Houston Dash – Page 3 – Women's Soccer Express

NWSL News of Note: Free Agency Moves — Delanie Sheehan to Dash, Madison Curry to Reign, Maitane López to Red Stars, Sam Hiatt to Portland, Madison Ayson signs with Canberra

Leading the free agency moves for the first week of December is midfielder Delanie Sheehan signing with the Houston Dash after being a regular starter for Gotham FC since May 2023. Gotham also lost a second midfielder this week, Maitane López, who switched over to the Chicago Red Stars, as well as a defender, Sam Hiatt, who is now a Portland Thorns player.

Defender Madison Curry, a regular starter for Angel City this year as a rookie, has signed a three-year contract with the Seattle Reign.

Additionally, rookie defender Madison Ayson, who was on the Houston Dash roster this season, but only saw limited minutes, signed with Canberra United at the end of November.

NWSL News of Note, Coaches and Front Offices Edition: Ellis departs Wave for FIFA, Interim coaching vacancies at Wave and Dash, Angel City and Racing GMs depart, Boston hires GM

Leading this special edition of NWSL News of Note is the surprise departure of San Diego Wave President Jill Ellis for a new position with FIFA.

The NWSL’s other Southern California club, Angel City, also has a front office vacancy due to general manager Angel Hucles Mangano “part[ing] ways” with the club.

Racing Louisville is looking for a new general manager after Ryan Dell left to pursue another opportunity.

Additionally, both the Wave and the Houston Dash have empty head coach offices. For the Wave, Landon Donovan “has conclude[d] his tenure”, while Ricky Clarke and the Dash “agreed to part ways”.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the new Boston franchise announced that it has hired FC Barcelona’s Domènec “Domè” Guasch as its first general manager.

NWSL News of Note: Trinity Byars signed by Wave, Jess Fishlock and Ryan Williams extend, Celia Jiménez Delgado to retire, Rafaelle on SEI List

Leading the notables from the past week is the San Diego Wave’s signing of Texas forward Trinity Byars, who was a standout player for both the Longhorns and the USA’s U-20 WYNT.

Meanwhile, two key players for their teams, midfielder Jess Fishlock of the Seattle Reign and defender Ryan Williams of the North Carolina Courage, are extending their stays in the NWSL. Also, the Orlando Pride’s Celia Jiménez Delgado has announced that she will retire after the conclusion of the playoffs.

Additionally, the Brazilian international Rafaelle was placed on the season-ending injury list by the Orlando Pride due to a “partial tear” of a tendon in her right thigh, and Houston Dash back-up goalkeeper Heather Hinz has been loaned to Fort Lauderdale United of the USL Super League for the NWSL off-season.

Finally, some good news: Brazilian midfielder Luana, whose first season in the NWSL was cut short by a cancer diagnosis, completed a series of chemotherapy treatments for Hodgkin’s lymphoma in October and has had follow-up tests which show no evidence of the disease.

NWSL News of Note: Chicago Red Stars rebrand; Leroux, DiBernardo, McNabb, and Brown extend; Lacasse and Ordóñez on SEI List; Montefusco retires

Among the notables that happened during the international break…

The Chicago Red Stars drop “Red” from the club’s name and introduced a new crest.
Four players signed new contracts: Sydney Leroux of Angel City, Vanessa DiBernardo of the Kansas City Current, Kristen McNabb of the San Diego Wave, and Ryanne Brown of the Seattle Reign.
Also, Megan Montefusco (née Oyster) of the Orlando Pride officially announced her retirement. Montefusco was twice capped by the senior USWNT.
Two players, Cloé Lacasse (ACL/meniscus) of the Utah Royals and the Houston Dash’s Diana Ordóñez (shoulder surgery) were moved to the Season-Ending Injury List.
In coaching news, Utah Royals interim head coach Jimmy Coenraets is no longer “interim” after signing a two-year contract.
The NWSL Disciplinary Committee announced additional match suspensions for Chicago Red Stars forward Ludmila and Washington Spirit forward Rosemonde Kouassi.

Additionally, the league announced that Grammy-winner Melissa Etheridge will be performing the National Anthem at the 2024 NWSL Championship in Kansas City, Missouri.

NWSL News of Note: Dash sign U-18 midfielder Zoe Matthews, Olivia Wade-Katoa on SEI List, Bay FC sign midfielder Catherine Paulson

Friday’s notables all involve midfielders:

The Houston Dash signed 6’2″ midfielder Zoe Matthews under the U18 Entry Mechanism. Matthews is eligible to play for both Jamaica and the USA.
The Portland Thorns placed rookie midfielder Olivia Wade-Katoa is out for the rest of the season and will undergo knee surgery.
Bay FC signed Catherine Paulson for the remainder of the season. Paulson had been a National Team Replacement Player during Savy King’s absence.

NWSL News of Note, Teams Edition: Billionaire Marc Lasry expected to acquire controlling stake in Courage; Bay FC to build training facility, Current stadium to host 2025 NCAA College Cup

Leading this edition of notables is the news that Steve Malik, the primary owner of the North Carolina Courage is in formal talks to sell a 60% stake in the Courage to billionaire Marc Lasry. Should that deal go through retired NWSL player Lauren Holiday is expected to have “a very active role” in the Courage organization.

Also, Bay FC has announced plans to acquire a lease of land on Treasure Island, in the San Francisco Bay, for a permanent and dedicated training facility, which would also include offices for its sporting operations.

In head coaching news, the Houston Dash have officially parted ways with Fran Alonso who had been mysteriously absent from the team since the end of June.

Other notables include:

Angel City: MLS club Los Angeles FC acquires minority stake
Kansas City Current: CPKC Stadium will host 2025 NCAA Women’s College Cup
Gotham FC: Ali Krieger named Club Ambassador
Portland Thorns: RAJ Sports awarded Portland WNBA Franchise
Racing Louisville’s attendance woes — “We’d love to see more of you”

Angel City’s violation of the salary cap and other league rules is covered in a separate post: Angel City FC fined $200,000 and docked 3 points for violating salary cap and other league rules.

Additionally, SafeSports investigation into former Chicago Red Stars head coach Rory Dames has apparently been closed due to “insufficient” evidence. However, the root cause appears to be a blatantly deficient investigation.

NWSL News of Note, Players Edition: Christine Sinclair announces retirement, Contract renewals include Alyssa Naeher, Ann-Katrin Berger, Julie Doyle, and Tara McKeown

Leading the notables since the last update is the announcement by one of the all-time greats, Christine Sinclair, who will be ending her professional playing career at the end of the season.

Another retiring player, Gotham FC’s Kelley O’Hara was placed on the season-ending injury list due to “chronic knee degeneration”.

In other player-related news, three goalkeepers extended with their clubs: Alyssa Naeher of the Chicago Red Stars, Ann-Katrin Berger of Gotham FC, and Jordan Silkowitz of Bay FC.

Other players re-signing with their clubs include

Orlando Pride: Julie Doyle
Washington Spirit: Tara McKeown
Houston Dash: Sophie Schmidt
Utah Royals: Laura Flynn and Cristina Rogue

Additionally, the Washington Spirit have loaned defender Waniya Hudson to the Dallas Trinity of the USL Super League for the remainder of her contract.

NWSL News of Note: Huerta loaned to Lyon, Tarciane out with shoulder injury, Two Morgans extend, U-20 WWC update

Leading the mid-week notables is the news that the Seattle Reign will loan fullback Sofia Huerta to Olympique Lyonnais through June 2025. Also, Houston Dash center back Tarciane is out for an indefinite period due to a shoulder injury.

Also in this update:

San Diego Wave: Sofia Jakobsson released
Portland Thorns: Morgan Weaver extends through the 2028 season
Orlando Pride: Morgan Gautrat signs one-year extension, with option for 2026
U-20 WWC Players Update: The USA and Japan advance, Canada out

NWSL News of Note: Cece Kizer signed by Gotham, Alozie and Bike extend, U-20 WWC Players Update, Former Royals Find New Homes

Here are the notables since last Friday’s update:

Gotham FC: Forward Cece Kizer signs through 2025
Houston Dash: Michelle Alozie extends for two seasons
Chicago Red Stars: Jenna Bike extends through 2026
U-20 WWC Players Update
Former Utah Royals find new homes
Gotham FC: Sinead Farrelly honored on Sunday
ESPN: NWSL General Manager survey

NWSL News of Note: Royals Release Amandine Henry and Ifeoma Onumonu, Debinha stays in KC, plus more contract extensions

Friday, September 6th was not a slow news day in the NWSL.

Leading the notables are the addition of two new league front office hires, retired New Zealand international Sarah Gregorius for the role of “Senior Director, Sporting” and Karla Thompson as the new “Director of Youth Development”.

The top player-related headline is the departure of French midfielder Amandine Henry from the Utah Royals.

Here are the rest of the notables:

Kansas City Current: Debinha extends through 2026, with option for 2027
Houston Dash: Center back Natalie Jacobs extends through 2028
Houston Dash: Austrian midfielder Sarah Puntigam signs on for two more years
Orlando Pride: Back-up goalkeeper McKinley Crone extends through 2026
Utah Royals: Nigerian forward Ifeoma Onumonu Released