’s 76th minute lob, instead having to watch as it slowly bounced over the line for England’s fourth, giving the crowd in Sheffield the chance to start the party early.

England will face either Germany or France in the final, with those two playing their semifinal on Wednesday.

Watch all four of England’s goals

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