DALLAS - The eldest Waldrum had the edge tonight as the Houston Dash took the 8 to 1 win over FC Dallas’ U23 ECNL Women’s team in front of over 2,000 at Roffino Stadium on the campus of Bishop Lynch High School.
“It’s just the difference between college and high school players because we did have high school players out there tonight,” FCD head coach Ben Waldrum said. “It’s a difference of level and it’s a difference of a team that’s been training day in and day out together for months like they have been.”
The Dash opened the game up in the 13th minute when Kika Toulose received a cross from Tiffany McCarty and then sent the ball home for the first Dash goal of the many to come. They quickly scored another two unanswered goals before FC Dallas’ could record their first.
In the 37th minute, FCD’s Sarah Ashley Firstenberg was taken down in the box and was rewarded with a penalty kick which Allison Murphy took and successfully slotted it past Dash goalkeeper Bianca Henninger.
The pro team was able to score another three goals before the whistle blew for half time, leaving the score at 6 to 1. Waldrum mentioned he was a little disappointed in the way his team started the game.
“I think we were a little overwhelmed with the environment and we told them there’s no shame in the result as long as they compete,” he said.
The second half proved to be much better performance wise for FC Dallas as they only allowed another two goals, but unfortunately could not record any more of their own.
“In the second half we regrouped and reorganized and we only gave up two [goals] in that half so there are certainly some positives we can take from that,” said Waldrum.
Houston’s Ella Masar got the hat trick for the game impressing the large crowd that came out to support the women’s game.
“It’s really big for the game to see all these people come out and support women’s soccer. It’s what we needed tonight,” Waldrum said.
A crowd of over 2,000 came out on Saturday night to support FCD against their professional counterparts, a note that is certainly one of the highlights for the evening. The match was, without a doubt, a learning experience for the young FC Dallas team that will now prepare for the U-23 ECNL finals coming up in July.
