Nigeria defender and 2024 WAFCON champion Michelle Alozie scored a stoppage-time winner to give Houston Dash a dramatic 2–1 win over Gotham FC in the NWSL on Sunday. The result ended Gotham’s four-match unbeaten run and gave Houston all three points away from home.
Gotham started brightly and went ahead in the 8th minute through Spanish striker Esther González, who finished a neat team move for her 11th goal of the season. Houston stayed in the game and were handed an equaliser early in the second half when Emily Sonnett’s back-pass rolled past her own goalkeeper for an own goal in the 51st minute.
A two-hour delay caused by thunderstorms broke up the match, but Houston returned stronger after the restart. In the 93rd minute, Alozie pounced on a defensive mistake inside the box, took a touch, and calmly slotted the ball past the goalkeeper to secure her first NWSL goal of the season.
Her cool finish sparked wild celebrations from the Dash bench and reflected the confidence she carried over from international duty. Alozie recently scored a late winner in the semi-finals of the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, helping Nigeria go on to win a record 10th continental title.
For Gotham, it was a disappointing end to a night that had started well but slipped away in stoppage time.