The theme for the Houston Dash this season is “prove” and so far they seem to be doing just that.
Just two seasons ago, the Dash finished last in the league. National Women’s Soccer League Rank. The beginning of last season looked much the same until the team seemed to start hitting it off under coach Fabrice Gautra.
It wasn’t enough to get Houston into the playoffs, but it was a build-up to their season. So far, the Dash are in 5th place with 3 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws after their long international break. His nine points in the first four games is a team record.
Midfielder Kiki Van Zanten has scored four goals, leading the league this season. This is the fastest Dash player to score four goals in team history.
Houston totaled nine goals, second only to Angel City’s 10 goals. This is a team record for most goals scored by Houston through its first four games.
“I feel like this season is the culmination of everything we’ve put together over the last two years. The Dash has had a tumultuous 10 years,” defenseman Avery Patterson said. “I mean, I think we’ve had about nine coaches in 10 years. So I would say we have consistency and we have a foundation to build on. I think that’s what’s reflected in the games that we’re playing right now and the performances that we’re putting together.”
The Dash are also on a club-record seven-game unbeaten streak at home from last season heading into Saturday’s home game against North Carolina Courage.
Houston has only made the playoffs once, in 2022. That season, coach James Clarkson was suspended amid an investigation by the NWSL and players union into allegations of league-wide misconduct. Clarkson denied any wrongdoing and later filed a lawsuit against the team.
The team was struggling with attendance at Shell Energy Stadium, and owner Ted Segal tried unsuccessfully to sell the team.
But some major personnel changes signal a change in culture. Prior to the 2025 season, the Dash hired Angela Hucles Mangano as president of women’s soccer and Gautrat as head coach.
This year, Houston hired former U.S. Women’s National Team interim coach Twyla Kilgore as the team’s technical director.
Goalkeeper Jane Campbell has seen it all. She has spent her entire career with Dash since joining the team from Stanford University in 2017. In 2023, Houston allowed just 18 goals and Campbell was named NWSL Goaltender of the Year.
Campbell said it was a learning experience last season when the Dash fell to 12th in the standings before summer break. However, in the second half, the team started to improve. One sign of that was the team’s 1-0 home win over Kansas City, ending its current undefeated streak at 17 games.
“I think last year was really good for us because we realized what went wrong with communication and why we weren’t on the same page, and then we also realized what went well after that and how we can get on the same page very quickly, especially when we hit speed bumps in the second half,” Campbell told The Associated Press in an interview shortly before the season started.
Campbell is one of the team’s stalwart veterans, along with Daniel Colaprico and Makenzie Robb.
Although it’s still early days, Gautrat said the team’s quick start is based on a combination of things, from its accomplishments from last season to the buy-in of veterans and newcomers like Kate Faase and Linda Ullmark.
“I think it’s a mix of great people, competitors, players, and new freshness and talent that’s very teachable and really wanted the same thing,” Gautrat said. “I think that’s why we ended up with such a perfect mesh.”
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
