Kat Rader's First Pro Brace Sparks Houston Dash's Club-Record-Tying 5-0 Rout of Chicago Stars

Kat Rader needed five minutes to score and 42 to make it a brace. By halftime, the Chicago Stars were down three, and by the final whistle the Houston Dash had matched the largest winning margin in club history.

Houston thumped Chicago 5-0 on Wednesday night at Shell Energy Stadium in front of 5,214 fans. Rader scored twice for the first professional brace of her career, Linda Ullmark added a third before halftime, and substitutes Kate Faasse and Lisa Boattin piled on after the break. Per the Dash, it was the club's first 5-0 win since beating the Orlando Pride at home in 2022, and it tied the biggest margin of victory the franchise has ever posted.

Five Minutes to Liftoff

Three days after a dramatic comeback win in North Carolina, the Dash came out like a team that had not stopped celebrating. Avery Patterson fired wide in the third minute, and two minutes later she made up for it. Leah Klenke went long, Patterson redirected it first time to Rader near the top of the six-yard box, and Rader slotted a right-footed finish into the bottom left corner. The Dash said it was their earliest goal of the season.

Chicago had moments. Manaka Hayashi and Maitane López both shot in the seventh minute, and the Stars won a pair of corners midway through the half. But Houston kept generating looks, including a 33rd-minute flurry in which Ullmark and Maggie Graham both went close.

Then the floodgates. In the 42nd minute, Clarissa Larisey found Rader inside the area, Rader beat a defender and smashed a left-footed shot into the top right corner. Larisey, three days removed from her two-goal cameo against the Courage, picked up her first assist of the season. In first-half stoppage time, Rader started the move with a through ball to Kiki Van Zanten, who picked out Ullmark for a right-footed finish into the bottom left corner. It was Ullmark's third goal of the campaign, and it arrived in the same minute that Sam Staab was booked for Chicago.

The Bench Mob Finishes the Job

Chicago sent on Tessa Dellarose at the half, and a triple substitution in the 68th minute that brought on Michelle Alozie, Micayla Johnson and Anna Gasper gave the Stars some energy. Before that, Mallory Swanson had Chicago's best look of the half, a 58th-minute shot from the middle of the box that slid wide, two minutes after Aaliyah Farmer headed a Swanson set piece off target. Johnson in particular was lively, firing three shots and putting two on target, and Jane Campbell, idle for most of the night, finally had work to do in the 74th, stopping Johnson low to her right.

Houston made its own triple change in the 61st, and the bench delivered. In the 79th minute, Faasse ran into the box and finished into the bottom right corner off a Miljana Ivanovic assist. In the first minute of stoppage time, Ivanovic struck again, setting up Boattin, who chipped the Chicago goalkeeper for a left-footed finish into the top left corner. The Dash said it was Boattin's first NWSL goal and that Ivanovic, making only her second appearance for the club, collected her first two NWSL assists.

Rader Rising

This was Rader's night. Two shots, two on target, two goals. The Dash noted that her opener was her eighth goal of the season, moving her into a tie for second for the most goals by a rookie in NWSL history, and she followed it with the first brace of her pro career. She also started the move for the third goal before heading off in the 61st minute, so the rookie had a hand in three of Houston's five.

Elsewhere, Campbell made two saves and, per the club, recorded the 47th clean sheet of her career. Ivanovic's two-assist cameo was a reminder that this team has depth it can actually trust. For Chicago, there were milestones in a rough evening: the Stars said Staab made her 150th regular-season NWSL start and Brianna Pinto her 50th. Alozie also faced her former club for the first time since signing with Chicago before the 2026 season.

The Turning Point

Rader's second goal in the 42nd minute. Chicago had survived the early blow and was hanging around at 1-0, with a couple of corners and some half chances to suggest it could steal something. Rader's strike, followed by Ullmark's goal a few minutes later, turned a competitive match into a rout before the teams even reached the locker room.

Stats That Matter

• Shots on goal: Houston 7, Chicago 3. Five of Houston's seven went in.
• Shots: Chicago actually led 12 to 11, which tells you all you need to know about finishing.
• Tackles: Houston won 17 of 22. Chicago won 6 of 11.
• Fouls: Chicago committed 16 to Houston's 6.
• Possession: Houston 53 percent, Chicago 47.

What It Means

Houston climbs to 7-5-8 with 26 points and has now won back-to-back matches after that 3-2 comeback at North Carolina on Aug. 16. Per the Dash, the team's 28 goals this season are already the second-highest total in club history. The Dash head west to face Bay FC on Aug. 23.

Chicago falls to 4-1-15 with 13 points, and the numbers are getting harsh. Since beating Utah 3-2 on July 5, the Stars have gone seven matches without a win: losses to Boston, Angel City, Orlando, Racing Louisville, Seattle and now Houston, plus a 0-0 draw with Bay FC. They have scored once in that stretch, in the 2-1 loss at Louisville, and have been shut out in each of their last three. Chicago gets a quick chance to respond when it hosts Racing Louisville on Aug. 23.

Closing Take

Houston played this one like a speedrun, and Chicago looked like it was still loading the level. The rookie led the way, the bench added the flourishes and the Dash walked off with a result that matched the best winning margin in club history. For a team scrapping toward the playoff line, a performance like this is the kind of plot twist that can carry a season.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Additional details from HoustonDynamoFC.com and ChicagoStars.com; neither club's recap included postgame quotes.