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After a two-hour lightning delay, Rachel Daly scored a brace to lead the Houston Dash to a 3-1 victory over the Orlando Pride on Wednesday night at BBVA Compass Stadium.
Daly opened the scoring in the 17th minute. The Dash forward received a through ball from Kealia Ohai, made a long run towards goal and tucked her finish past a diving Ashlyn Harris and into the back of the net.
Back at it in Houston and @RachelDaly3 was ready to play. Goal, @HoustonDash!#HOUvORL | #NWSL pic.twitter.com/jXw08qo6Aw
— NWSL (@NWSL) July 12, 2018
She continued her strong play at the start of the second half, placing a left-footed chip into the side netting. Five minutes later, Daly collected her brace with a goal on a volley attempt. After Harris punched away Houston’s initial attempt, Daly volleyed the ball into the top corner to give Houston a 2-0 lead.
.@RachelDaly3 is ready to go for the start of the second half and looking for a brace.#HOUvORL | #NWSL pic.twitter.com/TSK2fQnYYl
— NWSL (@NWSL) July 12, 2018
Sydney Leroux got one back for Orlando with a goal in the 55th minute. After Orlando’s corner kick was cleared away by Allysha Chapman, Shelina Zadorsky sent the ball back into the box and Leroux converted her header.
The @ORLPride are right back in this one. @sydneyleroux heads in the ball off the CK and it's now 2–1 in Houston.#HOUvORL | #NWSL pic.twitter.com/rw7xcGL0Bp
— NWSL (@NWSL) July 12, 2018
Daly nearly completed a hat-trick in stoppage time netting another 1v1 attempt past Harris but her goal was disallowed due to a late offside call. A minute later, Thembi Kgatlana found herself on a 1v1 break and slotted her finish past Harris for a 3-1 Dash lead.
.@KgatlanaJnr11 adds the third for the @HoustonDash to wrap this one up at home!#HOUvORL | #NWSL pic.twitter.com/hhkMfo2NSl
— NWSL (@NWSL) July 12, 2018
The match finished on a sour note as a frustrated Marta pushed Rachel Daly and was sent off with a straight red card.
With the victory, Houston still remain in seventh place in the standings (5-5-5, 20 points) but now sit just five points behind the Chicago Red Stars who hold the final playoff spot.
We will. We will. Rock you.
— Houston Dash (@HoustonDash) July 12, 2018
A brace from @RachelDaly3 and a stoppage time goal from @KgatlanaJnr11 gives us a 3-1 win on #Dash70s Night. #HOUvORL | #DashOn pic.twitter.com/nVjYue4Rt3
The Dash will look to start a winning streak on the road on Sunday against Portland Thorns FC at Providence Park. Kickoff is scheduled for 10 pm CT.