The Houston Dash defeated the Texas A&M women's soccer team 1-0 at Houston Sports Park in a preseason scrimmage on Saturday morning.
Kealia Ohai opened the scoring in the seventh minute for the Dash. Forward Tiffany McCarty pounced on a mistake by the A&M backline and broke through into the penalty area before sliding a pass across the box to Ohai. The rookie forward took the pass and beat the Aggie keeper one-on-one with a low finish. It was her first goal of the preseason after assisting on a Teresa Noyola goal in Wednesday's 4-0 win over Rice University.
Ohai looked to have her second goal of the morning 10 minutes later when Ella Masar got to the endline and squared a ball to the middle of the box for a simple finish. The play was whistled dead, however, as A&M keeper Renée McDermott received a head injury challenging the initial cross. McDermott had to be tended to by athletic trainers for 10 minutes and had to be stretchered off the field, but gave the fans and her team a wave and a gig 'em as she was carted off.
The Dash created several chances throughout the half, but replacement goalkeeper Jordan Day was up to the task and made several fine saves. During first half stoppage time, Ohai again had a chance to net another goal as she received a flick-on from Masar off a throw-in. She dribbled to the center of the box and got off a quick shot from near the penalty spot, but Day reacted well to make a diving save.
A&M, the 2013 SEC champions, were held in check for the majority of the game and only got a couple of shots on goal, each easily handled by Dash keepers Erin McLeod and Bianca Henninger. The Dash have not conceded a goal in either of their first two preseason matches.
The Dash and Texas A&M will face each other once more this spring, on April 2 at Ellis Field in College Station, TX, in what will be the Dash's penultimate preseason fixture. The Dash return to action on Wednesday, March 26 to face the Dynamo Academy U-16 team at Houston Sports Park. The match is free and open to the public.
Houston Dynamo vs. Texas A&M University
March 22, 2014—Houston Sports Park, Houston, TX
NWSL Preseason
Scoring Summary:
Houston: Kealia Ohai 1 (Tiffany McCarty 1) 7
Houston Dash: Erin McLeod (Bianca Henninger 46); Arianna Romero, Holly Hein* (Anisa Guajardo* 75), Emilee O'Neill* (Marissa Diggs 46), Nikki Washington (Jordan Jackson 59); Brittany Bock (Tori McCombs* 65), Jordan Jackson (Teresa Noyola 46), Becky Edwards (Dominique Richardson* 65); Tiffany McCarty (Kealia Ohai 63, Sara Campbell* 75), Ella Masar (Lindsay Elston* 56), Kealia Ohai (Stephanie Ochs 46)
*Trialist
Texas A&M University:
Starters: Renée McDermott; Karlie Mueller, Grace Wright, Meghan Streight, Leigh Edwards; Bianca Brinson, Stephanie Malherbe, Janae Cousineau, Kelley Monogue, Allie Bailey; Annie Kunz
Substitutes: Jordan Day, Haley Pounds, Mikaela Harvey, Ashlynn Harryman
Disciplinary Summary:
None.
