Houston Dash Insider: Building on Small Success

Monday morning I woke up feeling like we had just won the World Cup.  Yeah, I know it’s a vast exaggeration but I never thought it would feel so good to come away with a single point.  To draw against a team in their stadium who two weeks prior handed it to us 4-0 at home feels pretty alright and to do it in our usual come-from-behind fashion makes it even better.

Jordan Jackson scored her first professional goal in front of a hometown crowd and Tiffany McCarty nailed one that was an exact replica of a finishing activity her, Kika Toulouse, and I worked on last Thursday.  And by “finishing activity” I mean that I let her score on me—more than once (You’re welcome, Tiff).  So between the 2-2 draw at FC Kansas City and the really, rather unlucky 1-0 loss to Portland, things are on the up for us.

Friday we rematch the Chicago Red Stars at BBVA Compass (7pm Kickoff) and this will be a true test of just how positive things are.  We had a tough 1-0 loss in Chicago earlier this season and they have made it very clear that they are capable of scoring goals aplenty (3-1 and 4-1 against Boston, for instance).  Their defense has had a few costly errors but for the most part they have been a very solid team.  NWSL Power Rankings this week had them at #2.  Karina LeBlanc (who, by the way, I am a pretty outspoken fan of—just not this week) has played well for them in goal and with Melissa Tancredi in the mix, we will certainly have our hands full—but nothing we can’t handle.

In preparation for the game, several of us are manning the phone lines this week to reach out to previous ticket buyers, thank them for their support, and urge them to come back out.  Many of the awesome Houstonians (and a few Austinites) fortunate enough to get a cold call from yours truly have already purchased tickets for our game and that’s really encouraging.  Thank you.  And thank you for the great soccer conversation, too.  Lots of excitement out there!

A few devoted fans (@Dynomaam and @KaustinSoccer) have started a Twitter contest, open to anyone interested, to see who can sell the most tickets to the game.  Winner gets a pair of my gloves with signatures from all four members of the Dash Goalkeepers’ Union (best looking…er, most outgoing… Union in the league).  I urge all of you to use the hashtag #DashSeats with the number of friends/family you have persuaded to join us Friday night—I hear goalkeeper gloves are a great conversation starter.

In closing this week’s inside look, I wanted to take an opportunity to talk a little bit about the long weekend.  With school and final exams coming to a close, I look forward to seeing more of you out and about at BBVA Compass for both our team and our brothers on the Dynamo.  Please remember to be safe, don’t drink and drive, and wear your sun block!  And, please take a moment to reflect on Memorial Day and what it means to you.  For me personally, I have the opportunity to freely do what I love every single day because of the sacrifices of so many of our Servicemen and women and their families.  I humbly ask that you keep those sacrifices in mind this weekend and please celebrate smartly.

Thank you and Dash on!