Houston Dash vs Chicago Stars FC: Highlights, stats, and quotes
(image via Houston Dash)
The Houston Dash matched a club record with a dominant 5-0 win over the Chicago Stars at Shell Energy Stadium on Wednesday night.
MATCH SUMMARY
Houston Dash 5-0 Chicago Stars FC
Wednesday, August 19, 2026
Venue: Shell Energy Stadium - Houston, Texas
Referee: John Matto
Assistants: Tiffini Turpin, Chris Schurfranz
Fourth Official: Kaitlyn Trowbridge
VAR: Promise Adebayo-Ige
Attendance: 5,214
Weather: 93 degrees, clear
SCORING SUMMARY
HOU: Kat Rader (Avery Patterson) 4’
HOU: Kat Rader (Clarissa Larisey) 42’
HOU: Linda Ullmark (Kiki Van Zanten) 45+2’
HOU: Kate Faasse (Miljana Ivanovic) 79’
HOU: Lisa Boattin (Miljana Ivanovic) 90+1’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
CHI: Sam Staab (caution; foul) 45+2’
HOU: Danielle Colaprico (caution; foul) 62’
LINEUPS & STATS
Houston Dash: Jane Campbell; Lisa Boattin, Leah Klenke, Natalie Hammond, Avery Patterson; Kiki Van Zanten (Miljana Ivanovic 61), Maggie Graham (Sarah Puntigam 75’), Danielle Colaprico (Cate Hardin 82’), Linda Ullmark; Kat Rader (Khyah Harper 61’), Clarissa Larisey (Kate Faasse 61’)
Unused substitutes: Caroline DeLisle, Allysha Chapman, Messiah Bright, Paige Nielsen
Total shots: 11
Shots on goal: 7
Fouls: 6
Offside: 2
Corner kicks: 3
Saves: 3
Chicago Stars FC: Katie Atkinson; Leila Ouahabi, Sam Staab, Aaliyah Farmer, Taylor Wood; Nadia Gomes (Michelle Alozie 68’), Maitane Lopez, Manaka Hayashi (Tessa Dellarose 46’), Mallory Swanson (Macayla Johnson 68’); Brianna Pinto (Anna Gasper 68’), Jameese Joseph (Jenna Bike 81’)
Unused Substitutes: Alyssa Naeher, Elise Evans, Bea Franklin, Emma Egizii
Total shots: 12
Shots on goal: 3
Fouls: 16
Offside: 3
Corner kicks: 5
Saves: 2
HOUSTON DASH HEAD COACH FABRICE GAUTRAT
On the match:
“It speaks for itself. I'm really proud of the group in a lot of ways. A lot of what we've been working on has come together. We talked about the kind of mentality we wanted to have going into the game, and I thought they showed it from the first minute to the last. In the second half, I thought bringing in someone like Sarah (Puntigam) with her experience and composure really settled down the game. You started seeing a lot more chances being created. Overall, I’m really pleased with the performance.”
On the tactical changes made during the game:
“I don't think it was anything tactical. It was just what's the mentality we want to have in the second half. We knew we wanted to bring on some players around the 60th minute mark, and I thought they helped lift the group up. The players took ownership of the mentality they wanted to have for the full 90 minutes. Kudos to the entire team for that.”
On Kat Rader and her success this season:
“Early on in the year, you're still figuring out the pieces and who goes where. Sometimes you lose a couple of players, and I think her (Kat Rader) playing more central has been really key to her creating those chances on goal. She's very comfortable between lines. She can also stretch those lines, and I think part of it has been her consistency. As we get clearer in terms of what we're trying to do, she understands which spaces to exploit and where to be in the box. A lot of it's coming to fruition. The biggest thing for her is her composure in front of the goal. She's so calm and composed, and she knows she's going to bury it, which I think is huge to have on our team.”
On peaking at the right time this season:
“We're definitely pleased. Right now, the mindset is, can we repeat performances? I think great teams can stack great performances. For us, it’s what will the game on Sunday look like? I think it’s about having that type of mentality, and not so much momentum and hype. It’s just one game at a time. That's all we're thinking of right now. Can we repeat what we did today (on Sunday).”
HOUSTON DASH GOALKEEPER JANE CAMPBELL
On the match:
"Great win, that was huge. Coming off the North Carolina (Courage) game, we wanted to keep the momentum going. We've got a tough stretch of travel and games coming up, so it was great to get a big win at home. Now we're on the road again to Bay (FC), and hopefully we'll do it again."
On the clean sheet:
“I don't know exactly what the stats show, I think they'll probably credit me with one, maybe two saves all game, but that's a huge testament to the team. I didn't have to make a save until the 70th minute or something. So, that's a huge clean sheet for the whole group. That may go under my name, but that's a team defensive shutout for sure. I'm super thankful my team is in front of me because they made my job easy tonight."
On communication with the backline:
"Chicago (Stars FC) had a lot of rotations, especially in the first half. They obviously have super dangerous players up top with Mal (Mallory Swanson), Jameese (Joseph), and Pinto (Brianna Pinto), they threw in their subs, and Michelle (Alozie) came in up top and she has a lot of talent. For us, it was just making sure we were organized with all of their rotations and all of their movements. They're really quick and explosive. Defensively and offensively, they can do a lot of harmful things. We really just wanted to limit their space and time on the ball, and I thought the back four especially did a great job at that."
On the team’s recent results since the World Cup break:
"Hindsight's always 20/20. There are so many things we could have done better and things we did well before the World Cup break. Looking at the bigger picture, we knew it was going to take a little bit of time this year to get the group to mesh. Don't get me wrong, these are two really good results, but we're nowhere near (our best) and in a good way. We have so much talent. We have a lot of growth to do and players that want to get better every day and we're performing well, but that doesn't mean much. We haven't achieved anything. I don't want to take away from the win tonight, but we knew in the early stages of the season it probably wasn't going to be a super pretty start. A big goal of ours as we started this year was can we eventually peak come November. We're on the right trajectory, which is great, and that's what we want to keep striving for. If we hit a speed bump or hit a roadblock, that's going to happen, and it's just how we respond and how we can come together to learn from that little speed bump game or whatever it may be and get better for the next performance. I don't think there was one specific thing to do with anything before the World Cup break, but I think we're just trying to find our stride and keep the momentum going each game and each training. We learn something new to get as close to perfection as we can by November."
HOUSTON DASH FORWARD KAT RADER
On the match:
“I’m super-duper proud of the team. I feel like it was a great performance from start to finish, and obviously huge to get not only a clean sheet but a lot of goals. I’m just really happy to get three points in a midweek game at home after another win earlier in the week.”
On the message at half time:
“Our biggest message was go into the second half like it's 0-0. We wanted to win each half, and we won the first half, but then we needed to win the second half too, and put more goals away, and we did that. So super proud of the team.”
On her second goal:
“I just got myself in a good position in the box, and that's something we've been working on a lot in training. Arriving into the box and getting in a good spot for the crosses. I was in the right spot, and then the defender kind of came hard, so I knew I had to maneuver my way to stretch around her, and then just try to get a quick shot off as soon as I got past her.”
On the rookies:
“We're all super close. We are always together at the facility. We do stuff outside of the facility together, and it's so awesome to have them not only socially and outside of the field but to also go through this journey together. They're the first people I go to when I want to rant about something or when I'm excited. They always have my back, and I will always have theirs. It's super special to be able to go through this rookie year with such an awesome group.”
