Angel City drew the Houston Dash 0–0 tonight in a chippy game that saw Houston go down to 10 players but hold on for the draw. The game marked Angel City’s second shutout of the season.
'It was really good for us to keep a clean sheet,' said Interim Head Coach Becki Tweed after the game. 'I think we had opportunities to win. Sometimes when you play against 10 players, it can become a little slippy… we just have to be more ruthless in the final third.'
'It was a super physical game,' said midfielder Lily Nabet after the match. 'Both sides were trying to figure out how to break each other down, and we need to do better at building out and finding our players and calming the game down.'
Angel City dominated the early minutes of the game and had the first quality chance of the match in the 10th minute. Defender Ali Riley played a pass up the wing to forward Alyssa Thompson. She sprinted forward and sent a through ball into the box for forward Sydney Leroux, who took a one-time shot that keeper Jane Campbell blocked out for a corner kick.
In the 15th minute, the Dash had a chance in transition when forward Diana Ordóñez stole the ball in the midfield and charged into the box with keeper DiDi Haračić off her line. Haračić sprinted back quickly enough to cut down Ordóñez’s angle, and the striker’s shot went wide of the far post.
The final chance of the half came in the 41st minute when McCaskill played a ball over the top for Ertz on the six-yard line, who headed it across the face of goal to Leroux, whose sliding attempt on goal bounced well over the bar. After more than seven minutes of stoppage time, the half came to a close with zero shots on goal for either team.
That changed early in the second half as Ertz intercepted a Houston pass and played a short diagonal pass to Leroux as she made a run into the box. Leroux took a touch to control the ball and took a hard shot that Campbell jumped and tipped over the bar.
In the 58th minute, Houston defender Katie Lind was awarded a red card following a video review of a foul against Leroux that was initially called a yellow, with the center official ruling the foul a denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
Defender Jasmyne Spencer, who had subbed into the game in the 61st minute as a forward, put a shot on frame in the 69th minute. Midfielder Dani Weatherholt took a hard shot from just outside the box that was initially blocked; Spencer ran onto the loose ball and took a shot from inside the 18 that went over the bar.
Thompson had a near miss in the 77th minute when she received a diagonal ball by Weatherholt, dribbled into the box, and shot between several defenders, hitting the post.
Houston came close in the 81st minute when forward Ebony Salmon made a steal and sprinted into space in the box—but her shot also hit the crossbar.
Ertz said Houston being down to 10 players affected that play.
'When you're down a player, you just naturally have to sit in defensively,' she said. 'But on the other end, that means we send more numbers and are more aggressive, so that also it opens [us] up. I think that happened on the one that hit the post.'
Despite the number of chances for Angel City, the game ended with few shots on goal on either side—just three for the home team, and none for Houston.
'They made it really difficult,' said Nabet. 'Just a low block and compact in the middle. We got some shots off, we hit the post a few times, and their keeper made a great save. So yeah, it's unfortunate and it's pretty frustrating, but we move on to the next one.'
Angel City plays next on Wednesday, June 28, when they host the San Diego Wave for a Challenge Cup game. That match will be broadcast on CBS Sports. Tickets are available here.