Jane Campbell's Eight Saves Earn Houston Dash a 2-2 Draw at Denver Summit

Denver Summit FC spent Sunday evening firing at Jane Campbell like the Houston Dash goalkeeper was a carnival game with a giant stuffed bear on the line. Twenty-six shots. Ten on target. Campbell stopped eight of them, and that was the whole story.

The Dash came from behind twice and left Dick's Sporting Goods Park with a 2-2 draw, as Kat Rader and Linda Ullmark answered Yazmeen Ryan's long-range opener and Janine Sonis' penalty in first-half stoppage time. Denver did nearly all the attacking under what the Summit described as a 93-degree sun. Houston did nearly all the surviving. The scoreboard split the difference.

Sixty Seconds of Chaos

Denver came out swinging. Ally Brazier headed wide from the six-yard box in the fourth minute, then made Campbell work for her first save with a long-range strike in the ninth. In the 14th, the Summit turned a corner into a goal: Sonis found Ryan outside the box, and Ryan ripped a right-footed shot into the top right corner.

The lead lasted about as long as a TikTok. In the 15th minute, Ullmark set up Rader in the center of the box, and the rookie slotted a right-footed finish into the bottom left corner. That was Rader's fifth goal of the season, which the Dash said put her first among all rookies in the league.

From there, Denver leaned on the door. Devin Lynch headed wide off a Sonis cross after a corner in the 22nd minute, Ryan and Sonis both missed to the left in the 28th, and Campbell handled an Emma Regan attempt from distance in the 44th. Houston's best spell came in the 34th, when Danielle Colaprico picked out Rader on the left side of the six-yard box. Abby Smith made the save, and Kiki Van Zanten's follow-up was blocked.

Then the Summit got the break they had been building toward. Hardin was penalized for a foul on Brazier in the box at the 45-minute mark, and Sonis rolled the penalty into the bottom right corner in the third minute of stoppage time. Van Zanten nearly answered right away, firing over in the fourth added minute and forcing Smith into a save in the fifth, but Denver took a 2-1 lead into the locker room.

Ullmark Draws It Level Again

Houston made one change at the half, sending on Allysha Chapman for Lisa Boattin, and needed barely three minutes to pull even. Maggie Graham delivered a cross, and Ullmark finished from the center of the box in the 48th minute. It was her first goal of the season, per the Dash, and with the assist on Rader's goal, she had a hand in both of Houston's.

The club added that it was the first point Houston had taken all season from a match it trailed at halftime. Not a bad time to start.

What followed was a siege. Campbell denied an Olivia Thomas header in the 57th minute. Ryan missed high in the 61st and wide in the 63rd. Delanie Sheehan forced a save in the 64th, and substitute Melissa Kössler forced another in the 68th. Denver threw on Natasha Flint, Eva Gaetino and Kössler in a two-minute window in the 62nd and 63rd, then added Yuna McCormack and Natalie Means in the 72nd. The Summit's own recap singled out Flint's return as one of the brightest parts of the night.

Houston, meanwhile, mostly tried to survive and counter. Ullmark sent a long-range attempt from a tough angle wide in the 84th minute, and Kate Faasse missed narrowly to the left from more than 35 yards in the 88th.

Campbell Slams the Door

Kössler forced a save at the top of the goal in the 89th. In the second minute of stoppage time, Campbell got down to a Flint shot from outside the box, and Gaetino headed the ensuing corner high and wide. Then, in the fourth added minute, Ryan got a chance from the center of the box to win it. Campbell stood her ground and made the save.

That was Campbell's sixth save of the second half and her eighth of the match, a tally the Dash said was the second-highest of the season. Without them, this is a Denver home win.

Who Carried the Day

Jane Campbell was the easy pick. Eight saves, six after the break, and the last one on Ryan with the clock nearly out.

Linda Ullmark was Houston's engine on the right: a goal, an assist and three shots. The Dash noted she has now recorded assists in back-to-back games.

Kat Rader put both of her shots on target and scored with one. Efficient is an understatement.

For Denver, Janine Sonis did a bit of everything from left back, with a goal, an assist and four shots. Yazmeen Ryan scored a beauty and led the Summit with five shots. Melissa Kössler made a real case for more minutes, putting up four shots, two on goal, after coming on in the 63rd.

The Numbers That Explain the Draw

• Shots: Denver 26, Houston 9. On goal: 10 to 4.
• Saves: Campbell 8, Smith 2.
• Clearances: Houston 37, Denver 13.
• Possession: Denver 57.4 percent, Houston 42.6.
• Corners: Denver 6, Houston 1.

Where This Leaves Both Clubs

Houston moves to four wins, three draws and seven losses with 15 points. The draw ended a two-game losing run, after a 1-0 loss at Gotham FC on May 31 and a 2-1 loss at the Washington Spirit on July 3. It was also the Dash's first point of a three-game road trip, and per the club, Houston has now collected five points from losing positions this season, the second-highest mark in the league. Next up is a trip to Racing Louisville FC on July 18, then a return to Shell Energy Stadium against Bay FC on July 24.

Denver moves to four wins, four draws and five losses with 16 points, one point ahead of Houston. Coming off a 3-0 home loss to the Kansas City Current on July 3, a point is progress, if a frustrating one. The Summit had beaten Houston 4-1 in Texas back on May 9. Their next match is a big one off the field too: Denver hosts the Portland Thorns on July 18 in what the club billed as its first match at its new home, Centennial Stadium.

Final Word

Every so often, a goalkeeper turns a lopsided game into a personal highlight reel, and the opponent can only shake hands and check the stat sheet in disbelief. Denver had 26 shots. Houston had Jane Campbell. On a 93-degree Sunday, that turned out to be an even trade.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Additional details as reported by the Houston Dash on HoustonDynamoFC.com and by DenverSummitFC.com.