2015 Houston Dash season

Houston Dash
2015 season
Managing Director	Brian Ching
Manager	Randy Waldrum
Stadium	BBVA Compass Stadium
NWSL	5th
NWSL Championship	Did not qualify
Top goalscorer	League: Jessica McDonald (7); All: Jessica McDonald (7)
Highest home attendance	13,025; (July 12 vs. Chicago; sellout, franchise record)
Lowest home attendance	3,499; (June 20 vs. Western New York)
Average home league attendance	6,413
Biggest win	2–0 v. WAS, April 10; 2–0 v. WNY, June 20
Biggest defeat	0–3 v. SEA, August 22
Home colours	Away colours
	← 2014 2016 →
	All statistics correct as of September 7, 2015.

The 2015 season is the Houston Dash's second season as a professional women's soccer team. As a member of the National Women's Soccer League, United States' top-flight women's league, the Dash's schedule includes 20 total games (10 home, 10 away) against eight other NWSL teams. The Dash look to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history after finishing in last place during their inaugural season. The 2015 regular season began on April 10, 2015.

Background

College draft

The Houston Dash selected University of Virginia and U.S. Women's National Team midfielder Morgan Brian with the first overall pick in the 2015 NWSL College Draft. The Dash also traded away the 13th overall pick in the 2015 draft and a second round pick in the 2016 College Draft to Portland Thorns FC for a player to be named later.^[1]

Houston Dash 2015 NWSL College Draft selections^[1]
Round	Overall	Player	Position	College
1	1	Morgan Brian	Midfielder	University of Virginia
4	31	Carleigh Williams	Defender	University of Central Florida

Preseason

Date	Opponents	Ground	Result F–A	Scorers
March 18, 2015	Houston Dynamo U-16	Houston Sports Park	0-2
March 25, 2015	Houston Dynamo U-16	Houston Sports Park	0-5
March 29, 2015	Texas Longhorns	Houston Sports Park	2–0	Henderson 55' Ohai 73'

Colours: Green = Houston Dash win; Yellow = draw; Red = opponents win.

Season review

April

The new-look Houston Dash kicked off the year's NWSL action with a 2-0 win over the Washington Spirit at BBVA Compass Stadium. Offseason acquisition Carli Lloyd scored the opening goal in first half stoppage time, and last season's club top goalscorer Kealia Ohai put away the second goal five minutes into the second half. The Dash looked revamped in attack and, defensively, collected their first shutout of the season.^[2]

Position at the end of April
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
3	Houston Dash	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	3

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Club

Coaching staff

Position	Staff
Head Coach	Randy Waldrum
Assistant Coach	Marcelo Galvao
Assistant Coach	Hiro Suzuki
Goalkeeper coach	Tom Brown
Athletic Trainer	Kristy Chavez
Massage Therapist	Wes Speights

Updated to match played April 13, 2015
Source: Houston Dash

Other information

Owner	Philip Anschutz
Co-Owners	Oscar De La Hoya Gabriel Brener
President of Business Operations	Chris Canetti
Managing Director	Brian Ching
Ground (capacity and dimensions)	BBVA Compass Stadium (7,000 (22,039) / 115x70 yards)
Training ground	Houston Sports Park

Updated to match played April 13, 2015
Source: Houston Dash

Squad

The following is a list of players who were under contract with the Houston Dash at any point during the 2015 season.^[3]

N	Pos.	Name	Age	Since	App	Goals	Ends	Transfer fee	Notes
1	GK	Erin McLeod	41	2014	20	0	Undisclosed	Allocated Player	Inactive
2	DF	Carleigh Williams	31	2015	0	0	Undisclosed	Free	Rookie season
4	DF	Lauren Sesselmann	41	2014	0	0	Undisclosed	Allocated Player	Inactive
6	MF	Morgan Brian	31	2015	10	0	Undisclosed	Free	Rookie season
7	FW	Kealia Ohai	32	2014	24	5	Undisclosed	Free
8	MF	Jordan Jackson	34	2014	20	2	Undisclosed	Free
9	FW	Stephanie Roche	35	2015	1	0	Undisclosed	Undisclosed
10	MF	Carli Lloyd	42	2015	1	1	Undisclosed	Allocated Player
11	MF	Brittany Bock	37	2014	1	0	Undisclosed	Expansion Draft
12	FW	Tiffany McCarty	33	2014	21	4	Undisclosed	Expansion Draft
14	FW	Jessica McDonald	36	2015	1	0	Undisclosed	Trade
15	DF	Allysha Chapman	35	2015	0	0	Undisclosed	Allocated Player	Inactive
16	MF	Ashley Nick	37	2014	1	0	Undisclosed	Trade
18	GK	Bianca Henninger	34	2014	6	0	Undisclosed	Trade
19	DF	Niki Cross	39	2014	1	0	Undisclosed	Trade
21	FW	Melissa Henderson	35	2014	10	0	Undisclosed	Trade
22	DF	Stephanie Ochs	34	2014	25	0	Undisclosed	Trade
25	DF	Meghan Klingenberg	36	2014	9	0	Undisclosed	Allocated Player
30	FW	Ella Masar	38	2014	19	3	Undisclosed	Expansion Draft
40	MF	Rachael Axon	39	2014	1	0	Undisclosed	Discovery Signing

Last updated: April 13, 2015
Source: Houston Dash
Where a player has not declared an international allegiance, nation is determined by place of birth.
Ordered by squad number.

Standings and match results

National Women's Soccer League

League standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Seattle Reign FC	20	13	4	3	41	21	+20	43	NWSL Shield
2	Chicago Red Stars	20	8	9	3	31	22	+9	33	NWSL Playoffs
3	FC Kansas City (C)	20	9	5	6	32	20	+12	32
4	Washington Spirit	20	8	6	6	31	28	+3	30
5	Houston Dash	20	6	6	8	21	26	−5	24
6	Portland Thorns FC	20	6	5	9	27	29	−2	23
7	Western New York Flash	20	6	5	9	24	34	−10	23
8	Sky Blue FC	20	5	7	8	22	28	−6	22
9	Boston Breakers	20	4	3	13	22	43	−21	15

Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(C) Champions

Results summary


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
20	6	6	8	21	26	−5	24	4	2	4	11	13	−2	2	4	4	10	13	−3

Last updated: September 7, 2015.
Source: National Women's Soccer League

Results by matchday

Matchday	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Ground	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A
Result	W	D	L	L	D	W	D	D	W	L	L	D	W	W	L	L	L	L	W	D
Position^{[n 1]}	1	2	4	6	6	4	5	5	4	5	6	6	5	4	4	5	6	6	5	5

Updated to match(es) played on September 7, 2015. Source: HoustonDashSoccer.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

April 10, Fri 1	Houston Dash	2–0	Washington Spirit	Houston, Texas
19:30 p.m. CDT UTC-5	Lloyd 45 +6' Ohai 50' Masar 71'	Dash report NWSL report Box		Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium Attendance: 6,012 Referee: Katja Koroleva

April 18, Sat 2	Sky Blue FC	1–1	Houston Dash	Piscataway, New Jersey
18:00 CDT UTC-5	Freels 14' (O'Hara) 90'	Dash report NWSL report Box	McDonald 52' (Brian)	Stadium: Yurcak Field Attendance: 1,742 Referee: Elvis Mahmutovic

April 26, Sun 3	Boston Breakers	3–2	Houston Dash	Boston, Massachusetts
16:00 CDT UTC-5	King 8' Ezurike 31' (McCaffrey) Evans 55' own goal 72' (Lloyd)	Dash report NWSL report Box	Cross 44' McDonald 65' (Ohai) 58' (Brian) Roche 90'	Stadium: Soldiers Field Soccer Stadium Attendance: 2,376 Referee: Danielle Chesky

May 2, Sat 4	Houston Dash	0–2	FC Kansas City	Houston, Texas
19:30 CDT UTC-5		Dash report NWSL report Box	Bogus 42' (unassisted) Groom 51' (Hagen) Moros 63'	Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium Attendance: 4,186 Referee: Margaret Domka

May 15, Fri 5	Houston Dash	2–2	Chicago Red Stars	Houston, Texas
19:30 CDT UTC-5	Axon 28' (penalty) Ohai 59' (Henderson) Masar 62'	Dash report NWSL report Box	Colaprico 43' Huerta 60' (Hoy), 81' (unassisted)	Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium Attendance: 3,527 Referee: Randall Kelley

May 23, Sat 6	Portland Thorns FC	0–1	Houston Dash	Portland, Oregon
21:00 CDT UTC-5		Dash report NWSL report Box	McDonald 24' Pressley 86'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 14,409 Referee: Matthew Kreitzer

May 31, Sun 7	Sky Blue FC	1–1	Houston Dash	Piscataway, New Jersey
14:00 CDT UTC-5	Haagsma 11' (Grubka) DeCesare 86'	Dash report NWSL report Box	Bailey 86' (unassisted)	Stadium: Yurcak Field Attendance: 958 Referee: Levi Rippy

June 6, Sat 8	Houston Dash	0–0	Portland Thorns FC	Houston, Texas
19:30 CDT UTC-5	Camila 35' Bock 45'	Dash report NWSL report Box	Terry 65'	Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium Attendance: 4,864 Referee: Danielle Chesky

June 20, Sat 9	Houston Dash	2–0	Western New York Flash	Houston, Texas
19:30 CDT UTC-5	McDonald 24' Ohai 63' Masar 74'	Dash report WNY report Box		Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium Attendance: 3,499 Referee: Ekaterina Koroleva

June 27, Sat 10	Washington Spirit	1–0	Houston Dash	Germantown, Maryland
18:00 CDT UTC-5	Dunn 56'	Dash report NWSL report Box	Camila 55' Brush 78'	Stadium: Maureen Hendricks Field at the Maryland SoccerPlex Attendance: 1,267 Referee: Matthew Franz

July 12, Sun 11	Houston Dash	1–2	Chicago Red Stars	Houston, Texas
19:30 CDT UTC-5	McCarty 57' Brush 84'	Dash report NWSL report Box	Colaprico 3' DiBernardo 19' Hoy 61'	Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium Attendance: 13,025 (franchise record) Referee: Christopher Spivey

July 20, Mon 12	FC Kansas City	1–1	Houston Dash	Kansas City, Missouri
19:00 CDT UTC-5	own goal 55' (Pressley)	Dash report NWSL report Box	Masar 40' Lloyd 45'	Stadium: Swope Soccer Village Attendance: 3,557 (sellout) Referee: Randall Kelley

July 25, Sat 13	Western New York Flash	0–1	Houston Dash	Rochester, New York
18:00 CDT UTC-5		Dash report NWSL report Box	Lloyd 49' (Klingenberg)	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium Attendance: 4,110 Referee: Margaret Domka

July 29, Wed 14	Houston Dash	3–2	FC Kansas City	Houston, Texas
19:30 CDT UTC-5	Brush 12' (Ohai) McDonald 17' (Klingenberg) Lloyd 86' (Cross)	Dash report NWSL report^{[permanent dead link]} Box	Holiday 3' (Rodriguez) Hagen 84'	Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium Attendance: 6,425 Referee: Matthew Mercier

August 1, Sat 15	Washington Spirit	3–1	Houston Dash	Germantown, Maryland
18:00 CDT UTC-5	Dunn 28', 36' (Matheson), 45+1' (Nairn)	Dash report NWSL report Box	McDonald 74' (Ohai)	Stadium: Maureen Hendricks Field Maryland SoccerPlex Attendance: 5,418 Referee: Margaret Domka

August 7, Fri 16	Houston Dash	0–2	Sky Blue FC	Houston, Texas
19:30 CDT UTC-5		Dash report NWSL report Box	Nadim 38' (Levin) Killion 45' Kerr 72' (unassisted)	Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium Attendance: 6,216 Referee: Christopher Spivey

August 12, Wed 17	Seattle Reign FC	2–1	Houston Dash	Seattle, Washington
21:00 CDT UTC-5	Mathias 22' (Rapinoe) Corsie 59' (Cox)	Dash report NWSL report Box	Ohai 15' (unassisted) Masar 70' Brush 90+'	Stadium: Memorial Stadium Attendance: 6,021 Referee: Cedric Adams

August 21, Fri 18	Houston Dash	0–3	Seattle Reign FC	Houston, Texas
19:00 CDT UTC-5		Dash report NWSL report Box	Little 42' (Barnes), 74', 90'	Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium Attendance: 9,530 Referee: Christina Hutchinson

August 30, Sun 19	Houston Dash	1–0	Boston Breakers	Houston, Texas
19:30 CDT UTC-5	Masar 34' (McDonald) Masar 35'	Dash report NWSL report Box	Schoepfer 89'	Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium Attendance: 6,842 Referee: Cedric Adams

September 6, Sun 20	Chicago Red Stars	1–1	Houston Dash	Bridgeview, Illinois
16:00 CDT UTC-5	DiBernardo 82' Press 90' (Johnston)	Dash report NWSL report Box	Masar 62' (Brian)	Stadium: Toyota Park Attendance: 5,623 Referee: Margaret Domka

Awards

NWSL Player of the Month

Month	Player	Month's statline	Ref.
July	Carli Lloyd	3 goals; 3 appearances	^[4]

NWSL Player of the Week

Week	Result	Player	Ref.
7	Won	Bianca Henninger	^[5]

Squad statistics

Source: NWSL

Key to positions: FW - Forward, MF - Midfielder, DF - Defender, GK - Goalkeeper

N	Pos	Player	GP	GS	Min	G	A	WG	Shot	SOG	Cro	CK	Off	Foul	FS	YC
2	MF	Andressa Cavalari Machry	7	7	630	0	0	0	8	3	1	14	0	5	10	0
26	DF	Jazmyne Avant	2	2	171	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
40	MF	Rachael Axon	15	11	1004	1	0	0	8	4	0	1	0	5	8	0
3	FW	Allie Bailey	7	0	126	1	0	0	4	3	0	0	0	2	1	0
11	MF	Brittany Bock	5	5	352	0	0	0	5	2	1	0	1	4	4	1
6	MF	Morgan Brian	10	10	810	0	3	0	7	5	0	4	0	8	5	0
24	DF	Ellie Brush	15	14	1274	1	1	0	6	3	0	0	0	15	6	3
9	DF	Camila Martins Pereira	12	6	511	0	0	0	7	1	0	4	0	11	11	2
15	DF	Allysha Chapman	5	4	376	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	7	0	0
19	DF	Niki Cross	15	12	1148	0	1	0	3	1	0	2	0	6	10	1
21	FW	Melissa Henderson	20	14	1123	0	2	0	16	9	0	50	6	8	7	0
8	MF	Jordan Jackson	9	3	334	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	5	1	0
25	DF	Meghan Klingenberg	12	12	1046	0	2	0	7	1	0	0	1	3	3	0
13	DF	Jen LaPonte	6	3	315	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	1	0
10	MF	Carli Lloyd	12	12	1080	4	0	3	56	15	0	2	6	15	12	0
30	FW	Ella Masar	19	18	1606	2	0	1	7	6	1	0	0	11	9	6
12	FW	Tiffany McCarty	17	7	741	1	0	0	23	12	1	1	4	3	10	0
14	FW	Jessica McDonald	20	19	1675	7	1	2	41	17	0	0	9	8	6	0
16	MF	Ashley Nick	3	2	182	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	2	0
22	DF	Stephanie Ochs	3	2	154	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	0	0	0	0
7	FW	Kealia Ohai	19	19	1692	4	5	0	39	21	5	1	24	6	11	0
5	DF	Toni Pressley	15	15	1306	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	6	4	1
23	MF	Cami Privett	4	2	205	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	2	0
9	FW	Stephanie Roche	2	0	24	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
4	DF	Lauren Sesselmann	1	1	45	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
2	DF	Carleigh Williams	2	1	151	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0

N	Pos	Goal keeper	GP	GS	Min	W	L	T	Shot	SOG	Sav	GA	GA/G	Pen	PKF	SO
18	GK	Bianca Henninger	10	9	868	3	4	3	132	44	34	11	1.1	0	1	4
1	GK	Erin McLeod	11	11	932	3	4	3	164	74	60	15	1.364	0	0	2

Notes

^ Houston Dash's position in the league at the end of match day

References

^ ^a ^b "NWSL ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF THE 2015 COLLEGE DRAFT". NWSLsoccer.com. National Women's Soccer League. January 16, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
^ "Match Recap: Houston Dash 2, Washington Spirit 0". HoustonDashSoccer.com. Houston Dash Communications. April 10, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
^ "Houston Dash Roster". Houston Dash. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
^ "DASH'S CARLI LLOYD VOTED NWSL PLAYER OF THE MONTH; Lloyd helped Houston earn a 2-0-1 record in July to move into fourth in the standings". nwslsoccer.com. August 3, 2015. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
^ "DASH'S BIANCA HENNINGER VOTED NWSL PLAYER OF THE WEEK; Henninger recorded her second shutout of the 2015 NWSL season on Saturday night". nwslsoccer.com. May 27, 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-07-10. Retrieved September 7, 2015.

[4] Houston Dash's position in the league at the end of match day

[2015collegedraft-1] "NWSL ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF THE 2015 COLLEGE DRAFT". NWSLsoccer.com. National Women's Soccer League. January 16, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2015.

[2] "Match Recap: Houston Dash 2, Washington Spirit 0". HoustonDashSoccer.com. Houston Dash Communications. April 10, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2015.

[dashroster-3] "Houston Dash Roster". Houston Dash. Retrieved April 13, 2015.

[5] "DASH'S CARLI LLOYD VOTED NWSL PLAYER OF THE MONTH; Lloyd helped Houston earn a 2-0-1 record in July to move into fourth in the standings". nwslsoccer.com. August 3, 2015. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2015.

[6] "DASH'S BIANCA HENNINGER VOTED NWSL PLAYER OF THE WEEK; Henninger recorded her second shutout of the 2015 NWSL season on Saturday night". nwslsoccer.com. May 27, 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-07-10. Retrieved September 7, 2015.

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