This week, TribalFootball.com talks exclusively with Fijian international forward Trina Davis, who was raised in Western Washington State, and we also have news on the nation's new head coach from America, Lisa Cole. We also report on a new regional club championship due to start later this year in Africa. We then look at the impact that international players have had in the five-year-old Liga MX Femenil in Mexico for the first season that they have been allowed to join teams in the league. We also talk to Mexican international forward Katie Johnson, who is in training camp with the expansion side San Diego Wave, which was a natural destination for the California-raised player who has been a prolific scorer with her national team. We also review the recent Houston Dash—Pumas UNAM exhibition game in Mexico City.

TribalFootball.com Interview with Fijian forward Trina Davis

Ahead of the 2022 Oceania Football Confederation Women's Nations Cup this summer, which doubles as the region's Women's World Cup qualifiers, Fiji is holding a national team camp for three weeks in March, which will reunite American-born forward Trina Davis with her national team side. She helped Fiji to a record second place finish in the last Oceania Women's Cup in 2018, scoring five goals in the process while still attending high-school in the Seattle area. Fiji had a potent attack with Luisa Tamanitoakula (23) of local side Ba scoring six goals in the last tournament and club teammate Cema Nasau (22) adding five, while Sofi Diyalowai (28) of Fijian side Labasa scored four times.

For the training camp, Davis will be joined by another American, their new head coach and a name familiar to many in the game: Lisa Cole, the American-born former head coach of the Boston Breakers in WPLS Elite/NWSL and the Papua New Guinea Women's U-20 national team when they hosted the FIFA U-20 WWC in 2016. Cole was just named as head coach of Fiji's women's national team in late January on an eight-month contract, with an extension possible, particularly if Fiji advances to the WWC intercontinental play-ins. Cole most recently has been the national team coach of Antigua and Barbuda in CONCACAF.

Trina Davis at the 2018 OFC Women's Nations Cup. Photo Credit: Fiji Village.com and Soccer with Chaudhary.

Davis was pleased with the opportunity to work with Lisa Cole, "We're super-excited and she [Cole] asked me to come [this month] and then start training for World Cup Qualifiers in July and stay till then, so that I'm not constantly leaving and coming back, [and] so that we are familiar with how we play with each other, because this year we have a great chance of qualifying for the World Cup because we don't have to play New Zealand [who are already qualified as hosts]. The mindset is, "'I know we can qualify.'" Davis was also excited to have a women's coach, "Having a women's coach is important for the girls there. My only time with a women's coach is when I was eight."

New Zealand, which have comfortably won the last four Oceania Women's Nations Cups, is already in the field for the 2023 Women's World Cup Finals as a co-host, along with Australia. Unfortunately, Oceania does not receive another automatic bid but only one of ten spots in the international play-in tournament against teams from other confederations, with three teams moving on to the Finals. I personally think Oceania should have been given a second full spot for 2023 to help grow the game in the region and reduce the huge gap in competitiveness currently between the island nations, top regional side New Zealand and teams from other regions. There is progress taking place however; we have recently written about Tahiti's three game tour of Europe for national team friendlies, Cole's recent hire in Fiji and Samoa hiring former Barbadian international Paul Ifill as their women's national team coach. (see: The Week in Women's Football: Women's Africa Cup of Nations results; CONCACAF qualifiers reach halfway point - Tribal Football and The Week in Women's Football: Tahiti goes to Europe; Women's Africa Cup of Nations - Tribal Football and last year's: The Week in Women's Football: Interview with Argentina midfielder Braun; Davis moves to Israel; Ifill appointed Samoa coach; - Tribal Football).

Before Cole joined in November, the nation's technical director Timo Jankowski, a native of Germany who joined Fiji in September of 2021 on a four-year contract, had hoped to have the team organize a training camp and play friendlies in Australia in June before the Oceania Cup in July.

Trina Davis had originally signed to play collegiately at Grambling University in Louisiana. She went there after having surgery on her ACL and Meniscus, which she struggled with while on international duty for the 2018 OFC Nations Cup. Thus, her first college season was spent rehabbing. She then left college to pursue her professional career and signed in Israel with ASA Tel Aviv University. She only played in a few games there while still recovering full fitness but scored once and was coming back into form. She didn't sign another professional contract after leaving Tel Aviv, training on her own and also changing agents. She explained that Lisa Cole told her that, since she had not yet signed with another professional team, she should spend the next four-five months in Fiji and then Cole, "can help me move on in my professional career." No doubt, Cole's impeccable reputation in professional soccer combined with another stellar performance by Davis for her country this summer should result in a number of teams wanting to sign her to terms.

Davis' mother is Fijian and currently she is the only import/diaspora in the side. She said that, "The citizenship process took a long time and was a tricky process and, with COVID, it will make it harder for other people. She did hope to see more of Fiji's diaspora in the team as, "It will definitely benefit us as a team to qualify more. The of play was different from what I grew up with. I grew up on turf, grass and having everything I needed to be the best I could. [In Fiji] they don't have cleats, spandex, little things like that. My mom grew up there and was 12 when she got her first pair of shoes—it's still a poor country. We trained with sticks and rocks and tires for our qualifiers—New Zealand has everything they need. It's not fair to Fiji but it is the same with all the other Oceania teams…. They knew I was fast and kicked the ball up [front] but we had opportunities to play up through the middle; we need to work more on the inside and work our way up the field—they are not used to it. They keep the ball in the back a lot. I played club premier ECNL and then going to a lower level [for the Oceania Cup] was different."

Cole, a native of Washington State (like Davis), played at Pacific Lutheran University said on her appointment said, "I'm extremely honoured and excited to be given the opportunity to join Fiji FA as head coach for the national women's football team. It feels so special to be bestowed with such an opportunity. I just feel lucky to be here and be a part of the journey for the players and the country to have an opportunity to do something remarkable. It's a tough road. There are a lot of stages to it, but I think anything is possible. I'm looking forward to working with a talented group of players." Cole also was an assistant coach the University of Mississippi and University of Connecticut and head coach at the University of Rhode Island.

Lisa Cole, while coaching he Papua New Guinea U-20 women's national team. Photo by Ian Walton of Getty Images.

Another positive for Fiji is the 2022 Digicel Women's Super League (WSL) is in its second season after the 2021 inaugural season was delayed because of COVID-19 restrictions on sporting events outside of their zones in some of the districts. Fiji FA's vice-president Naziah Ali-Krishna said that, with the recently approved Fiji FA strategic plan, which places a huge focus on women's development utilizing FIFA money, the future looks bright for aspiring female footballers. Fiji also runs a Women's Digicel U-19 league. The Super League wants to expand to seven teams from the current six: champions Ba, Nadroga, Suva, Rewa, Labasa and Tailevu Naitasiri. Technical Director Jankowski explained that, "The Super League competition was intense but by adding another team, the competition will get more intense and that's something which [the] Fiji FA is working on. They have shown interest and I see that women's football is growing in the country. I feel there are a lot of potential women footballers out there and by adding another team, it will lift up their courage and love for football. It's also just another way to create opportunities for young girls and women for whom football is a passion but [also] a path to lead them into domestic competition." Interestingly, Rewa's head coach Naomi Waqanidrola, who has a C License, is the first woman coach in Fiji of a premier division team.

Captains of the participating teams in the Digicel Women Super League competition with Fiji Football president Rajesh Patel (back, left). Photo courtesy: Fiji Football Association Media

TribalFootball.com will continue to follow women's football in Oceania as well as this summer's OFC Women's Nations Cup.

COCAFA Adds a Regional Club Championship in Africa

Botswana's Football Association will host the inaugural regional COSAFA [Council of Southern African Football Associations] Women Champions League this summer. The upcoming competition will serve as a qualifier for the CAF Women's Champions League which launched late last year. The COSAFA event is yet another major development for women's football in the Southern Africa region, which will see eight sides split into two groups of four, where they will play a minimum of three games each.

The Botswana Football Association National Executive Committee (NEC) Female representative, Lobito Ncube said, "It's such an incredible milestone for our Women's Football to get representation in the inaugural tournament and it will be equally worthwhile to see the representing team, Prisons XI, make it all the way to the finals. Women football has been doing well lately; this is another chance to showcase our talent and attract more spectatorship even from outside. Countries like America are known for their vested interest in Women's Football, who knows, maybe Prisons XI will make history for our country to win the Champions League and set us closer to our goals. Participation in this tournament gives us hope as women, as it shows we have a bright future in the game." Furthermore, Ncube acknowledged that the anticipated competition will put local players in a prime position to attract foreign scouts and earn international contracts in the future, something that will further advance the growth of women's football in the nation, "Playing regional and international competitions exposes our players to the outside market. Remember the women's national teams has been doing well in the past tournament [advancing last week to the Women's African Cup of Nations Finals for the first time] and that alone has attracted a lot of attention. By virtue of Prisons being part of this tournament will also expose their players internationally. I am optimistic that by [the] end of this year, we will have exported not less than three players because a lot of agents worldwide and as far as [the] USA has been paying attention. When the qualifiers are hosted, we will surely make it a point that agents out there have the link to matches so that we can create opportunities for them."

The COSAFA General Secretary, Sue Destombes said, "We are incredibly excited to stage our first COSAFA Women's Champions League, which will be a chance for the leading clubs in the region to not only lift a prestigious trophy, but to also take their place at the continental finals. Adding to our senior women's championship and the junior events in the Under-17 and Under-20 age groups, this new competition enhances our commitment to women's football and advancing the sport in our region. We only have to look at our national teams to see the enormous talent in Southern Africa, and I am quite sure that our club sides can make a big impact at the CAF Women's Champions League in the future."

The eight teams confirmed to take part in the first COSAFA Women's Club Championship Tournament include:

Prisons XI (Botswana)

Manzini Wanderers LFC (Eswatini)

Lesotho Defense Force (Lesotho)

Costa Do Sol (Mozambique)

Tura Magic FC (Namibia)

Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies FC (South Africa)

Green Buffaloes Women FC (Zambia)

Black Rhino Queens FC (Zimbabwe)

Note: Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa are the reigning African Champions League title holders from the first continental competition held last November in Egypt. COSAFA teams will definitely bring their best in their effort to defeat Sundowns, which should help the ultimate regional champion to defend the crown for the sub-region of Africa.

Mexican League and National Team News

Imports in the first season they are allowed in the Liga MX Femenil

The Mexican Liga MX Femenil made a major change for this season—it's fifth—by allowing imports for their teams (two per team) for the first time. The league was originally set-up to leverage the men's first division teams as a U-23 league with two overage players. The next season the age limit was increased to U-24 and then U-25 in 2019-20, with up to six overage players. That season, Mexicans born abroad (primarily in the U.S.) were allowed into the league for the first time. Currently three teams are not using any foreign-born players: Atlas Guadalajara, Deportivo Guadalajara and Puebla FC. The league has players from CONMEBOL and CONCACAF nations Argentina, Costa Rica, Colombia, Panamá, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela on the rosters. Beyond the region, there are internationals from Azerbaijan, Iceland, Spain, and Nigeria as well as Americans, including those of Mexican descent who have played for El Tri Femenil as well as a few with no ancestral link.

Atletico San Luis has two imports from Europe:

• Defender Marta Perarnau was born in Spain (26) and plays internationally for Azerbaijan. She played two years each at Real Betis and Rayo Vallecano.
• Forward Bea Parra of Spain also played at Real Betis and has three goals in seven matches in the Clausura (Closing or Spring Championship) so far.

UANL Tigres, a powerhouse in the league who can draw huge crowds on occasion, has forward Uchenna Kanu for the Spring season; Kanu plays internationally for Nigeria and has definitely been one of the most impactful imports in the league to date. In the current Clausura. she has five goals in six matches. She played in the U.S. at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida and moved to UANL after two seasons with Linkopings FC in Sweden, where she scored 22 times in 42 matches. She had a short spell previously in Spain at Sevilla in 2020 and played at home for Pelican Stars. She played for Nigeria's U-17 and U-20 national team in the FIFA Women's World Cup age group Finals in 2014.

A recent Club America (Mexico City) signing is Iceland full international midfielder Andrea Hauksdottir, who played one game for the Houston Dash last season after a spell with Le Havre is France. She played collegiate at the University of South Florida.

Imports from Central America/South America/the Caribbean include:

Argentina

• Midfielder Lina Bravo of Pachuca played at Rayo Vallecano for the last two years after one season at CD Tacon [now Real Madrid] and previously was with Boca Juniors and Estudiantes at home.

Costa Rica

• Defender Valeria Del Campo (21) of current champions Monterrey moved from Saprissa at home to Mexico this year.
• Forward Michelle Montero (27) of Cruz Azul in Mexico City played in 17 games and scored 3 goals in the Apertura (Opening or Fall Championship) and has played 7 games this spring in the Clausura. A full international, she has played at home and then in Ecuador in 2020 with Liga Deportiva Juvenil de Macas and Hapeol Be'er Sheva in Israel last season. She is a full international, winning her first cap in November of last year in a 5-2 win over Nicaragua, and scoring in her debut.

Colombia

• Defender Daniela Arias is with Pachuca, the football-mad historic mining community north of Mexico City. She has one full national team cap and played for a variety of professional teams at home, most recently for America de Cali and Atletico Junior in the competitive Colombian league.
• Goalkeeper Vanessa Cordoba (26) has played in 25 games this season (Apertura and Clausura) with Queretaro and played previously at home for Independiente Santa Fe and La Equidad. She had a short spell with Albacete in 2018 in Spain and previously at Ohio University in the States. She is the daughter of legendary former Colombian national team player Oscar Cordoba, who played abroad in Argentina, Turkey and Italy. She has been a real star in her first season with Queretaro and the club sits a surprising sixth with 11 points from 8 games near the midpoint of the Clausura regular season.

Panama

• Midfielder Marta Cox Villarella (24) is with Leon and had 2 goals in 13 matches (24) in the 2021-22 Apertura; she played with Alajuelense in Costa Rica last season before moving to Mexico. She has played professionally in Colombia and was on Panama's Pan American Games side in 2019.

Trinidad and Tobago

• Defender Victoria Swift (27) has played 17 games this season, also with Leon, across both championships in Mexico and played collegiately at Navarro Community College in Texas and the University of West Florida. She has played for T&T at the youth and senior levels.

Uruguay

• Midfielder Maria Magali Guadrado has 1 goal in 16 games across both championships with Mazatlan FC on the Pacific coast, in the state of Sinaloa.

Venezuela

• Midfielder Paola Villamizar (27) is with Club Tijuana on the U.S. border and is a full international. She had 5 goals in 11 appearances in the Apertura and has played 5 matches so far in the Clausura. She also appeared with the U-17 and U-20 sides and played with Audax of San Paulo and Santos in Brazil as well as Santiago Morning in Chile before moving to Mexico.

Note:

Midfielder Stefany Ferrer Van Ginkel was born in Brazil, raised in Spain and signed with Tigres for six months after finishing at the University of West Virginia in the States. She was recently transferred to Angel City FC of the NWSL for a transfer fee that was paid in Crypto currency. In Mexico she had 1 goal in 12 games in the Apertura and playoffs, with her goal coming in the playoff round.

There are others who were born outside of Mexico but are classified as Mexican, but can or have played for other Latin American nations:

• Monique Burgess (Belize) of Mazatlan, who joined the club in 2020-21 after time with Veracruz and Lobos BUAP in the league.
• Linda Frías (El Salvador and U.S. born) who joined Santos Laguna this season from El Salvador's Alianza.
• Delfina Santellán (Argentina) of Pachuca, who played five games in the Apertura and has been with the side since the 2019-20 Apertura campaign.
• Valentina Oviedo (Colombia) who has played 70 matches with Tijuana Xolos since the 2018-19 Apertura season.

Some Americans playing this year that are not of Mexican heritage and do not have Mexican passports include midfielder Sarah Luebbert (ex-University of Missouri who was loaned by her NWSL Team Chicago Red Stars this season to Mexico City powerhouse Club America), who has with 3 goals in 9 Apertura regular season and playoff games and has played in 7 matches in the Clausura. Aguilas are controversially coached by former Utah Royals head coach Craig Harrington, a native of Middlesex, England who was recently suspended for three games late in January for comments he made during the game to a Rayados player—virtually the same type of reason (inappropriate comments) he was let go by Utah Royals in 2020 after less than a year in the job. He had coached the Turks and Caicos men's national team for years before joining the Red Stars as an assistant coach. Club America needs to reassess their coaching choice at the end of the season and even a league title probably can't save Harrington his job at this point, with the focus on player safety and wellness rapidly spreading around the world.

Forward Angelina Hix plays at Club Tijuana and joined after playing with ZRK Spartak Subotica of Serbia in 2018-19, where she also played in UEFA Women's Champions League matches. She also spent time with Santiago Morning in the South American Women's Copa Libertadores club championship. Hix played for the LA Galaxy Orange County UWS in 2018 and played locally at Miracosta College. She played in the Tijuana/San Diego area with the San Diego Sealions of the WSPL and with the former Tijuana semi-professional team in the WPSL before the Mexican league was born in 2017.

Stephanie Ribeiro of UNAM Pumas, where she has 2 goals in 3 games in the Clausura after playing for derby rival Club America in the Apertura. played in Denmark and collegiately at the University of Connecticut and was drafted by FC Kansas City in the 2017 College Draft (17th overall). In her last college season of 2016, she tied for third in UConn's single season scoring with 22 goals in 23 games along with 13 assists and finished her career with 38 goals and 28 assists in 85 games (58 starts). In the 2020/21 season played with Danish champions HB Koge. She previously played in Iceland with Throttur Reykjavik, and in Norway with Avaldsnes and Grand Bodo. Ribeiro also is eligible to play for Brazil and Portugal as well as the U.S. through her father and mother respectively.

Midfielder Julianna Pacheco (19) of Santos Laguna was born in San Antonio, Texas and plays internationally for Puerto Rico. American midfielder Jasmine Casarez (ex-Radford University) joined Juarez from the Puerto Rico Sol this season and has one goal in four games in the Clausura.

Looking at Mexican-American players in the league, some include:

• Scarlett Camberos, an American-born midfielder of Mexican descent signed with Club America in late December 2021 from the University of California-Irvine, where fellow Anteater alumna Janelly Farias (who started playing in the league in 2019 and moved to Club America in 2021) and Kaina Palacios (who joined in 2021 for Las Aguilas or the Eagles) also play. Camberos said about her signing, "I'm super excited to start this new journey as a professional soccer player! I couldn't have asked for a better opportunity than starting my professional career off at Club América, one of the biggest teams on the continent."
• Another American-born player at Club America is defender Jocelyn Orecel, who has played with Mexico at the youth and full national team. She played at the University of Colorado, then for a short time in France; she joined Tijuana in 2019/20 and has played with Club America for the past two seasons.
• Defender Lucy Lara was born in Texas, played collegiately at Arizona State University from 2012-2015 and with Mexican national youth teams and attended full national team camps. She left the game for two years and completed a Master's Degree in Sports Business and Law. She missed the game and then tried out with a few teams in Mexico before signing for Morelia (now based in Mazatlán) and played in eight games in the 2019-20 Clausura. She has spent the last two seasons with Santos Laguna.
• Miah Zuazua is a midfielder from Dallas, Texas, played at Southern Mississippi State University and has been in the Mexican League for the past three years, first for a year and a half with UANL Tigres and the last 18 months with FC Juarez in the border city across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas.
• Club Necaxa midfielder Nikkole Teja is another American with a Mexican passport; she was raised in the Seattle area, played at Arkansas State University and has five appearances this season for Necaxa of Aguascalientes City.
• CF Pachuca goalkeeper Esthefanny Barreras was born in the U.S. but has a Mexican passport and has played in 19 matches in 2021-22 across the two split seasons. Barreras was born in Phoenix, Arizona and played at the University of West Florida, Phoenix Community College and Eastern Florida State; she has been capped by Mexico at the U-17 and U-20 level.
• Club Tijuana forward Renae Cuellar is U.S. born and raised but has a Mexican passport and has over 35 caps for Mexico's full national team, including playing at the 2015 WWC Finals in Canada. She played collegiately with University of Arizona and University of Oklahoma, in the NWSL, Korea Republic, Germany, Israel, Iceland and in Tijuana since 2019. She is married to Carlos Alvarez, who played with San Diego Loyal in the USL Championship (men's division two below Major League Soccer). She has four goals in six Clausura matches in 2021-22 and has 54 goals in 79 Liga MX Femenil games since the 2019-20 Apertura season for Xoxos.
• Midfielder Natalia Colin is another American with a Mexican passport and plays for Toluca; she has one goal in three Clausura appearances after 6 appearances in the Apertura campaign this year.

Mexican International and San Diego Wave forward Katie Johnson Interview

Mexican international forward Katie Johnson was acquired by the San Diego Wave from the Chicago Red Stars ahead of the club's first NWSL season in 2022. Johnson, who grew up in California and played at USC, was asked by this reporter about the reception that she has received so far by the large Mexican-American community in the border city, "It's great that there is a large Hispanic community here [in San Diego] and I would like to be involved as possible and [be] a good representation for young girls and hopefully they aspire to play [soccer]." Johnson had previously told the East Village Times, "Soccer has such strong roots within the Mexican community. Being close to Mexico has me super excited and bring able to [easily] drive over and eat good food and experience the culture."

Johnson (27) has played in the NWSL for the Seattle Reign FC, Sky Blue FC, and, most recently, the Chicago Red Stars, For Mexico, she made her debut with El Tri Femenil in December of 2015, scoring eight goals in 23 matches, with three of her goals coming at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games, helping Mexico win the gold medal.

Photo Credit: San Diego Wave FC

Johnson was not on Mexico's roster in the recent CONCACAF W Championship regional qualifiers (see: The Week in Women's Football: Women's Africa Cup of Nations results; CONCACAF qualifiers reach halfway point - Tribal Football and The Week in Women's Football: CONCACAF focus; NWSL sign Mexican internationals; Puerto Rico Sol breaks world record - Tribal Football) and the reason why again shows how COVID has affected the process of players moving across countries to play the game. She explained, "In terms of Mexico, I need to renew my passport and I'm trying to get an appointment at the Mexican Consulate downtown, which has been pretty difficult, so I am working on that personally so hopefully I can get involved in the roster. That is in the works right now but I think we will be really good and have a really good chance of just making the World Cup so I hope it goes well and I can be a part of it."

Dash defeats Pumas UNAM 1-0 in international friendly in Mexico City.

The Houston Dash defeated Pumas UNAM Femenil 1-0 in an international friendly on Wednesday morning in Mexico City. The key moment in the game came in the 86th minute when defender Annika Schmidt (ex-Butler University and the University of Connecticut, who signed a two-year contract with Goteborg of Sweden but returned recently to the States) scored from a header off a free kick that ricocheted off of Mexican international and Dash forward Maria Sanchez (who formerly played in Mexico with Tigres but grew up in the U.S. and played collegiately at Idaho State University and Santa Clara). Houston was awarded the free kick after captain Rachel Daly was fouled and Pumas' Marylin Díaz was given a yellow card. Later in first half, Dash goalkeeper Ella Dederick (ex-Washington State University who played three games last year for OL Reign) made a crucial save in the 38th minute to keep the scored even at 0-0 after Pumas' Stephanie Ribeiro (see above) took a shot from almost 40 yards. Two minutes later, Pumas had another look that sailed to the right of the goal.

Dash coach James Clarkson said after the game, "Anytime we can travel and get out of the country is a great experience. It helps us promote the Dash, not just in the U.S. but obviously in Mexico as well. We are playing a team in season; they're fit and ready and up for the game. It was a good game. To get this sort of competition in our preparation; the last two years especially with COVID, it's been really difficult to get proper games in preseason; to come down here and get some proper games is fantastic."

Houston Dash celebrates the winning goal on March 3 against UNAM Pumas in their iconic training facility surrounded by a cliff. Photo courtesy Houston Dash.

For Pumas, starting forward Luz Duarte played last summer in the WPSL with FC Tucson, who this reporter saw play last summer in Arizona. Duarte said upon her signing, "It's been a long journey. FC Tucson was a big boost, to be able to be in the environment and practice, and taking soccer seriously again, helped me make the decision." She was the leading scorer in the WPSL Desert Conference in 2021 with 12 tallies for a team that won 7 of 8 games and the division title. Duarte had an injury five years ago that left her soccer career in doubt. Duarte (25) played with Mexico's U-17 team that played in the 2012 world championship in Azerbaijan, and was on the U-20 at the 2014 World Cup. So far this season, Duarte has three goals in ten Apertura games for Pumas and has played in two matches as a substitute in the Clausura.

Houston Dash 1-0 Pumas UNAM Femenil

International Friendly March 3, 2022

La Cantera Del Puma – Mexico City, Mexico

Attendance: 0

SCORING SUMMARY

HOU: Annika Schmidt 1 (free kick) 86'

LINEUPS:

Houston Dash: Ella Dederick (Lindsey Harris 45), Allysha Chapman (Ryan Gareis 77), Julia Ashley (Sophie Schmidt), Annika Schmidt (Katie Naughton 77), Hannah Diaz (Haley Hanson 45), Bri Visalli (Marisa Viggiano 45), Joelle Anderson (Kelcie Hedge 45), Cali Farquharson (Shea Groom 45), Paulina Gramaglia (Maria Sanchez 45), Michelle Alozie (Nichelle Prince 45), Michaela Abam (Rachel Daly 45)

Unused substitutes: Jane Campbell, Emily Ogle, Makamae Gomera-Stevens

Total shots: 7; Shots on goal: 3; Fouls: 8; Offside: 2; Corner kicks: 4; Saves: 2

Pumas UNAM Femenil: Melany Villeda (Nelly Alemán), Diana Gómez (Dinora Garza), Akemi Yokoyama, Marylin Díaz, Dirce Delgado, Rebeca Zavaleta (Anahí Gómez), Grecia Pineda, Dania Padilla (Miriam Aguirre), Liliana Rodriguez (Hireri Velázquez), Luz Duarte (Daniela García), Stephanie Ribeiro (Bibiana Quintos)

Unused substitutes: Déneva Cagigas, Daniela Mendoza, Bibiana Quintos,

Total shots: 3; Shots on goal: 1; Fouls: 10; Offside: 1; Corner kicks: 1; Saves: 1

DISCIPLINE:

HOU: Rachel Daly (caution, foul) 92'

Pumas: Marylin Díaz (caution, foul) 85'

Tim Grainey is a contributor to Tribal Football. His latest book Beyond Bend it Like Beckham on the global game of women's football. Get yours copy today.

Follow Tim on Twitter: @TimGrainey