Houston Dash beat Orlando Pride 3-1 in the NWSL

HOUSTON (AP) - Sophie Schmidt scored on a penalty kick in the 55th minute and the Houston Dash went on to beat the Orlando Pride 3-1 on Saturday night in the National Women's Soccer League.

Orlando's Kristen Edwards and Sydney Leroux opted not to play in the fall series match at BBVA Stadium after after a Dash player tested positive for coronavirus earlier this week.

Nichelle Prince put the Dash up 1-0 with a goal in the 27th minute, but the Pride pulled even with Marisa Viggiano's goal in first-half stoppage time.

Schmidt scored the goal-ahead goal on a penalty kick for the Dash in the 55th minute. Shea Groom added a goal in the 72nd minute.

The Dash announced earlier this week that a player had tested positive for COVID-19. It was the league's first positive test since a number of Pride players had positive tests, forcing Orlando out of the league's Challenge Cup tournament this summer in Utah. The player was not identified.

'œUnfortunately, I've had to make the difficult decision to not travel to Houston with my team for tonight's game,'ť Edwards posted on social media. 'œPersonally, I was not comfortable with the travel arrangements as well as the timeframe of recent events.'ť

Leroux posted: 'œI made the decision not to travel to Houston with my team for the game tonight. The health and safety of my family will always be my priority and I didn't feel comfortable with recent events and the timeline of their positive test.'ť

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