The 2024

Houston Dash The Houston Dash are an American professional soccer team based in Houston, Texas, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The Dash began play in the 2014 season. The team plays its home games at Shell Energy Stadium. His ...

season was the team's eleventh season as an American professional

women's soccer Women's association football, more commonly known as women's football or women's soccer, is the team sport of association football played by women. It is played at the professional level in multiple countries, and about 200 national teams partic ...

team in the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

Season

Pre-season

Immediately following the

2023 Houston Dash season 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. Season Pre-season Immediately following the 2022 Houston Dash season, Houston Dash started thei ...

started their preparation for the

2024 NWSL Season The 2024 National Women's Soccer League season was the twelfth 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 ...

. On November 20, 2023, the Dash announced their roster decisions headed into the 2024 season. Houston exercised contract options on Emily Alvarado, Madelyn Desiano, Jyllissa Harris,

Sophie Hirst Sophie Hirst (born February 25, 2000) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Portland Thorns FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the Harvard Crimson. Early life Hirst ...

, Savannah Madden,

Bárbara Olivieri Bárbara Klarissa Olivieri Dávila (born 24 February 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and forward for the Houston Dash of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Born and raised in the United States to ...

Sarah Puntigam Sarah Puntigam (born 13 October 1992) is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Houston Dash and the Austria national team. She has previously played for German clubs Bayern Munich, SC Freiburg, and 1. FC Köln, Swiss ...

Cameron Tucker Cameron Tucker may refer to: * Cameron Tucker (soccer) (born 1999), American soccer player * Cameron Tucker (Modern Family), a fictional character on American TV comedy series ''Modern Family'' {{hndis, Tucker, Cameron ...

and Paulina Gramaglia, who will stay on loan for the 2024 season. The club will also exercise the option for

Allysha Chapman Allysha Lyn Chapman (born January 25, 1989) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a left-back for National Women's Soccer League club Houston Dash and the Canada national team. College career Chapman played college soccer for U ...

, who is on maternity leave at the time of the announcement.Lindsi Jennings' option was not picked up. Joelle Anderson is out of contract. New contracts were not offered to Ella Dederick, Makamae Gomera-Stevens, and Devon Kerr and they leave the club as restricted free-agents.

Caprice Dydasco Caprice Ka'anohikula Dydasco (born August 19, 1993) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a right back for Bay FC of the National Women's Soccer League. She previously played for Pali Blues, the Washington Spirit, Newcastle J ...

Shea Groom Shea Ellese Groom (born March 4, 1993) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Chicago Stars FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Groom played collegiate soccer for Texas A&M Aggies before starting her pr ...

, Emily Curran, María Sánchez, and Marisa Viggiano are also released as free agents. On December 12, 2023, the Dash traded Joelle Anderson to

Bay FC Bay Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in the San Francisco Bay Area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The team began play in the NWSL as an expansion team in the 2024 Nat ...

for $25,000 and protection in the 2024 NWSL Expansion Draft. The Dash also traded

Utah Royals FC The Utah Royals (formerly Utah Royals FC) are an American professional soccer team based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established on November 16, 2017, as an expansion team, ...

for $50,000 and protection in the 2024 NWSL Expansion Draft. On December 18, 2023, the Dash traded $50,000 to the Utah Royals FC for Sierra Enge, before trading her to

San Diego Wave FC San Diego Wave Fútbol Club is an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The team plays its home games at Snapdragon Stadium. Founded on June 8, 2021, the Wav ...

in exchange for Belle Briede, the natural third round draft pick in the

2024 NWSL Draft The 2024 NWSL Draft presented by Ally was the twelfth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select from a list of amateur players above the age of 18 playing in the United States who exhausted, lost, or renounced ...

, and $60,000. The following day, the Dash continued their offseason moves by resigning María Sánchez to a three-year contract with an option for a fourth for a record breaking 1.5 million dollars. On January 12, 2023, the Dash announced the signing of free agent

Yūki Nagasato , known from 2012 to 2016 as , is a Japanese former footballer who played as a striker. Nagasato is the first female footballer to play for the first-team of a Japanese men's club. Nagasato represented Japan internationally between 2004 and 20 ...

, a veteran forward who spent the last season with the

Chicago Red Stars Chicago Stars Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in the Chicago metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league as the Chic ...

. Later that day, the Dash drafted five players in the 2024 NWSL Draft. In the second round the team drafted forward Avery Patterson from

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and midfielder

Kiki Van Zanten Kalyssa Priscilla "Kiki" van Zanten (born 25 August 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for the Houston Dash of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Born in the United States, she represents Jamaica internationally ...

from Notre Dame. In the third round the team drafted forward

Amanda West Amanda Linn West (born February 11, 2001) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a forward for the Houston Dash of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the Pittsburgh Panthers, for which she is t ...

from

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

and goalkeeper Heather Hinz from

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. In the fourth round the team drafted defender Alyssa Bourgeois from Santa Clara. On January 17, 2024, Houston Dash announced they had made a trade to acquire forward Cece Kizer from the

Kansas City Current The Kansas City Current are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Kansas City, Missouri, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It was founded as an NWSL expansion, expansion team in 2021 NWSL ...

in addition to a 2024 international roster spot in exchange for

Nichelle Prince Nichelle Patrice Prince (born February 19, 1995) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a forward for National Women's Soccer League club Kansas City Current and the Canada national team. Club career Houston Dash After playing ...

. On February 23, 2024, the Dash announced they had agreed to a contract extension through the 2025 season. On February 27, 2024, the Dash announced they had added three Under-18 signings. Goalkeeper Olivia Geller, a high school senior signed with

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...

and forwards Ayva Jordan, a U.S. Youth international, and Zoe Miles, a Houston native. In addition, the team signed goalkeeper Alia Skinner, who spent last season with

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

. Along with the signings, the Dash came to terms with Ally Prisock to terminate her final year with the team. On March 13, Houston announced the signing Swedish international

Elin Rubensson Elin Ingrid Johanna Rubensson (born 11 May 1993) is a Swedish Women's association football, football midfielder who plays in the Damallsvenskan for BK Häcken FF, BK Häcken and the Sweden women's national football team, Swedish national team. S ...

from

BK Häcken Bollklubben Häcken, more commonly known as BK Häcken or simply Häcken (), is a Swedish professional association football, football club based in Gothenburg (Hisingen). It currently plays in Allsvenskan, the top tier of Swedish football. Forme ...

March/April

Houston started the season on the road suffering a 5–1 loss to the

North Carolina Courage The North Carolina Courage are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It was founded on January 9, 2017, after Stephen Malik acqui ...

. Houston's first home game of the season saw a record breaking crowd of 8,600 fans and ended in a 0–0 draw against

Racing Louisville Racing Louisville Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Louisville, Kentucky, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It began playing in 2021 at Lynn Family Stadium. The team i ...

on the back of Jane Campbell's career high 10 saves. In their next game, the Dash picked up their first win af the season against

in a 3–2 road win against the expansion team. On April 3, Houston announced they had signed Swiss international forward

Ramona Bachmann Ramona Bachmann (; born 25 December 1990) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a forward for National Women's Soccer League club Houston Dash and the Switzerland national team. Bachmann, who is from Malters, moved to Sweden aged 16 ...

form Paris Saint–Germain for an undisclosed amount. On April 12, Houston fell 3–1 to the

Washington Spirit The Washington Spirit are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the USL W-League (1995� ...

after a pre-game celebration to commemorate their 10th anniversary. On the trade deadline day, Houton made multiple changes to their squad. In the biggest move, Houston traded María Sánchez to

for $300,000 in Intra-League fund, $200,000 in Allocation Money, and international slots for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. In addition to Sánchez, Houston traded Emily Alvarado to

Portland Thorns FC Portland Thorns FC is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Portland, Oregon, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team NWSL ...

for $35,000 in Allocation Money and a potential $50,000 more based on certain metrics achieved. Houston also added

Paige Nielsen Paige Kathleen Nielsen (born October 14, 1993) is an American professional soccer defender who currently plays for Houston Dash of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She previously played for the Washington Spirit, Seattle Reign FC, an ...

to their team, bringing veteran leadership to their back line. After the flurry of moves, Houston faced

Portland Thorns Portland Thorns FC is an American professional soccer team based in Portland, Oregon, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team NWSL, which received supp ...

, losing on the road 4–1. On April 23, the Dash signed another Defender, getting

Tarciane Tarciane Karen dos Santos de Lima (born 27 May 2003), simply known as Tarciane, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a central defender for the Première Ligue club Lyon and the Brazil women's national team. Club career Flumine ...

from

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians () is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author, Sosthenes, and is addressed to the Christian church in C ...

. Houston ended the month of April with a 0–0 draw against

Utah Royals The Utah Royals (formerly Utah Royals FC) are an American professional soccer team based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established on November 16, 2017, as an expansion team, ...

May/June

The Dash started the month of May with a 1–1 draw against the

on a goal by Amanda West, after a 4-hour weather delay. In a midweek game on 8 May, Houston dropped three points to

NJ/NY Gotham FC Gotham Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in the New York metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sk ...

on a 8th minute goal by Lynn Williams. On May 12, Houston went on the road to California to capture a 1–0 win against

Angel City FC Angel City Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Los Angeles, California, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The formation of the team was announced on July 21, 2020; it beg ...

on a goal by the Angel City player

. In a shortened turn around, Houston returned home to play the

on May 17, losing 2–0. In their sixth home match of the season, Houston earned their first home win, in a impressive 3–0 over North Carolina Courage. Coming out of the international break, Houston faced

RAcing Louisville Racing Louisville Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Louisville, Kentucky, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It began playing in 2021 at Lynn Family Stadium. The team i ...

, falling 2–0 on the road. Houston returned home to face Angel City and earned a 0–0 draw in a hard fought game, that ended with Jane Campbell making a double save on the goal line that concern about lack of goal line technology in the NWSL. On 20 June, Houston announced Jane Campbell (soccer) had signed a contract extension through the 2027 season, with an option for the 2028 season. Earning their sixth clean sheet of the season, Houston played

San Diego Wave San Diego Wave Fútbol Club is an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The team plays its home games at Snapdragon Stadium. Founded on June 8, 2021, the Wav ...

to a 0–0 draw. Houston closed out the month by losing 2–0 on the road to the Kansas City Current.

July/August

Houston started the month of July by closing out a two-game road trip with a loss to the Red Stars 1–0. Returning to NWSL play, Houston hosted the Orlando Pride, who come in on a 17-game unbeaten streak. Houston failed to end that streak, falling 0–1 against the Pride. Houston closed out the month of August, falling 1–3 to the Utah Royals, and dropping to the bottom of the table.

Summer Cup

Houston started the

2024 NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup The 2024 NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup was the inaugural edition of the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, a women's soccer competition between clubs from the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) of the United States and Liga MX Femenil of ...

with a road loss against Kansas City Currant, 3–1. Returning home to play two games against Mexican sides, Houston captured a 2–1 win over

Tigres UANL Club Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, abbreviated as Tigres UANL and simply known as Tigres or internationally as Tigres de México, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in the Monterrey metropo ...

on goals from Sarah Puntigam and Babera Olivieri. Securing their second win of the Summer Cup, Houston earned a 2–0 win against C.F. Pachuca on goals from Andressa and Diana Ordóñez.

September/October

Houston fell 2–1 o NJ/NY Gotham on he road, giving up a late goal. Diana Ordóñez scoring Houston's only goal in he 17th minute. In their next game, Houston lost 3–0 in a dominating performance by the Washington Spirit. Houston earned a 1–0 victory a home against he Seattle Reign on a 50th minute goal by Yuki Nagasato. Houston went on the road to Orlando falling 3–1 to the Pride. The loan goal for Houston was scored by Nagasato. On October 1, 2024, Houston announced that they had reached an agreement with head coach Fran Alonso to part ways. The team also announced that Rickey Clarke would serve as interim coach as the new General Manager works to hire a new coach. Facing Chicago at home, Houston fell 0–2, officially becoming eliminated from post season changes. Houston went on the road and earned a 2–0 win against San Diego Wave. Houston split the series on the road with a 2–1 loss to the Seattle Reign. Houston fell 2–3 to playoff bound Bay FC in the final game of the season. Houston had goals by Olivieri and Patterson, but Bay FC put three in the back of the net on a brace by

Racheal Kundananji Racheal Kundananji (born 3 June 2000) is a Zambian professional footballer who plays as a forward for National Women's Soccer League club Bay FC and the Zambia national team. Club career Kundananji's first team was the Konkola Queens, a Chili ...

Season

Pre-season

March/April

May/June

July/August

Summer Cup

September/October

Roster

Transactions

2024 NWSL Draft

Transfers in

Loan in

Transfers out

Loan out

New contracts

Staff

Non-competitive fixtures

Preseason

Competitive fixtures

2024 National Women's Soccer League season

Regular-season standings

= Results summary

Legend

= Results by matchday

League

NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup

Awards and honors

Save of the week

Goal of the week

End-of-season awards

See also

References

External links