# 2021 Houston Dash season

The 2021 Houston Dash season was the team's eighth season as an American professional women's soccer team in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
The 2021 NWSL season returned as a full league season after COVID-19 caused the 2020 NWSL season to be limited to the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup and Fall Series. The NWSL continued to showcase the Challenge Cup in 2021, prior to a full league season starting in late April.

## Background

The Dash retained their 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup-winning coach and general manager, James Clarkson, and much of their roster from the previous season.
In June 2021, real-estate developer Ted Segal reportedly paid $400 million to purchase majority ownership of the Houston Dynamo and Dash, and the leasing rights to BBVA Stadium, from Gabriel Brener, who retained a minority stake.
Six of the Dash's regular starters participated in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, held in July and August. Three Canadian national team members of the Dash returned from the competition as gold medalists: Allysha Chapman, Nichelle Prince, and Sophie Schmidt.
During the 2021 season, current and former players across the league leveled numerous allegations of abuse and misconduct among several teams' coaches and managers. The resulting investigations led to several coaches and managers being fired or asked to resign. Along with other coaching turnover during the 2021 season, Clarkson was the only male coach who started the season to retain his job at the end of it, though he would be suspended at the start of the 2022 Houston Dash season pending an investigation into allegations of misconduct.

## Stadium

The Dash continued to play in BBVA Stadium in 2022. In June 2021, the stadium was rebranded as PNC Stadium following PNC Financial Services' acquisition of BBVA USA.

## Player and staff
### Roster

As of November 5, 2021.
| No. | Name | Position(s) | Date of birth (age) | Signed in | Previous club | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||
| 1 | Jane Campbell | GK | (1995-02-17) February 17, 1995 (age 29) | 2017 | Stanford Cardinals | 18 | 0 |
| 20 | Lindsey Harris | GK | (1993-11-19) November 19, 1993 (age 31) | 2020 | Klepp | 5 | 0 |
| 33 | Amanda Dennis | GK | (1998-05-25) May 25, 1998 (age 26) | 2020 | Penn State Nittany Lions | 1 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||
| 2 | Allysha Chapman | DF | (1989-01-25) January 25, 1989 (age 35) | 2018 | North Carolina Courage | 16 | 0 |
| 11 | Megan Oyster | DF | (1992-09-03) September 3, 1992 (age 32) | 2020 | Reign FC | 21 | 0 |
| 21 | Deneisha Blackwood | DF | (1997-03-07) March 7, 1997 (age 27) | 2021 | Orlando Pride | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | Abby Dahlkemper | DF | (1993-05-04) May 4, 1993 (age 31) | 2021 | North Carolina Courage | 8 | 0 |
| 25 | Katie Naughton | DF | (1994-02-15) February 15, 1994 (age 30) | 2020 | Perth Glory | 24 | 3 |
| 27 | Annika Schmidt | DF | (1993-05-04) May 4, 1993 (age 31) | 2021 | Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| 5 | Gabby Seiler | MF | (1994-09-14) September 14, 1994 (age 30) | 2021 | Portland Thorns FC | 24 | 2 |
| 6 | Shea Groom | MF | (1993-05-04) May 4, 1993 (age 31) | 2020 | Reign FC | 24 | 3 |
| 9 | Haley Hanson | MF | (1996-02-22) February 22, 1996 (age 28) | 2018 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | ? | ? |
| 10 | Christine Nairn | MF | (1990-09-25) September 25, 1990 (age 34) | 2019 | Orlando Pride | 5 | 0 |
| 13 | Sophie Schmidt | MF | (1998-06-28) June 28, 1998 (age 26) | 2019 | FFC Frankfurt | 18 | 0 |
| 14 | Brianna Visalli | MF | (1995-04-17) April 17, 1995 (age 29) | 2020 | Birmingham City | 16 | 2 |
| 18 | Emily Ogle | MF | (1996-08-05) August 5, 1996 (age 28) | 2021 | Portland Thorns FC | 8 | 0 |
| 19 | Kristie Mewis | MF | (1991-02-25) February 25, 1991 (age 33) | 2017 | Chicago Red Stars | 16 | 3 |
| 29 | Andrea Hauksdóttir | MF | (1996-01-28) January 28, 1996 (age 28) | 2021 | Breiðablik | 1 | 0 |
| 33 | Makamae Gomera-Stevens | MF | (1999-03-17) March 17, 1999 (age 25) | 2021 | Washington State Cougars | 13 | 0 |
| 36 | Amber Marshall | MF | (1999-01-24) January 24, 1999 (age 25) | 2021 | Utah Royals FC Reserves | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards |||||||||
| 3 | Rachel Daly | FW | (1991-12-04) December 4, 1991 (age 32) | 2016 | SoCal FC | 15 | 9 |
| 4 | Maegan Rosa | FW | (1992-02-19) February 19, 1992 (age 32) | 2020 | Florentina | 4 | 0 |
| 8 | Nichelle Prince | FW | (1995-02-15) February 15, 1995 (age 29) | 2017 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 16 | 2 |
| 12 | Veronica Latsko | FW | (1995-12-12) December 12, 1995 (age 28) | 2018 | Virginia Cavaliers | 22 | 3 |
| 16 | Hannah Diaz | FW | (1996-02-17) February 17, 1996 (age 28) | 2021 | FC Fleury 91 | 2 | 0 |
| 22 | Jasmyne Spencer | FW | (1990-08-27) August 27, 1990 (age 34) | 2021 | OL Reign | 18 | 1 |
| 24 | Jamia Fields | FW | (1993-09-24) September 24, 1993 (age 31) | 2019 | Avaldsnes IL | 8 | 0 |
| 34 | Michaela Abam | FW | (1997-06-12) June 12, 1997 (age 27) | 2021 | Real Betis | 7 | 1 |
| 35 | Michelle Alozie | FW | (1997-04-28) April 28, 1997 (age 27) | 2021 | Tennessee Lady Volunteers | 4 | 0 |

### Staff

    As of June 22, 2021.
Executive :
| Majority owner | Ted Segal |
| Minority owners | Gabriel Brener Oscar De La Hoya Ben Guill James Harden |
| President of business operations | John Walker |
| Coaching Staff ||
| Head coach General manager | James Clarkson |
| Assistant coach | Twila Kaufman |
| Goalkeeping coach | Brenton Saylor |

## Competitions
### NWSL Challenge Cup

The Dash returned to defend their title after winning the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup. However, the Dash struggled to win matches and failed to advance from the group stage, claiming victory once and drawing three times to finish third behind OL Reign and eventual champions Portland Thorns FC in the West Division.

#### Divisional standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Portland Thorns FC | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 10 | Qualification for the Championship |
| 2 | OL Reign | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 7 | |
| 3 | Houston Dash | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 | |
| 4 | Chicago Red Stars | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 2 | |
| 5 | Kansas City | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 1 | |

### National Women's Soccer League season

The Dash rose as high as third in the NWSL table during the season, and with three matches remaining required only one point to clinch a first-ever league playoffs berth. However, the Dash lost all three matches, going scoreless in each, and missed the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season.

#### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Portland Thorns FC | 24 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 33 | 17 | +16 | 44 | NWSL Shield |
| 2 | OL Reign | 24 | 13 | 3 | 8 | 37 | 24 | +13 | 42 | Playoffs – Semi-finals |
| 3 | Washington Spirit (C) | 24 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 29 | 26 | +3 | 39 | Playoffs – First round |
| 4 | Chicago Red Stars | 24 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 38 | Playoffs – First round |
| 5 | NJ/NY Gotham FC | 24 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 29 | 21 | +8 | 35 | Playoffs – First round |
| 6 | North Carolina Courage | 24 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 28 | 23 | +5 | 33 | Playoffs – First round |
| 7 | Houston Dash | 24 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 32 | |
| 8 | Orlando Pride | 24 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 27 | 32 | −5 | 28 | |
| 9 | Racing Louisville FC | 24 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 21 | 40 | −19 | 22 | |
| 10 | Kansas City | 24 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 15 | 36 | −21 | 16 | |

### International Champions Cup

By virtue of being the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup champions, the Women's International Champions Cup invited the Dash to the 2021 friendly exhibition tournament, staged on 18–21 August 2021 in Portland, Oregon. The Dash were joined by 2020 NWSL Fall Series winners Portland Thorns FC, 2019-20 UEFA Women's Champions League and 2019–20 Division 1 Féminine winners Olympique Lyon, and 2019–20 Primera División Femenina winners FC Barcelona Femení. The Dash drew against the Thorns in regulation of the semi-final match, but lost in a penalty shootout. The Dash also fell in the third-place match against FC Barcelona, despite rallying to a 2–1 lead in the second half.

#### Bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| August 18 – Portland | August 18 – Portland |
| Lyon | 3 |
| Lyon | 3 | August 21 – Portland | August 21 – Portland |
| Barcelona | 2 | August 21 – Portland | August 21 – Portland |
| Barcelona | 2 | Lyon | 0 |
| August 18 – Portland | August 18 – Portland | | Lyon | 0 |
| August 18 – Portland | August 18 – Portland | Portland Thorns FC | 1 |
| Portland Thorns FC (p) | 2 (3) | Portland Thorns FC | 1 |
| Houston Dash | 2 (1) | | |
| Houston Dash | 2 (1) | Third place play-off | Third place play-off |
| | | August 21 – Portland | August 21 – Portland |
| | | Barcelona | 3 |
| | | Houston Dash | 2 |