Founded | December 11, 2013 | ||
---|---|---|---|
Stadium | Shell Energy Stadium Houston, Texas | ||
Capacity | 22,039 | ||
Majority owner | Ted Segal | ||
President | Jessica O'Neill | ||
General manager | Alex Singer | ||
Coach | Fran Alonso | ||
League | National Women's Soccer League | ||
2023 | 10th of 12 Playoffs: DNQ | ||
Website | Club website | ||
The Houston Dash is a professional women's soccer team based in Houston, Texas. It joined the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in the 2014 season. They play at home at Shell Energy Stadium.
On November 19, 2013, MLS team Houston Dynamo began talks in the initial stages with the intention of bringing a top flight women's professional soccer franchise to Houston. [1] Just a week later, the effort was bolstered when the Dynamo began accepting refundable deposits for a potential NWSL expansion team. [2] On December 11, 2013, the National Women's Soccer League awarded the Houston Dynamo and the city of Houston an expansion franchise. [3]
During a press conference on December 12, 2013, Houston Dynamo president Chris Canetti announced that the club would be named the Houston Dash and would share similar colors to the Dynamo: orange, black, and sky blue. [4] The crest features a soccer ball along with the words "Houston Dash" with sky blue lines in the background. [5] The name Dash refers to the fast running speed of a horse, which was a historical mode of transportation for Texans in the 1800s. [5]
Houston Dash is owned by the same ownership group as the Dynamo, including majority owner Ted Segal, and minority owners Gabriel Brener, Ben Guill, multiple World and Olympic boxing champion Oscar De La Hoya, and former NBA MVP James Harden. [6]
On December 23, 2013, Former Houston Dynamo player Brian Ching was named managing director, in charge of day-to-day duties on both the business and technical sides of under the supervision of Houston Dash and Dynamo team president Chris Canetti. [7]
On January 3, 2014, Randy Waldrum was named as the Dash's first head coach, having previously coached the Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's soccer team to two national titles since joining the team in 1999. [8]
On May 29, 2017, Waldrum and Houston Dash agreed to part ways. Assistant coach Omar Morales was named interim coach. [9]
On November 27, 2017, Vera Pauw was hired as the new head coach. [10] On September 20, 2018, Pauw departed from the club. [11]
On December 11, 2018, James Clarkson was hired as the new head coach. [12]
On February 2, 2022, the Dash announced the hiring of Jessica O'Neill as the team's first president, a role tasked with increasing revenue and serving as the team's spokesperson to the NWSL on league matters. [13]
On April 26, 2022, the NWSL and NWSLPA recommended coach James Clarkson should be suspended while they conducted "an investigation into alleged violations of the NWSL Policy to Prevent and Eliminate Workplace Discrimination, Harassment, and Bullying". [14] On April 27, 2022, the Houston Dash announced that it was immediately suspending James Clarkson pending the conclusion of the joint investigation by the NWSL and NWSLPA that was launched in 2021. [15]
On April 29, 2022, the Houston Dash announced that Sarah Lowdon would serve as the acting head coach while the club conducted its search for an interim head coach. [16] On June 15, 2022, the Dash named former Real Betis Féminas and Tottenham Hotspur coach Juan Carlos Amorós as its interim head coach. Lowdon continued as acting head coach pending Amorós's visa approval. [17]
On August 25, 2022, the Dash announced that majority owner Ted Segal bought out the stakes of minority owners Gabriel Brener, Oscar De La Hoya, and Ben Guill. [18]
On December 14, 2022, the Dash released a public statement declaring the club would not renew the contract with James Clarkson, which had an expiration date of the end of 2022, after reports concluded that his "actions constituted emotional misconduct." [19] Sam Laity was hired as the next head coach on December 21, 2022, [20] and fired on September 6, 2023. [21]
The Dash play their games at Shell Energy Stadium, formerly known as BBVA Stadium, which opened in May 2012, and features a 22,039-seat capacity. For the team's inaugural season, 7,000 seats in the lower seating bowl are available for home games. [22] When the stadium opened in 2012, it became the first soccer-specific stadium in Major League Soccer located in a city's downtown district. [23]
No. | Pos. | Player | Nation |
---|---|---|---|
1 | GK | Jane Campbell (Captain) | United States |
2 | DF | Allysha Chapman | Canada |
3 | DF | Madelyn Desiano | United States |
4 | DF | Natalie Jacobs | United States |
5 | FW | Cece Kizer | United States |
6 | MF | Havana Solaun | Jamaica |
8 | DF | Courtney Petersen | United States |
9 | FW | Diana Ordóñez | Mexico |
10 | MF | Andressa Alves | Brazil |
11 | FW | Michelle Alozie | Nigeria |
12 | MF | Kiki Van Zanten | Jamaica |
13 | MF | Sophie Schmidt | Canada |
14 | FW | Yūki Nagasato | Japan |
15 | MF | Bárbara Olivieri | Venezuela |
16 | FW | Amanda West | Canada |
17 | MF | Sarah Puntigam | Austria |
19 | MF | Belle Briede | United States |
20 | MF | Sophie Hirst | United States |
21 | FW | Ryan Gareis | United States |
22 | DF | Croix Soto | United States |
23 | GK | Savannah Madden | United States |
25 | DF | Katie Lind | United States |
33 | DF | Jyllissa Harris | United States |
30 | FW | Avery Patterson | United States |
31 | MF | Elin Rubensson | Sweden |
— | FW | Paulina Gramaglia | Argentina |
— | FW | Ramona Bachmann | Switzerland |
— | DF | Paige Nielsen | United States |
Executive | |
---|---|
Chairman | Ted Segal |
Vice chairman | Lyle Ayes |
President | Jessica O'Neill |
General manager | Alex Singer |
Technical | |
Head coach. | Fran Alonso [28] |
Assistant coach | Ricky Clarke |
Goalkeeping coach | vacant |
Performance analyst | Michael Poma |
Assistant coach and video analyst | Hiro Suzuki |
High performance coach | Corey Ashe |
Name | Tenure |
---|---|
Randy Waldrum | January 3, 2014 – May 29, 2017 |
Omar Morales (interim) | May 29, 2017 – November 27, 2017 |
Vera Pauw | November 27, 2017 – September 20, 2018 |
James Clarkson | December 11, 2018 – April 26, 2022 |
Sarah Lowdon (acting) | April 29, 2022 – July 12, 2022 [29] [30] |
Juan Carlos Amorós (interim) | July 12, 2022 – October 28, 2022 [31] |
Sam Laity | December 21, 2022 – September 6, 2023 [20] [21] |
Sarah Lowdon (interim) | September 6, 2023 [21] – December 4, 2023 [32] |
Fran Alonso | December 22, 2023 [28] – |
Season | NWSL regular season | Position | NWSL Playoffs | NWSL Challenge Cup | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P | W | L | D | GF | GA | Pts | ||||
2014 | 24 | 5 | 16 | 3 | 23 | 44 | 18 | 9th | DNQ | Not played |
2015 | 20 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 21 | 26 | 24 | 5th | DNQ | Not played |
2016 | 20 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 29 | 29 | 22 | 8th | DNQ | Not played |
2017 | 24 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 23 | 39 | 24 | 8th | DNQ | Not played |
2018 | 24 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 35 | 39 | 32 | 6th | DNQ | Not played |
2019 | 24 | 7 | 12 | 5 | 21 | 36 | 26 | 7th | DNQ | Not played |
2020 | NWSL season not contested | Champions | ||||||||
2021 | 24 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 21 | 31 | 32 | 7th | DNQ | Group Stage |
2022 | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 35 | 27 | 36 | 4th | First Round | Group Stage |
2023 | 22 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 18 | 26 | 10th | DNQ | Group Stage |
2024 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 4 | 12th | TBD | DNP |
Overall | 187 | 76 | 97 | 46 | 219 | 299 | – | – | – | – |
DNQ = Did not qualify
During the 2014 season, games were broadcast locally on CSN TV in Houston. [33] It was the second local television broadcast agreement in the NWSL's history. [34] On August 6, 2014, DirecTV and AT&T proposed a reorganization plan, in which it would acquire CSN Houston in a 60/40 joint venture. At the time, AT&T was in the process of acquiring DirecTV, pending regulatory approval. [35] The reorganization offer was approved by the court on October 30, 2014, although Comcast appealed the decision in order to address a $100 million loan that had been given to the network. Attorneys from the companies involved reached an agreement to allow the deal to continue through Comcast's appeals process. The Rockets' general counsel Rafael Stone stated that the approval gave a "clear path" for the network to return to full-time service in November, and transition to DirecTV's Root Sports brand, and the network subsequently cancelled all of its existing studio shows on October 22, 2014. [36] [37] [38] Select Houston Dash matches continued to be aired on Root Sports through the 2015 [39] and 2016 seasons. [40] [41]
As of the 2017 season, Dash games were streamed exclusively by Go90 for American audiences and via the NWSL website for international viewers. [42] As part of a three-year agreement with A&E Networks, Lifetime broadcasts one NWSL Game of the Week on Saturday afternoons. [43] [44] For the 2017 season, the Dash were featured in five nationally broadcast Lifetime NWSL Game of the Week broadcasts on May 6, May 3, and September 23, 2017. [45]
In July 2022, the club announced plans to broadcast matches locally on AT&T SportsNet Southwest (rebranded to Space City Home Network as of October 2023), the team's first local agreement since 2016. [41]
Houston Dynamo FC is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their former owners relocated the San Jose Earthquakes' players and staff to Houston following the 2005 season. For their first six seasons in Houston, the Dynamo were based at Robertson Stadium on the campus of the University of Houston. During the 2012 season, the club moved to Shell Energy Stadium, a soccer-specific stadium in East Downtown Houston.
Brittany Christine Bock is a retired American women's soccer midfielder.
Randy Marlon Waldrum is an American former professional soccer player, current head coach of University of Pittsburgh Panthers women's soccer team, and current head coach of the Nigeria women's national team.
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. Headquartered in New York City, it is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federation.
The 2014 National Women's Soccer League season was the second season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer (2009–2011) and the Women's United Soccer Association (2001–2003), this was the eighth overall season of FIFA and USSF-sanctioned top division women's soccer in the United States. The league was operated by the United States Soccer Federation and received major financial backing from that body. Further financial backing was provided by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Mexican Football Federation. All three national federations paid the league salaries of many of their respective national team members in an effort to nurture talent in those nations.
The 2014 season was the Houston Dash's inaugural season as a professional women's soccer team. As the first expansion team to the National Women's Soccer League, United States' top-flight women's league, the Dash played a 24-game schedule that saw them compete against the eight other NWSL teams, playing each at home and away at least once. The Dash finished the season in last place and ended the season with 5 wins, 3 draws, and 16 losses and a -21 goal differential. The season for the Dash began on April 12, 2014, and concluded August 20, 2014 after the team failed to qualify for the playoffs.
Kealia Ohai Watt is a former professional American soccer player that formerly played for the Chicago Red Stars and the Houston Dash in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
The 2018 Houston Dash season was the team's fifth season as an American professional women's soccer team in the National Women's Soccer League. Before the start of the 2018 season Vera Pauw was appointed as head coach.
Michaela-Batya Bisi Abam is an American-born Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga MX Femenil side Deportivo Toluca and the Cameroon national team. She previously played for Houston Dash and Sky Blue FC in the American National Women's Soccer League, Real Betis in the Spanish Primera División, Paris FC in the Division 1 Féminine, and West Virginia University.
The 2019 Houston Dash season was the team's sixth season as an American professional women's soccer team in the National Women's Soccer League. James Clarkson was appointed head coach on December 11, 2018 after Vera Pauw departed the team after only one season.
Ally Samantha Prisock is an American professional soccer player.
James Andrew Clarkson is an English-American football coach and former player who was most recently the head coach of Houston Dash in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
The 2020 National Women's Soccer League season was the eighth season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer (2009–2011) and the Women's United Soccer Association (2001–2003), it was the 14th overall season of FIFA and USSF-sanctioned top division women's soccer in the United States.
Juan Carlos Amorós López is a Spanish football manager who is currently the head coach of NJ/NY Gotham FC of the American National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). He previously managed NWSL club Houston Dash, Spanish club Real Betis, and English club Tottenham Hotspur.
Sam James Laity is an English football manager who was most recently the head coach of Houston Dash in the American National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). He was previously an assistant coach for fellow American team OL Reign, where he also served as interim coach for a period in 2021.
The 2022 National Women's Soccer League season was the tenth season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer (2009–2011) and the Women's United Soccer Association (2001–2003), it was the 16th overall season of FIFA and USSF-sanctioned top division women's soccer in the United States. Twelve teams competed in the league, including two expansion teams, San Diego Wave FC and Angel City FC.
The 2021 Houston Dash season was the team's eighth season as an American professional women's soccer team in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
The 2022 Houston Dash season was the team's ninth season as an American professional women's soccer team in the National Women's Soccer League.
The 2023 Houston Dash season was the team's tenth season as an American professional women's soccer team in the National Women's Soccer League.
The 2023 National Women's Soccer League season was the eleventh season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer (2009–2011) and the Women's United Soccer Association (2001–2003), it was the 17th overall season of FIFA and USSF-sanctioned top division women's soccer in the United States. Twelve teams compete in the league.
an investigation into alleged violations of the NWSL Policy to Prevent and Eliminate Workplace Discrimination, Harassment, and Bullying