Houston Dash vs Portland Thorns FC: Highlights, stats, and quotes
(image via Houston Dash)
The Houston Dash opened a two-match homestand on Friday night, losing 4-1 to the Portland Thorns.
MATCH SUMMARY
Houston Dash 1-4 Portland Thorns FC
Friday, May 16, 2025
Venue: Shell Energy Stadium - Houston, Texas
Referee: Shawn Tehini
Assistants: Katarzyna Wasiak, Seun Yinka-Kehinde
Fourth Official: Kaitlyn Trowbridge
VAR: Abdou Ndiaye
Attendance: 6,217
Weather: 87 degrees, sunny
SCORING SUMMARY
POR: Pietra Tordin (Mimi Alidou) 26’
POR: Payon Linnehan (Sam Coffey) 30’
POR: Sam Coffey (penalty kick) 53’
POR: Caiya Hanks (Reyna Reyes) 54’
HOU: Sam Hiatt (own goal) 75’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
POR: Pietra Tordin (caution; foul) 58’
LINEUPS & STATS
Houston Dash: Abby Smith; Christen Westphal (Paige Nielsen 61’), Katie Lind (c), Natalie Jacobs, Avery Patterson; Delanie Sheehan, Danielle Colaprico (Sarah Puntigam 72’), Maggie Graham (Evelina Duljan 61’); Ryan Garies (Kiki Van Zanten 72’), Messiah Bright (Michelle Alozie 61’), Bárbara Olivieri
Unused substitutes: Jane Campbell, Sophie Schmidt, Belle Briede, Rebeca
Total shots: 8
Shots on goal: 2
Fouls: 12
Offside: 2
Corner kicks: 2
Saves: 3
Portland Thorns FC: Bella Bixby; Reyna Reyes, Mallie Mckenzie, Sam Hiatt, Kaitlyn Torpey; Sam Coffey (c) (Sophie Hirst 63’), Hina Sugita (Olivia Moultrie 63’), Caiya Hanks (Alexa Spaanstra 63’), Payton Linnehan (Jessie Fleming 46’), Mimi Alidou; Pietra Tordin (Deyna Castellanos 76’)
Unused Substitutes: Isabella Obaze, Jayden Perry, Morgan Messner, Reilyn Turner
Total shots: 14
Shots on goal: 7
Fouls: 9
Offside: 1
Corner kicks: 1
Saves: 1
HOUSTON DASH HEAD COACH FABRICE GAUTRAT
On the match:
“I thought we came out slightly a little bit flat. I thought our defensive lines were far too big. We made a couple tweaks at halftime to adjust that. If you look at the goals that we conceded, all of them were individual moments and just not defending very well. So, it is what it is. We have to learn from it. We're still a growing team. The only thing I told the team was, you kind of see a trend, but last 20-30 minutes we start picking it up, we're running behind, we're doing all those things, and we got to have that urgency from the first minute.”
On conceding goals in such a short window:
“It's frustrating. It's frustrating for sure, but that's football, right? Moments of the game. You could be great, but you can't. You can't turn off for those moments. I thought we were a bit naive. Again, we talked a lot about being disciplined. Whatever your role is and doing it to the best of our ability and I mean, of course I'm upset, but we also have to learn and grow from it as well, so yeah.”
On the return of Kiki Van Zanten:
“I thought she brought some good energy. She could have had the second goal. I mean, that cutback from Avery (Patterson) I thought was great. She's, what, a couple yards off that. So, I think if she scores that's a different game. We've had conversations and I'm glad we actually got her some minutes.”
HOUSTON DASH DEFENDER KATIE LIND
On the game:
"It was obviously a frustrating (game) and not the result we wanted after coming back home following a big win last week. We gave up some early goals that really put us on the back foot. We did come into our own later in the game, and we showed some sparks there, obviously we scored a goal, but we need to tidy things up and be better."
On Fabrice Gautrat’s message at halftime:
“We did change some things with our press to make it a bit more predictable for ourselves. Portland did a good job finding the open pockets, and we struggled to defend that. So, we tightened up the lines, dropped one of our midfielders a little deeper, and that really helped our press in the second half. We need to find a little bit more internal motivation and start games on the front foot. Especially in this kind of heat, this needs to be our fortress—we need to use this to our advantage."
On the defensive line:
"We had such a strong performance coming off Seattle. It was heartbreaking that we weren't able to provide that again tonight, especially in front of our home crowd. As a defender, you obviously take all of that on the chest and blame yourself for everything that happens. I know I was at fault in some of those plays, and that’s football at the end of the day. We have to learn from it, grow from it, and make sure it doesn’t happen too often."
On moving forward:
“Whenever there’s a hard moment in the game, we really try to connect. We get in a huddle and make sure we’re all on the same page and not on little islands. For us, that’s really important, especially after conceding that fourth goal, to reset and not mind the score at that point. We’re fighting for one goal at a time, so we have to focus on what we’re trying to do and focus on our own game, rather than what the opponent is doing. It's just a moment to rest for us."
HOUSTON DASH MIDFIELDER DELANIE SHEEHAN
On the game:
“It was a tough match; it obviously wasn't our best first half. We didn't start the game great, but I think we ended the match a lot better than we started it.”
On the team’s mindset after halftime:
“In that situation you have nothing to lose. We were able to bring a different energy in the second half, but we have to start with that energy that from the jump.”
On the return of Kiki Van Zanten:
“I’m super happy that she got her (regular season) debut today. She trains day-in and day-out like that and we saw just a little glimpse of what she can do. So, I am really excited for her moving forward.”
On missing Yazmeen Ryan and Portland’s defending:
“The spaces were definitely there, but Portland were also sitting behind. So, once we started exploiting that in the second half the game really opened up for us. Personnel wise, anyone can step up in the lineup, of course we miss Yazmeen (Ryan) a lot. Our 10s did great, but the space was definitely behind so for the first half we just needed to find it better.”
