# 2022 Houston Dash season

The 2022 Houston Dash season was the team's ninth season as an American professional women's soccer team in the National Women's Soccer League.
The 2022 NWSL season ran from May 7, 2022, to October 2, 2022, following the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup.

## Season

The Dash started the season taking part in the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup. Houston finished in 4th place in Central Division with 2 wins and 4 losses. On April 27, 2022, the team suspended coach James Clarkson for allegations of discrimination, harassment, and abuse, based on an investigation started by the NWSL and NWSLPA the prior season. The Houston Dash appointed assistant coach Sarah Lowdon as acting head coach. The Dash went on a six-game unbeaten streak during Lowdon's tenure including a 2–0 away win at the Portland Thorns and a 5–0 win at home against the Orlando Pride with Nichelle Prince scoring the club's first hat trick. On June 15, 2022, the Dash appointed Amorós as the club's new interim head coach pending visa approval. Amorós would not join the team until July 12 while waiting for his visa. In his first match managing the dash on 16 July, with newly acquired striker Ebony Salmon scoring a hat-trick, the Dash under Amorós defeated the Chicago Red Stars 4–1.
On August 24, 2022, the Dash hired former NWSL player Alex Singer as general manager.

## Roster

As of October 16, 2022.
| 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 Cardinal | 23 | 0 |
| 20 | Lindsey Harris | GK | (1993-11-19) November 19, 1993 (age 31) | 2020 | Klepp | 1 | 0 |
| 33 | Ella Dederick | GK | (1996-07-27) July 27, 1996 (age 28) | 2021 | OL Reign | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||
| 2 | Allysha Chapman | DF | (1989-01-25) January 25, 1989 (age 35) | 2018 | North Carolina Courage | 14 | 0 |
| 5 | Caprice Dydasco | DF | (1993-08-19) August 19, 1993 (age 31) | 2022 | NJ/NY Gotham | 8 | 0 |
| 9 | Haley Hanson | DF | (1996-02-02) February 2, 1996 (age 28) | 2018 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | 15 | 0 |
| 12 | Julia Ashley | DF | (1996-11-11) November 11, 1996 (age 28) | 2022 | Racing Louisville | 5 | 0 |
| 23 | Ally Prisock | DF | (1997-01-18) January 18, 1997 (age 28) | 2021 | USC Trojans | 24 | 0 |
| 25 | Katie Naughton | DF | (1994-02-15) February 15, 1994 (age 30) | 2020 | Perth Glory | 24 | 0 |
| 27 | Annika Schmidt | DF | (1993-05-04) May 4, 1993 (age 31) | 2022 | Butler Bulldogs | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Natalie Jacobs | DF | (1997-08-16) August 16, 1997 (age 27) | 2022 | Real Betis | 15 | 0 |
| 41 | Machaela George | DF | (1997-10-03) October 3, 1997 (age 27) | 2022 | SC Braga | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | Tiernny Wiltshire | DF | (1998-05-08) May 8, 1998 (age 26) | 2022 | Kuopion Palloseura | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| 7 | María Sánchez | MF | (1996-02-20) February 20, 1996 (age 28) | 2021 | Tigres UANL | 22 | 1 |
| 10 | Shea Groom | MF | (1993-05-04) May 4, 1993 (age 31) | 2020 | Reign FC | 20 | 1 |
| 13 | Sophie Schmidt | MF | (1998-06-28) June 28, 1998 (age 26) | 2019 | FFC Frankfurt | 20 | 4 |
| 14 | Brianna Visalli | MF | (1995-04-17) April 17, 1995 (age 29) | 2020 | Birmingham City | 16 | 1 |
| 15 | Marisa Viggiano | MF | (1997-02-05) February 5, 1997 (age 27) | 2022 | Orlando Pride | 22 | 3 |
| 17 | Kelcie Hedge | MF | (1997-09-19) September 19, 1997 (age 27) | 2021 | OL Reign | 3 | 0 |
| 18 | Emily Ogle | MF | (1996-08-05) August 5, 1996 (age 28) | 2021 | Portland Thorns | 16 | 0 |
| 26 | Makamae Gomera-Stevens | MF | (1999-03-17) March 17, 1999 (age 25) | 2021 | Washington State Cougars | 3 | 0 |
| 31 | Kayla Hamric | MF | (1998-12-08) December 8, 1998 (age 26) | 2022 | UF Fjölnir | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | Maegan Rosa | MF | (1992-02-19) February 19, 1992 (age 32) | 2022 | Houston Dash | 0 | 0 |
| 66 | Haley Berg | MF | (1998-09-23) September 23, 1998 (age 26) | 2022 | Zaragoza CFF | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards |||||||||
| 3 | Rachel Daly | FW | (1991-12-06) December 6, 1991 (age 33) | 2016 | SoCal fC | 6 | 4 |
| 8 | Nichelle Prince | FW | (1995-02-15) February 15, 1995 (age 29) | 2017 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 20 | 6 |
| 11 | Ebony Salmon | FW | (2001-01-27) January 27, 2001 (age 23) | 2022 | Racing Louisville | 14 | 9 |
| 19 | Elizabeth Eddy | FW | (1991-09-13) September 13, 1991 (age 33) | 2022 | NJ/NY Gotham | 15 | 2 |
| 21 | Ryan Gareis | FW | (1998-11-13) November 13, 1998 (age 26) | 2022 | South Carolina Gamecocks | 15 | 0 |
| 22 | Michelle Alozie | FW | (1997-04-28) April 28, 1997 (age 27) | 2021 | Tennessee Lady Volunteers | 12 | 2 |
| 24 | Paulina Gramaglia | FW | (2003-03-21) March 21, 2003 (age 21) | 2022 | UAI Urquiza | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | Cali Farquharson | FW | (1993-12-17) December 17, 1993 (age 31) | 2022 | KIF Örebro | 6 | 0 |
| 29 | Joelle Anderson | FW | (1998-10-06) October 6, 1998 (age 26) | 2022 | Pepperdine Waves | 9 | 1 |
| 34 | Michaela Abam | FW | (1997-06-12) June 12, 1997 (age 27) | 2021 | Real Betis | 13 | 0 |
| 89 | Valérie Gauvin | FW | (1996-06-01) June 1, 1996 (age 28) | 2022 | North Carolina Courage | 2 | 0 |
    Struck players are no longer with the team.

## Staff

As of 24 August 2022
| Role | Name |
| President | Jessica O'Neill |
| General manager | Alex Singer |
| Interim head coach | Juan Carlos Amorós |
| Acting Head Coach/First Assistant Coach | Sarah Lowdon |
| Assistant coach | Michael Balogun |
| Assistant coach Video analyst | Hiro Suzuki |
| Assistant general manager | Carlos Martinez-Gloria |
| Equipment manager | Paloma Paez |
| Head athletic trainer | Frances Gilbert-Carlson |
| High performance coach | Corey Ashe |

## Competitions
### 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup
#### Divisional standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | T | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | KC | CHI | LOU | HOU |
| 1 | Kansas City Current | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 13 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 |
| 2 | Chicago Red Stars | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 8 | | 1–2 | — | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| 3 | Racing Louisville FC | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 6 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–3 |
| 4 | Houston Dash | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 13 | −6 | 6 | | 0–3 | 1–3 | 2–1 | — |

### 2022 National Women's Soccer League season
#### Regular-season standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 2 | Portland Thorns FC (C) | 22 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 49 | 24 | +25 | 39 | Playoffs – semi-finals |
| 3 | San Diego Wave FC | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 32 | 21 | +11 | 36 | Playoffs – first round |
| 4 | Houston Dash | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 35 | 27 | +8 | 36 | Playoffs – first round |
| 5 | Kansas City Current | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 36 | Playoffs – first round |
| 6 | Chicago Red Stars | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 34 | 28 | +6 | 33 | Playoffs – first round |

##### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: October 1, 2022. Source: NWSLsoccer.com

##### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| Stadium | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | H | A |
| Result | L | W | D | W | D | W | D | L | W | L | L | W | W | W | D | W | L | D | D | W | L | W |
| Position | 10 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4 |

## Transactions
### 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft

The 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft was an expansion draft held by the NWSL on December 16, 2021, for two expansion teams, Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC, to select players from existing teams in the league.
On December 10, 2021, the NWSL released the protected lists from teams participating in the draft.
* Bold indicates players selected in the Expansion Draft
* Blue highlights indicate United States federation players
* Italics indicate players who are not under contract but whose NWSL playing rights remain with the team
Of the Houston Dash's unprotected player list, San Diego selected Kristie Mewis and Angel City selected Jasmyne Spencer.
| Protected | Unprotected |
| Jane Campbell | Michaela Abam |
| Rachel Daly | Michelle Alozie |
| Makamae Gomera-Stevens | Joelle Anderson |
| Shea Groom | Bridgette Andrzejewski |
| Haley Hanson | Allysha Chapman |
| Katie Naughton | Taylor Comeau |
| Nichelle Prince | Niki Cross |
| Maria Sanchez | Amanda Dennis |
| Gabby Seiler | Hannah Diaz |
| | Marissa Diggs |
| | Lindsey Harris |
| | Melissa Henderson |
| | Bianca Henninger |
| | Savannah Jordan |
| | Veronica Latsko |
| | Kristie Mewis |
| | Christine Nairn |
| | Emily Ogle |
| | Megan Oyster |
| | Ally Prisock |
| | Annika Schmidt |
| | Sophie Schmidt |
| | Jasmyne Spencer |
| | Bri Visalli |

### 2022 NWSL Draft

Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. The 2022 NWSL Draft was held on December 18, 2021.
| Round | Pick | Nat. | Player | Pos. | College | Status | Ref. |
| 4 | 46 | | Ryan Gareis | FW | South Carolina | Signed a two-year contract. | |

### Transfers in

| Date | Player | Pos. | Previous club | Fee/notes |
| December 17, 2021 | Julia Ashley | DF | Racing Louisville FC | Acquired in exchange for the 26th overall pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft. |
| December 18, 2021 | Kelcie Hedge | MF | OL Reign | Acquired in exchange for the 22nd-overall pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft and $15,000 in allocation money. |
| December 20, 2021 | Paulina Gramaglia | FW | UAI Urquiza | Acquired on loan from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022. |
| December 22, 2021 | Ella Dederick | GK | OL Reign | Acquired in exchange for the Dash's natural third-round pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft. |
| January 6, 2022 | María Sánchez | FW | Tigres UANL | Signed a two-year contract. |
| January 28, 2022 | Marisa Viggiano | DF | Orlando Pride | Acquired in exchange for Megan Montefusco, $30,000 in allocation money, and OL Reign's natural third-round pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft. |
| April 5, 2022 | Natalie Jacobs | MF | Real Betis Féminas | Signed a National Team Replacement player contract. |
| May 7, 2022 | Natalie Jacobs | MF | Houston Dash | Signed an Injury Replacement player contract. |
| June 27, 2022 | Ebony Salmon | FW | Racing Louisville FC | Acquired in exchange for up to $190,000 of allocation money, depending on performance-related conditions. |
| August 19, 2022 | Caprice Dydasco | DF | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Acquired in exchange for $120,000 in allocation money, and up to $150,000, increasing by $10,000 per playoff appearance. |
| August 23, 2022 | Valérie Gauvin | FW | North Carolina Courage | Acquired in exchange for $25,000 in allocation money and a conditional second-round pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft. |
| August 25, 2022 | Tiernny Wiltshire | DF | Kuopion Palloseura | Signed to a contract until the end of the 2022 season. |

### Transfers out

| Date | Player | Pos. | Destination club | Fee/notes |
| January 14, 2022 | Veronica Latsko | FW | OL Reign | Traded in exchange for $30,000 in allocation money and OL Reign's natural third-round pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft. |
| January 28, 2022 | Megan Montefusco | DF | Orlando Pride | Traded with $30,000 in allocation money and OL Reign's natural third-round pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft in exchange for Marisa Viggiano. |
| January 31, 2022 | Gabby Kessler | MF | None | Retired. |
| April 22, 2022 | Natalie Jacobs | MF | None | National Team Replacement player contract expired. |
| August 9, 2022 | Rachel Daly | FW | Aston Villa W.F.C. | Transferred for an undisclosed fee. |
| August 18, 2022 | Haley Hanson | DF | Orlando Pride | Traded in exchange for $75,000 in allocation money and a second-round pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft. |

## Awards and honors
### NWSL Best XI

| Award | Awardee | Position | Ref |
| NWSL Best XI Second Team | Ebony Salmon | FW | |

### End-of-season Team awards

| Award | Winner | Position |
| Most Valuable Player | Sophie Schmidt | MF |
| Player's Player of the Year | Sophie Schmidt | MF |
| Golden Boot | Ebony Salmon | FW |
| Defender of the Year | Jane Campbell | GK |
| Newcomer of the Year | Marisa Viggiano | MF |
| Young Player of the Year | Ryan Gareis | FW |