Head Coach: Randy Waldrum, second season.
2015 NWSL season preview – Houston Dash: Second time around
After finishing its inaugural season in last place, the Houston Dash looks to improve in year two. There’s some new faces and people who can actually score goals, but between national team duty and Houston’s still pretty thin defense, has the Dash done enough?
Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports
Where we left off: In the NWSL basement. The expansion Houston Dash finished in last place in its inaugural season, with a 5-16-3 record, a league-low 23 goals scored and a league-worst minus-21 goal difference.
Houston, we still have a problem: Erin McLeod didn’t have a great first season in Houston, but it wasn’t entirely her fault. The Dash defense wasn’t great, and its luck was even worse. The Dash started the season without Meghan Klingenberg and Whitney Engen, both finishing out Champions League commitments in Sweden, and Lauren Sesselmann, who injured her ACL in a training camp with Canada. That left Houston with a cobbled together back line that could never totally get its act together. A season later, Klingenberg is in the USWNT picture, Engen was traded back to Western NY and while Sesselmann is back training, she’s also a Canadian international. That leaves a pair of former Washington Spirit defenders in Niki Cross and the returning Stephanie Ochs, and Canadian international and NWSL newcomer Allysha Chapman.
McLeod too plays for Canada, which means Bianca Henninger could be seeing more time than her five appearances a season ago.
Pop your collar: The Dash’s biggest problem a season ago was, by a long shot -- a very long, well off the mark shot -- offense. Houston scored a league-low 23 goals. In an entire 24 game season. The Dash failed to score at all in ten games in 2014, which isn’t the greatest strategy if you’re looking to end up anywhere other than last place.
For 2015, Houston has brought in a trio of players who could change all that, though one of them is, unsurprisingly, due to miss some time due to the World Cup. Notorious collar-popper and scorer of the game-winning goal in two different gold medal games (and World Cup final penalty field goal kicker, but like, we totally don’t talk about that) Carli Lloyd has joined the Dash after two seasons in Western NY. Lloyd had eight goals for the Flash last season, a number that is at least double what any Dash player but one did during the same time. Also heading to the land of orange shirts is former Thorns striker Jessica McDonald. McDonald tallied 11 goals in 2014 as Portland’s leading scorer, and finished third in the Golden Boot race. Also heading to Houston is Ireland international Stephanie Roche, who’s spent her career up until now playing professionally in Ireland and France, doing things like scoring this Puskás Award-nominated goal. The Dash return Kealia Ohai, who netted three goals in her rookie season in Houston, and Ella Masar, who also scored just three times in a disappointing 2014. Tiffany McCarty, who led Houston with five goals a season ago, is also back for another season with the Dash. Houston also added college standout Morgan Brian with the no. 1 pick in the college draft in January.
In conclusion: The Dash will need McDonald to keep pace with her 2014 self, but can’t fall into the trap on relying too heavily on having someone who’s a proven goal scorer in the league. That means Masar, Ohai or McCarty will have to contribute more than they did a season ago. Houston also needs to find some defense from somewhere, which, maybe the U.S. and Canada don’t make it out of the group stage and Sesselmann and Klingenberg will be back for anyone even notices they were gone.
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