Busting the opposition’s morale in your yard is one thing; traveling all the way there and coming out victorious in a scrappy fight? That takes resilience. The Orlando Pride defeated the Houston Dash at their home ground. With new coach Yolanda Thomas in charge, the Pride have developed a gritty attitude, which helped them come out as victors in this match.
If the Dash had any hope of settling down quickly, they should have realized they were mistaken after the first moments of the game. Orlando pressed really well, and they caused problems for the Dash from the very beginning. In the 16th minute, Orlando won a penalty when they caused utter chaos in the box. It was midfielder Luana who took the spot kick, and she executed it flawlessly, sending goalkeeper Jane Campbell into submission to give them the 1-0 lead.
However, the most notable aspect of this half was 20-year-old Solai Washington’s performance. In the September meeting between these two teams, the Pride scored the only two goals during this game with Solai Washington as the key player. Coming off the bench, she caused Houston all kinds of problems towards the end of the game, and Yolanda Thomas trusted her instincts when he decided to put Washington right from the opening whistle. In the 31st minute, Washington received Marta’s beautiful through ball to score the second goal of the night. Her speed proved to be too much for Houston as she ran circles all night. At the end of the half, frustrated Houston defenders were forced to pay for her performance when Paige Nielsen received her second yellow card in the 45th minute.
There always was a certainty that Houston would not lay down easily. In the break between the halves, interim head coach Jaime Frias probably gave his team a little lecture as they were losing 0-2 to Orlando. In the 47th minute, Houston made three big substitutions to boost their attack: they brought Kate Faasse, Linda Ullmark, and Khyah Harper.
In the 55th minute, Houston’s substitutions paid off greatly as midfielder Danielle Colaprico scored the team’s only goal, thus making a difference in this game. However, despite their efforts to maintain momentum, Houston could not tie the score in this game. Despite all the pressure they kept putting on them, the Pride managed to keep their composure.
Yolanda Thomas made timely substitutions to counter Houston’s attack: he pulled Solai Washington and Jacquie Ovalle into the game in the 73rd minute to keep their attack safe. All of Houston’s attempts to push Orlando off the ball in the final minutes failed, as Orlando successfully absorbed this second-half pressure and defended their lead until the whistle, sealing a 2-1 victory for their team.
Orlando won this match because the Pride proved that they did not need to control the ball to score. They capitalized on their opportunities with lethal precision; Luana’s penalty and Solai Washington’s goal (after Marta’s perfect through ball) perfectly illustrate it.
Ahead of this clash, coach Yolanda Thomas was fully aware of the dangers they would be facing against Houston, and she warned the players about their opponent’s character: “They’re still a team that frankly no one had expectations of. So I think they have shown up for every game. And I doubt that changes.” Thomas had his players mentally ready to get hit; when Houston finally reacted with fury in the second half, the Pride survived it.
For the second time this season, Houston couldn’t deal with Orlando in the second half because they had already put themselves in a very difficult position in the first 45 minutes.
It’s a typical trend in the Houston game plan that they do not enter games properly, and they struggle to stay focused during the entire match. Conceding a penalty in the 16th minute effectively killed their plans. While the Dash players displayed great heart in the second half and their manager made great tactical decisions to help them get closer, this hole they dug was too big for them to handle.
Speaking of this match and Orlando’s victory, we have to highlight the Solai Washington’s influence because it shows us how this Orlando Pride team has grown despite the bad results lately. Solai proved once again that she is a premium closer, and the way Yolanda Thomas used her in this match showed us how she wants to turn her into one of the team’s weapons.
This girl is playing with such confidence that elevates her whole team and makes them look better, and the way the players react to her on the pitch shows how effective her work is.
Gotham is next! Vamos Pride!
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