(image via Houston Dash)
The Houston Dash won their final road match of the 2026 season, beating the Chicago Stars 3-1 on Friday night.
MATCH SUMMARY
Chicago Stars FC 1-3 Houston Dash
Friday, October 23, 2026
Venue: Northwestern Medicine Field - Evanston, Illinois
Referee: Adorae Monroy
Assistants: Bennett Savage, Zeno Cho
Fourth Official: Salvador Flores
VAR: Alyssa Pennington
Attendance: 5,961
Weather: 61 degrees, partly cloudy
SCORING SUMMARY
HOU: Leah Klenke (unassisted) 4’
HOU: Maggie Graham (Lisa Boattin) 54’
HOU: Clarissa Larisey (Kiki Van Zanten) 79’
CHI: Sam Staab (Emma Egizii) 90+3’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
HOU: Leah Klenke (caution; foul) 51’
HOU: Sarah Puntigam (caution; foul) 77’
CHI: Tessa Dellarose (caution; foul) 87’
LINEUPS & STATS
Chicago Stars FC: Alyssa Naeher (c); Tylor Wood (Anna Gasper 69'), Sam Stabb, Bea Franklin, Nádia Gomes; Mallory Swanson (Aaliyah Farmer 85’), Brianna Pinto, Tessa Dellarose (Maitane López 89’); Michelle Alozie, Simone Charley (Emma Egizii 46'), Micayla Johnson (Jenna Bike 69')
Unused substitutes: Katie Atkinson, Oihanne Valdezate, Elise Evans, Halle Mackiewicz, Maitane
Total shots: 8
Shots on goal: 3
Fouls: 17
Offside: 2
Corner kicks: 5
Saves: 2
Houston Dash: Jane Campbell (c); Lisa Boattin, Leah Klenke, Paige Nielsen, Natalie Hammond; Danny Colaprico (Sarah Puntigam 71’), Maggie Graham; Miljana Ivanović (Kiki Van Zanten 62'), Linda Ullmark (Allysha Chapman71’), Khyah Harper (Kat Rader 46'); Kate Faasse (Clarissa Larisey 62')
Unused Substitutes: Caroline DeLisle, Messiah Bright, Cate Hardin, Jordan Brewster
Total shots: 12
Shots on goal: 5
Fouls: 12
Offside: 2
Corner kicks: 2
Saves: 2
HOUSTON DASH INTERIM HEAD COACH JAIME FRIAS
On the match:
"We challenged the group to be more consistent, meaning trying to put more consistent minutes together in our performance. I think we did that today. I feel we dominated both halves, in the way that we attacked, and we defended. I would have liked for us to create more quality chances, more shots on goal with how much front third possession and territorial advantages that we took on this team. That's something that we can continue to work on, but really proud of the group for coming out, winning and getting the three points."
On the first goal of the match:
"We've been really good at set plays. Even when we weren't scoring, we were just a smidge off here and there from scoring. I think, Matt (Pickens) does a really good job with our set plays and our attacking, defending set plays. And, like you said, (Leah Klenke) was in the right place at the right time because we trained it. If she wouldn't have scored, somebody else would have scored, because we were filling the right spots. So, we're really happy for Leah. Just from a defending and attacking perspective, I think she put a more complete game together today, just like our team did. She helped us a great deal. Not only killing place as a defender but initiating our attack as well."
On Maggie Graham’s goal:
"Intuition. The player on the ball was Lisa (Boattin). She's got great experience. She's savvy in that way. That's not a set play that we trained, but we were set up. She heard the whistle. She saw Maggie open, and they were disorganized and not ready for that. So, kudos to both Lisa and Maggie (Graham) for being prepared and ready and for improvising on that set play. I thought it was a really good, well executed."
On the defense:
"We really limited their chances on goal. It's just such a bummer that we couldn't get the shutout. We need to be sharper in those moments. Especially, like seeing out games. We can be better. We can do better. But, for the majority of the game, for 92 minutes, we put a really good performance. Just looking at the stats, we really limited their chances and the chances that they did take were really predictable. Jane (Campbell) was in a great place to make those saves when they didn't take their opportunities."
On the win:
"I've always said this, for us; it doesn't matter whether we're in or out of the playoffs. We're always hunting to win. We're always hunting a good performance and a consistent performance. I think you saw that out of the group today, out of the team. It gives us great momentum going into our last match. That's what we challenged the group to do, is to continue the momentum and let this performance carry over to our Portland game this upcoming Sunday."
HOUSTON DASH DEFENDER LISA BOATTIN
On the match:
"The three points for sure. I think we approached the game really well and we came here with the opportunity to win the game and we did. So, we are really happy about that. We want to finish the season in the best way we can, because we have a responsibility with this badge. So, we have to take the responsibility to try to finish the best way we can."
On Maggie Graham’s goal:
"Not really (if the team worked on the play during training), because it happened to me at my last club. I remember that we were like, 'oh, what is it that we cannot do, because we tried to make a wall in front.' It's tough. Everyone thinks that we are going to shoot. I saw Maggie (Graham), she was completely free. So, I say okay, maybe I can just play faster, and I saw her and she scored. So amazing."
On shifting focus to the next game:
"We will not play the playoffs, which for us, we are sad about that, but we know that we had two more games. Now, we have just one and we have to finish in the best way we can, because we represent a big club in the league. So, we want just to finish in the best way. We are pros, so we don't need motivation. We know that we have to play every game and win. So, we are going to focus on the next game and how we are going to win the next game."
HOUSTON DASH MIDFIELDER MAGGIE GRAHAM
On the match:
"It's a great three point win for us. We really needed it for our confidence, and it shows that this team is capable of putting together a good performance, and hopefully we can carry that through the next game."
On her goal:
"I went over there (far post) because there was space over there for sure. I heard Jane (Campbell) screaming at me, 'get the ball.' I was like, wow, you're right. I looked at Lisa (Boattin), she saw me and I was like all right, let's just do it this way and it worked perfectly. So, props to Jane on my goal for sure."
On the team’s offense:
"I feel like we were a lot more fluid tonight than we have been. We were really moving off the ball for each other. Of course, we would have loved to have more goals in the run of play, but we were creating great things. The goal that Kiki (Van Zanten) and Clarissa (Larisey) created was a really beautiful goal. I'm just really proud of the two of them for putting that together and finishing that chance."
On the importance of the win:
"It's definitely a huge win. We've been talking a lot about diving in for this last part of the season and doing whatever we can to win these games. We're really doing it for ourselves and the people around us. To come today and win this game (against Chicago Stars FC) has been really great, and we're really hoping to bring that forward."
On the message for fans as they wrap up the 2026 season:
"The fans have been great this year. I'm hoping that they show up for one more game and hope that we can put together another 90-minute performance for them to pull out a win for them and celebrate what they've done for us this year."
