2015 Houston Dash season

The 2015 season was 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 included 20 total games (10 home, 10 away) against eight other NWSL teams. The Dash sought to qualify for 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.

Houston Dash
2015 season
Managing DirectorBrian Ching
Head coachRandy Waldrum
StadiumBBVA Compass Stadium
NWSL5th
NWSL ChampionshipDid not qualify
Top goalscorerJessica McDonald (7)
Highest home attendance13,025
(July 12 vs. Chicago; sellout, franchise record)
Lowest home attendance3,499
(June 20 vs. Western New York)
Average home league attendance6,413
Biggest win2–0 v. WAS, April 10
2–0 v. WNY, June 20
Biggest defeat0–3 v. SEA, August 22
← 2014
2016 →
All statistics correct as of September 7, 2015.

Background

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College draft

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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

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Date Opponents Ground Result
F–A
Scorers Notes
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

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April

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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

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Coaching staff

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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 September 5, 2015
Source: Houston Dash

Other information

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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 September 5, 2015
Source: Houston Dash

Squad

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The following is a list of players who were under contract with, or appeared on a gameday roster as an amateur call-up for, the Houston Dash during the 2015 season.[3][4]

N
Pos.
Nat.
Name
Age
Since
App
Goals
Ends
Transfer fee
Notes
1 GK   Erin McLeod 32 2014 11 0 Undisclosed Allocation
2 DF   Carleigh Williams 22 2015 2 0 Undisclosed Free Rookie season
Waived July 27[5]
2 MF   Andressinha 20 2015 7 0 Undisclosed Free Signed July 27[5]
3 FW   Allie Bailey 21 2015 7 1 Undisclosed Amateur[6]
4 DF   Lauren Sesselmann 32 2014 1 0 Undisclosed Allocation Inactive
5 GK   Jordan Day 22[7] 2015 0 0 Undisclosed Amateur[8]
5 DF   Toni Pressley 32 2015 15 0 Undisclosed Trade Acquired May 11[9]
6 MF   Morgan Brian 22 2015 10 0 Undisclosed Free Rookie season
7 FW   Kealia Ohai 23 2014 19 4 Undisclosed Free
8 MF   Jordan Jackson 24 2014 9 0 Undisclosed Free
9 DF   Camila 20 2015 12 0 Undisclosed Free Acquired May 20[10]
9 FW   Stephanie Roche 26 2015 2 0 Undisclosed Undisclosed Waived May 20[10]
10 MF   Carli Lloyd 33 2015 12 4 Undisclosed Allocation
11 MF   Brittany Bock 28 2014 5 0 Undisclosed Expansion Draft
12 FW   Tiffany McCarty 24 2014 17 1 Undisclosed Expansion Draft
13 DF   Jen LaPonte 26 2015 6 0 Undisclosed Discovery signing Signed Aug. 7
5 app. as amateur
14 FW   Jessica McDonald 27 2015 20 7 Undisclosed Trade
15 DF   Allysha Chapman 26 2015 5 0 Undisclosed Allocation Inactive
16 MF   Ashley Nick 27 2014 3 0 Undisclosed Trade Traded May 11[9]
17 DF   Lauren Silver 22 2015 0 0 Undisclosed Amateur
18 GK   Bianca Henninger 24 2014 10 0 Undisclosed Trade
19 DF   Niki Cross 30 2014 15 0 Undisclosed Trade Retired Aug. 1[11]
20 MF   Jordan O'Brien 22 2015 0 0 Undisclosed Amateur[6]
21 FW   Melissa Henderson 26 2014 20 0 Undisclosed Trade
22 DF   Stephanie Ochs 25 2014 2 0 Undisclosed Trade Inactive from May 20[10]
23 MF   Cami Privett 22 2015 4 0 Undisclosed Amateur[6]
24 DF   Ellie Brush 27 2015 15 1 Undisclosed Free Acquired May 20[10]
25 DF   Meghan Klingenberg 27 2014 12 0 Undisclosed Allocation
26 DF   Jazmyne Avant 25 2015 1 0 Undisclosed Amateur[6]
28 GK   Megan Kinneman 23 2015 0 0 Undisclosed Amateur[6]
30 DF   Ella Masar 29 2014 19 2 Undisclosed Expansion Draft
40 MF   Rachael Axon 29 2014 15 1 Undisclosed Discovery signing
  • Last updated: September 7, 2015
  • Source: Houston Dash,[3] NWSL[4]
  • Ordered by squad number.

Where a player has not declared an international allegiance, nation is determined by place of birth.

Standings and match results

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National Women's Soccer League

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League standings

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Pos Team 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: Houston Dash

Results by matchday
Matchday1234567891011121314151617181920
GroundHAAHHAAHHAHAAHAHAHHA
ResultWDLLDWDDWLLDWWLLLLWD
Position[a]12466455456654456655
Updated to match(es) played on September 7, 2015. Source: Houston Dash
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
  1. ^ Houston Dash's position in the league at the end of match day

Matches

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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
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

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Month Player Month's statline Ref.
July   Carli Lloyd 3 goals; 3 appearances [12]
Week Result Player Ref.
7 Won   Bianca Henninger [13]

Squad statistics

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Field player statistics
N Pos Name GP GS Min G A WG Shot SOG Cro CK Off Foul FS YC RC
2 MF Andressinha 7 7 630 0 0 0 8 3 1 14 0 5 10 0 0
26 DF Jazmyne Avant 2 2 171 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
40 MF Rachael Axon 15 11 1,004 1 0 0 8 4 0 1 0 5 8 0 0
3 FW Allie Bailey 7 0 126 1 0 0 4 3 0 0 0 2 1 0 0
11 MF Brittany Bock 5 5 352 0 0 0 5 2 1 0 1 4 4 1 0
6 MF Morgan Brian 10 10 810 0 3 0 7 5 0 4 0 8 5 0 0
24 DF Ellie Brush 15 14 1,274 1 1 0 6 3 0 0 0 15 6 3 0
9 DF Camila 12 6 511 0 0 0 7 1 0 4 0 11 11 2 0
15 DF Allysha Chapman 5 4 376 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 7 0 0 0
19 DF Niki Cross 15 12 1,148 0 1 0 3 1 0 2 0 6 10 1 0
21 FW Melissa Henderson 20 14 1,123 0 2 0 16 9 0 50 6 8 7 0 0
8 MF Jordan Jackson 9 3 334 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 5 1 0 0
25 DF Meghan Klingenberg 12 12 1,046 0 2 0 7 1 0 0 1 3 3 0 0
13 DF Jen LaPonte 6 3 315 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0
10 MF Carli Lloyd 12 12 1,080 4 0 3 56 15 0 2 6 15 12 0 0
30 FW Ella Masar 19 18 1,606 2 0 1 7 6 1 0 0 11 9 6 0
12 FW Tiffany McCarty 17 7 741 1 0 0 23 12 1 1 4 3 10 0 0
14 FW Jessica McDonald 20 19 1,675 7 1 2 41 17 0 0 9 8 6 0 0
16 MF Ashley Nick 3 2 182 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0
22 DF Stephanie Ochs 3 2 154 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 0 0 0 0 0
7 FW Kealia Ohai 19 19 1,692 4 5 0 39 21 5 1 24 6 11 0 0
5 DF Toni Pressley 15 15 1,306 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 6 4 1 0
23 MF Cami Privett 4 2 205 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0
9 FW Stephanie Roche 2 0 24 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
4 DF Lauren Sesselmann 1 1 45 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
2 DF Carleigh Williams 2 1 151 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Goalkeeper statistics
N Pos Name 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 1.100 0 1 4
1 GK Erin McLeod 11 11 932 3 4 3 164 74 60 15 1.364 0 0 2

Source: NWSL[14]
Key to positions: FW: Forward, MF: Midfielder, DF: Defender, GK: Goalkeeper

References

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  1. ^ a b "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" (Press release). Houston Dynamo FC. April 10, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Houston Dash Roster". Houston Dynamo FC. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Houston Dash". National Women's Soccer League. Archived from the original on October 1, 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Houston Dash sign Brazilian midfielder Andressa". The Equalizer. July 27, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e Hal Kaiser [@hal_kaiser] (June 5, 2015). "Dash amateur call-ups for this weekend: Megan Kinneman, Cami Privett, Allie Bailey, Jen LaPonte, Jazmyne Avant, Jordan O'Brien. #DashOn" (Tweet). Retrieved June 27, 2023 – via Twitter.
  7. ^ "2014 Soccer Roster". Texas A&M Aggies women's soccer. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  8. ^ Sinclair, Scott (May 4, 2015). "FC Kansas City Shut Out Houston Dash 2-0". Playing for 90. FanSided. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Houston Dash acquire defender Toni Pressley from Western New York Flash" (Press release). Houston Dynamo FC. May 11, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d "Houston Dash sign defenders Ellie Brush and Camila" (Press release). Houston Dynamo FC. May 20, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  11. ^ Tolar, Alicia (July 29, 2015). "Niki Cross to retire from Houston Dash". Dynamo Theory. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ "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 July 10, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  14. ^ "All-Time Statistics". National Women's Soccer League. Archived from the original on October 6, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2023.