The Houston Dash finish a three-match road trip on Saturday, July 18, when they meet Racing Louisville FC at Lynn Family Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. CT, and the match will stream live on NWSL+.
That date matters because Houston arrives with momentum from a 2-2 draw with Denver Summit FC last weekend, a result that gave the Dash their first point of the trip. Kat Rader scored her fifth goal of the season in that game, Linda Ullmark found her first NWSL goal and added an assist, and Maggie Graham earned an NWSL Player of the Week nomination after helping on both goals. Houston has needed those moments to keep pace on the road, and it has found them. The Dash have six equalizing goals this season and have taken five points from losing positions, a sign that they are still finding answers even when they fall behind.
Jane Campbell was a central reason the draw held. She matched her second-highest save total of the season with eight stops and made a crucial save in stoppage time to preserve the point. Houston also continues to lean on its first-year players, who have combined for 14 goal contributions, while Kat Rader now leads the club with five goals. On the back line, Paige Nielsen leads the team with 81 clearances and Leah Klenke is next with 73, which helps explain why the Dash keep surviving long stretches without controlling the ball.
Racing Louisville FC has a different problem to solve. It comes into Saturday after a 2-0 loss to Bay FC and is on a five-match winless streak, while Sarah Weber leads the club with three goals. Emma Sears, Taylor Flint, Kayla Fischer and Lauren Milliet each have two, but the scoring load has been spread thin enough that no one else has separated from the pack. That leaves Louisville trying to turn enough half-chances into a result without the kind of single player who has carried Houston lately.
The first meeting between these teams was anything but quiet. Houston beat Racing Louisville 4-3 on April 3 at Shell Energy Stadium, and the match produced four penalty kick goals, the first time that had happened in NWSL history. Kiki Van Zanten scored twice for Houston that night, with Rader and Sarah Puntigam also scoring, and Puntigam converted the game-winning penalty deep into stoppage time. Racing Louisville can point to the fact that Emina Ekić may return to Louisville for Saturday’s rematch; she began her professional career with the club after going fifth overall in the 2021 NWSL Draft, scored its first regular-season goal and helped it secure its first victory in franchise history before joining Houston in April.
Houston will have one more important option available. Avery Patterson is eligible for selection again after serving a one-match suspension for yellow card accumulation, and she leads the team with 22 tackles won while ranking among the club leaders with 15 chances created. Whether she starts or comes off the bench, her return gives the Dash another piece for a stretch run that does not pause after Louisville. Houston goes back to Shell Energy Stadium on Friday, July 24, to host Bay FC for Global Fútbol Night, so Saturday is the last stop on a road trip that has already asked plenty of this group.
