Houston Dash vs. Red Stars Preview: Dash kick the season off at home

The Houston Dash open the season at home on Saturday the same way they did last season: against the Chicago Red Stars.

During their opening game last season, the Dash pulled ahead and won 3-1 against the Red Stars giving the season a promising start that seemingly quickly fell apart not too many games further into the season. The Dash missed out for a third consecutive time on a playoff run.

The Dash look to open this season with a win against Chicago to hopefully set the tone for the rest of the 2017 season. In their last meet up of the 2016 season, the Red Stars scored in just the second minute and Houston ended the game with a late Rachel Daly equalizing goal to secure a 1-1 draw.

Last season, the Dash finished 8^th overall with a 6-10-4 record while the Red Stars finished 3^rd overall with a 9-5-6 record. Key returners like Kealia Ohai who led the team with 11 goals and 4 assists last year and Morgan Brian who played over a thousand minutes last season are likely to set an attacking, fast pace early in the game in front of a home crowd. Houston looks like they might have a lot to prove after finishing No. 7 in the league on defense, but with new defensive additions like Janine Van Wyk and 2017 college draftees Jane Campbell and Erin Smith, Dash fans can expect big defensive plays during the season opener.

The game kicks off at 1:00 pm CT on Saturday at BBVA Compass Stadium