BY CANDY PARKER
Lesbian.com
There were a handful of games in the NWSL over the holiday weekend, starting with a match-up between Chicago (5-2-1) and Houston (1-7-1) Friday night. The Red Stars extended their win streak to four with a 3-1 win over the home team Dash.
Chicago got scores from Vanessa DiBernardo, Alyssa Mautz and Jen Hoy in the very physical contest which saw multiple fouls called on each side. Ella Masar had the only tally for the Dash.
Chicago secured the 2nd place spot in the NWSL rankings with the win.
Action continued Saturday with Sky Blue FC (2-3-4) defeating Portland Thorns FC (4-2-2) 1-0 in front of a crowd of 13,427 in Portland’s Providence Park.
The game’s lone score came after a foul was called against Thorns FC in the 84th minute. Christie Rampone took the free kick, playing a long ball into the box. Wide open defender Kelley O’Hara headed the ball past Portland goalkeeper Nadine Angerer to secure the win.
Sky Blue FC vs. Portland Thorns FC highlights
Sunday featured two games, with FC Kansas City (4-4-3) traveling to Boston (1-6-0) to defeat the Breakers 2-0 and the visiting New York Flash (3-3-2) playing to a 2-2 draw against Seattle Reign FC (7-0-2).
In Boston, the teams played a scoreless first half before FC Kansas City’s Nikki Philllips capitalized on a corner kick at the 62’ mark to put her team up 1-0. The goal was Phillips’ first in her professional career.
Twenty minutes later, Amy Rodriguez secured the Kansas City win with a drive past Boston keeper Alyssa Naeher. The score came off an assist from Jen Buczkowski.
FC Kansas City vs. Boston Breakers highlights
Meanwhile in Seattle, a game featuring USWNT superstars Abby Wambach and Hope Solo ended in a draw as the Flash controlled play for much of the contest against league points leader Seattle. The contest ended a two-game losing streak for Western New York, allowing them to earn their first point in the final game of their three-game road trip.
Wambach came up big for the Flash, factoring in both Western New York goals. At the 17’ mark, Wambach took advantage of a defensive miscue by Kendall Fletcher who failed to clear the ball from the Seattle penalty area. Wambach took the mishit and drilled a shot past Solo.
Later, Wambach served up the assist on Carli Lloyd’s score in the 62nd minute, a goal which put the Flash up until very late in the game.
Seattle’s offense came from Jessica Fishcock who scored in the 45th minute and Kim Little who assured the draw with a goal at the 92’ mark.
Western New York Flash vs. Seattle Regin FC highlights
Finally, Memorial Day saw one game as the Washington Spirit (4-4-1) rallied late to secure a 3-2 win over the Houston Dash (1-7-1).
Washington jumped out to an early lead on a score from Diana Matheson in the 4th minute. Eight minutes later, the Dash evened the scoring on a Nina Burger goal.
Jodie Taylor secured the half-time lead for the Spirit on a goal at the 38’ mark off an assist from Christine Naim, but Houston fought back to even things up in the 77th minute with a tally from Osinachi Ohale.
It appeared the contest could end in a draw, but at the 93’ mark in stoppage time Naim notched a score of her own to put Washington ahead for good.
Houston Dash vs. Washington Spirit highlights
Upcoming NWSL action includes:
Wednesday, May 28
Chicago Red Stars vs. Sky Blue FC
Portland Thorns FC vs. Boston Breakers
Saturday, May 31
Houston Dash vs. Western New York Flash
Sunday, June 1
Seattle Reign FC vs. Sky Blue FC
Washington Spirit vs. Boston Breakers
