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The NWSL isn’t back from its Olympic break, but the Washington Spirit play the Houston Dash to make up for a postponed match earlier this season. After tonight’s game, the Spirit will be level with most other NWSL teams in terms of games played. With a win or draw, the Spirit would claim sole possession over first place.
Prior to the Olympics, it seemed impossible that any U.S. women’s national team players would be back with their club team today, and there was a decent chance that the Canadian players would be back in the States. But with the USWNT crashing out of the Olympics early and Canada’s surprising run - they still have the bronze medal game to play tomorrow - it’s the opposite scenario. Still, only Ali Krieger will be the only national team player available for either team tonight. Carli Lloyd, Morgan Brian, and Crystal Dunn played more minutes than Krieger so they will not be eligible tonight.
The Dash have struggled for most of the season, at one point going two months without scoring a single goal. Lately though, the Dash have rebounded and the team is undefeated in its past three games. Houston posted an impressive 3-0 win over a weakened Portland side before drawing 1-1 and 3-3 against Chicago and Western New York, respectively. Part of this recent success is due to rookie forward Rachel Daly, but she is still in camp with the English national team and won’t be available tonight. When the Spirit played the Dash earlier this season, the Spirit won 1-0. Dash goalkeeper Lydia Williams had a stellar game in net and was a large part of the Spirit not scoring more goals. Williams, like so many other players on both sides tonight, is still with the Australian national team and won’t be eligible for tonight’s game.
One big loss for the Spirit is the absence of breakout star forward Estefania Banini. The July NWSL Player of the Month is out with a left knee chondral defect. Banini will need surgery to repair this injury and the timetable for her return won’t be known until after her surgery. It’s safe to say she will be out for at least several weeks, a key loss to the Spirit offense.
Location: BBVA Compass Stadium (Houston, TX)
Kick-off time: 8:00pm Eastern
Available TV: None
Available streaming: NWSL Soccer, free and non geo-blocked
Treat this as the gamethread for tonight’s match.