# 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.

## 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.
Houston Dash 2015 NWSL College Draft selections :
| 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.
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 |

## 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 September 5, 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 September 5, 2015 Source: Houston Dash

## Squad

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.
| N | Pos. | 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 |
| 2 | MF | Andressinha | 20 | 2015 | 7 | 0 | Undisclosed | Free | Signed July 27 |
| 3 | FW | Allie Bailey | 21 | 2015 | 7 | 1 | Undisclosed | Amateur | |
| 4 | DF | Lauren Sesselmann | 32 | 2014 | 1 | 0 | Undisclosed | Allocation | Inactive |
| 5 | GK | Jordan Day | 22 | 2015 | 0 | 0 | Undisclosed | Amateur | |
| 5 | DF | Toni Pressley | 32 | 2015 | 15 | 0 | Undisclosed | Trade | Acquired May 11 |
| 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 |
| 9 | FW | Stephanie Roche | 26 | 2015 | 2 | 0 | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Waived May 20 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 20 | MF | Jordan O'Brien | 22 | 2015 | 0 | 0 | Undisclosed | Amateur | |
| 21 | FW | Melissa Henderson | 26 | 2014 | 20 | 0 | Undisclosed | Trade | |
| 22 | DF | Stephanie Ochs | 25 | 2014 | 2 | 0 | Undisclosed | Trade | Inactive from May 20 |
| 23 | MF | Cami Privett | 22 | 2015 | 4 | 0 | Undisclosed | Amateur | |
| 24 | DF | Ellie Brush | 27 | 2015 | 15 | 1 | Undisclosed | Free | Acquired May 20 |
| 25 | DF | Meghan Klingenberg | 27 | 2014 | 12 | 0 | Undisclosed | Allocation | |
| 26 | DF | Jazmyne Avant | 25 | 2015 | 1 | 0 | Undisclosed | Amateur | |
| 28 | GK | Megan Kinneman | 23 | 2015 | 0 | 0 | Undisclosed | Amateur | |
| 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, NWSL
* Ordered by squad number.
Where a player has not declared an international allegiance, nation is determined by place of birth.

## Standings and match results
### National Women's Soccer League
#### League standings

| Pos | Teamvte | 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 | NWSL Playoffs |
| 4 | Washington Spirit | 20 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 31 | 28 | +3 | 30 | NWSL Playoffs |
| 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 | |

##### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: September 7, 2015. Source: Houston Dash

##### 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 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
* ↑ Houston Dash's position in the league at the end of match day

#### Matches
## Awards
### NWSL Player of the Month

| Month | Player | Month's statline | Ref. |
| July | Carli Lloyd | 3 goals; 3 appearances | |

### NWSL Player of the Week

| Week | Result | Player | Ref. |
| 7 | Won | Bianca Henninger | |

## Squad statistics

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