Houston Dash vs Utah Royals FC: Highlights, stats, and quotes
(image via Houston Dash)
The Houston Dash’s losing streak reached three games after a 1-0 loss to Utah Royals FC on Saturday night at Shell Energy Stadium.
MATCH SUMMARY
Houston Dash 0-1 Utah Royals FC
Saturday, September 12, 2026
Venue: Shell Energy Stadium - Houston, Texas
Referee: Servando Berna
Assistants: Ricardo Ocampo, Joe Suchoski
Fourth Official: Gloria Martinez Resendiz
VAR: Danielle Chesky
Attendance: 6,637
Weather: 88 degrees, clear skies
SCORING SUMMARY
UTA: Mina Tanaka (Nuria Rabano) 68’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
HOU: Avery Patterson (caution; delaying a restart) 52’
HOU: Danny Colaprico (caution; foul) 58’
HOU: Paige Nielsen (caution; foul) 89’
LINEUPS & STATS
Houston Dash: Jane Campbell (c); Avery Patterson, Paige Nielsen, Leah Klenke. Allysha Chapman (Natalie Hammond 67’); Danny Colaprico, Sarah Puntigam (Cate Hardin 81’); Maggie Graham (Clarissa Larisey 81’), Kat Rader, Kiki Van Zanten (Khyah Harper 67’); Kate Faasse (Miljana Ivanović 87’)
Unused substitutes: Caroline DeLisle, Messiah Bright, Lisa Boattin, Jordan Brewster
Total shots: 4
Shots on goal: 0
Fouls: 12
Offside: 4
Corner kicks: 2
Saves: 5
Utah Royals FC: Mia Justus; Nuria Rabano, Kaleigh Riehl, Kate Del Fava (c), Miyabi Moriya (Paige Cronin 68’); Ana Tejada, Mina Tanaka, Narumi Miura (Madison Hammond 90+1’); Cloé Lascasse, Kiana Palacios (Jameese Joseph 68’), Cece Delzer (Brecken Mozingo 79’)
Unused Substitutes: Mandy McGlynnm, Tatumn Milazzo, Kameron Simmonds, Courtney Brown, Alexa Spaanstra
Total shots: 17
Shots on goal: 6
Fouls: 15
Offside: 2
Corner kicks: 7
Saves: 0
HOUSTON DASH HEAD COACH FABRICE GAUTRAT
On the match:
“We played against a very good team (Utah Royals FC), and we definitely fell short. They (Utah Royals FC) deserve the win. It was tough and I thought we played them tight."
On how the team will approach training to prepare for the upcoming road trip:
"We have to regroup and see what we need to do. Obviously, some of that will depend on who we play and what we need to do tactically. The biggest thing is, in order to score goals, you need to get into the box. I thought we got into the final third 40 times, but only had 11 touches in the box. If you look at the last game, we got into the final third 75 times and only had 16 touches in the box. So, we need to keep finding ways to get from the final third into the box. Some of that could come from individual superiority, and some of it could come from combination play. Those are a few things we'll need to work on this week."
On the team’s morale:
"Look, it starts with one. In this league, you can go on positive or negative streaks, and I think the biggest thing is focusing on the next game. One solid performance, one win, that can start the surge."
HOUSTON DASH DEFENDER PAIGE NIELSEN
On the match:
"First off, we knew this was going to be a tough game. Every game is like a final to us. It's really hard to get your momentum back after you lose disappointing games, but we have to reset and focus on the next match. This is a crucial part of the season, and I guess the teams that come on top continue to win the small moments. We had some good moments, but it's about every single small moment to win, and that comes with experience. That comes with growing together. I'm really proud of this group. We've grown a lot this year, but so have other teams. So how can we take that next step and start to prove that we can be the top half of the league.”
On what ways the team can improve in attack:
"That's a hard question. I think there are moments, and I think player relationship, eye contact. I'm not going to pretend that we have young players, but the movements need to be sharper. There needs to be more eye contact, and those relationships build over time. It doesn't just take a year. It takes two years. It takes three years. If you look at a side like Utah, they were at the bottom a year or two ago, and now they are succeeding with almost the same group. So, I have a lot of hope in this young side, and we're going to continue to improve. You should see training. Now we gotta put how we train into the games.”
HOUSTON DASH DEFENDER AVERY PATTERSON
On the match:
"We defended for the majority of (the game). Couldn't really get much possession under our belts, but I think that changed, and our mentality changed in the second half. So, I'm proud of us for adjusting to what they gave us, and we were higher up the field. We were winning the ball in better spaces, getting better chances in the final third, and you know we prevented a really good Utah team for 89 minutes of a 90-minute game. Games come down to big moments, and they took their opportunity."
On her mindset once Utah scored:
"When are we going to score? Because I think that's been the theme for us all season. You know, not underdogs, but comeback kids almost. Because we've gone down like that a couple times, especially in the second half of the season. So, it wasn't like a deflating huddle. It was more of like a 'when are we going to get a next goal?' So, that's probably what popped into my mind first, and I think that's probably what popped into everyone's mind. So again, I'm proud of that mentality from everyone."
On the moral energy of the team going forward:
"Every game is going to be treated like a championship game. It's win or die at this point, so we don't have anything to lose. When a team has that mentality, I think they're super dangerous. We're going on the road. I think to Boston next. So hopefully we'll be able to come out with three points there."
