Soccer News: Flash’s Three-Game Unbeaten Streak Snapped
The Western New York Flash fell on the road Saturday night, as the host Houston Dash came away with a 2-0 victory at BBVA Compass Stadium. Following a 12-day league hiatus for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, it was the first game back for both teams as both the Flash (3-4-1, 10 points) and Dash (3-2-4, 13 points) last played exactly two weeks ago.
Houston added a goal on each side of the half, with Jessica McDonald breaking the deadlock in the 39th minute. McDonald, who was denied earlier in the half on a stellar save from Chantel Jones, got her head on an Ellie Brush cross and tucked the ball inside the upper, left 90 to make it 1-0.
Kealia Ohai then added an insurance goal for Houston in the 63rd minute on a shot to the far post that Jones was unable to fully reach.
“We’ve got to do better; we outshot our opponent and I think we had the better possession, but we didn’t manage and we didn’t defend situations well,” said Flash general manager and head coach Aaran Lines. “We’ll take that one on the chin, regroup and look to get our first road win next week in Boston.”
Despite taking 15 shots in the game, the Flash were held to just one on target as Bianca Henninger and the Dash defense picked up its fourth shutout of the year.
Jamia Fields had a chance in the 30th minute for the Flash after bringing the ball just inside the penalty area. The forward took a quick shot with her left foot but it went wide of the far post.
In the 58th minute, Lynn Williams created space on the right side and fed the ball in to Jasmyne Spencer who was open in the 18. However, Spencer was unable to connect on the volley as her shot went high of the net. Minutes later, Samantha Mewis found a gap in the Dash backline and took a distance shot but her low attempt whistled wide of the right post.
Jones, who started her second-consecutive match for the Flash on Saturday night, made a number of strong saves in the game including the early stop on McDonald. After the Dash forward found a shooting lane at the top of the box, Jones dove to her left, tipping the attempt away and off of the right post to keep the game 0-0 at that point.
With the Flash pushing forward on a late-game corner kick, Ohai broke free on a counterattack and tested Jones on a breakaway. The goalkeeper was not only able to deny Ohai her second goal of the game, but Jones recovered to make a quick, second save on amateur player Allie Bailey’s rebound attempt just feet away from the goal.
Jones finished with a season-high six saves in the contest, while the Flash held an 8-2 advantage on corner kicks. Abby Dahlkemper and Spencer both posted three shots on the night.
The Flash will look for its first road win of the season in Boston on Sunday, June 28 as the club faces the Breakers for the second time this season. The game will kickoff at 5:00 p.m. ET at Soldiers Field Soccer Stadium. Western New York returns home on July 3 when it hosts Seattle Reign FC at Sahlen’s Stadium.
