2020 Houston Dash season
Houston Dash 2020 soccer season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2020 Houston Dash season was the team's seventh season as an American professional women's soccer team in the National Women's Soccer League.
| 2020 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach | James Clarkson | ||
| Stadium | BBVA Stadium | ||
| 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup | Winners | ||
|
| |||
On January 6, 2020, the Dash traded team captain Kealia Ohai to the Chicago Red Stars, Ohai had been a member of the Dash since their inaugural season and is the team's all-time leading scorer.[1]
Competitions
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the NWSL did not hold a regular season as originally scheduled.[2] The season was replaced by the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup in July and the Fall Series in September and October.[3]
2020 NWSL Challenge Cup
Houston won the NWSL Challenge Cup after defeating the Chicago Red Stars 2–0 in the Championship Game. Dash forward Rachel Daly was named the Challenge Cup MVP.[4]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina Courage | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 12 |
| 2 | Washington Spirit | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | OL Reign | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 5 |
| 4 | Houston Dash | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 4 |
| 5 | Utah Royals FC (H) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 4 |
| 6 | Chicago Red Stars | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 4[a] |
| 7 | Sky Blue FC | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 4[a] |
| 8 | Portland Thorns FC | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 |
- Chicago Red Stars won the tiebreaker against Sky Blue FC on fewer yellow cards (1 to 4).
Preliminary round
| June 30, 2020 | Houston Dash | 3–3 | Utah Royals FC | Herriman, Utah |
| 10:30 | Report | Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Attendance: Behind closed doors Referee: Karen Abt |
| July 4, 2020 | Houston Dash | 2–0 | OL Reign | Herriman, Utah |
| 20:00 | Report | Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Attendance: Behind closed doors Referee: Lukasz Szpala |
| July 8, 2020 | Sky Blue FC | 2–0 | Houston Dash | Herriman, Utah |
| 20:00 | Report | Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Attendance: Behind closed doors Referee: Tori Penso |
| July 12, 2020 | Washington Spirit | 1–0 | Houston Dash | Herriman, Utah |
| 10:30 |
|
Report | Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Attendance: Behind closed doors Referee: Katja Koroleva |
Knockout round
| July 17 Quarter-final | Houston Dash | 0–0 (3–2 p) | Utah Royals FC | Herriman, Utah |
| 20:00 | Report | Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Attendance: Behind closed doors | ||
| Penalties | ||||
| July 22 Semi-final | Houston Dash | 1–0 | Portland Thorns FC | Sandy, Utah |
| 10:30 | Daly  69' |
Report | Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium Attendance: Behind closed doors |
| July 26 Final | Houston Dash | 2–0 | Chicago Red Stars | Sandy, Utah |
| 10:30 | Report | Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium Attendance: Behind closed doors Referee: Katja Koroleva |
Fall Series
The Dash would be without Challenge Cup MVP Rachel Daly for the Fall series as she was loaned to West Ham United for the remainder of 2020.[5] Midfielder CeCe Kizer would also miss the fall series as she was loaned to Kolbotn IL in Norway.[6]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portland Thorns FC (C) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 10 | Community Shield |
| 2 | Houston Dash | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 9 | Runners-up |
| 3 | Washington Spirit | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 7 | Third place |
| 4 | Sky Blue FC | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 6 | |
| 5 | North Carolina Courage | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 5 | |
| 6 | Chicago Red Stars | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 4 | |
| 7 | OL Reign | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 4 | |
| 8 | Orlando Pride | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 2 | |
| 9 | Utah Royals FC | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 2 |
Fall Series Match Results
| September 12, 2020 1 | North Carolina Courage | 4–3 | Houston Dash | Cary, North Carolina |
|
Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park |
| September 26, 2020 2 | Houston Dash | 3–1 | Orlando Pride | Houston, Texas |
|
Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium |
| October 4, 2020 3 | Houston Dash | 4–1 | North Carolina Courage | Houston, Texas |
|
Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium |
| October 9, 2020 4 | Orlando Pride | 1–2 | Houston Dash | Orlando, Florida |
|
Stadium: Osceola County Stadium |
Club
Roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Player Transactions
- As of February 8, 2020
Transfers In
| Date | Player | Positions played | Previous club | Fee/notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/06/20 |  Katie Naughton |
DF | Chicago Red Stars |
Acquired in a trade with Chicago in exchange for Kealia Ohai and a second-round draft pick in the 2020 NWSL College Draft | [1] |
| 01/08/20 | Katie Stengel |
FW | Utah Royals |
Acquired in a trade with Utah along with a third-round pick in the 2020 College Draft in exchange for a second-round draft pick in the 2020 and 2021 NWSL College Drafts | [9] |
| 01/09/20 | Lindsey Harris |
GK |  Klepp IL |
Signed | [10] |
| 01/24/20 | Erin Simon |
DF |  West Ham |
Acquired through a transfer | [11] |
| 01/25/20 | Megan Crosson |
DF | Washington Spirit |
Signed | [12] |
| 01/27/20 | Amanda Dennis |
GK | Penn State |
Signed | [13] |
| 02/03/20 | Shea Groom |
FW | OL Reign |
Acquired alongside Megan Oyster and a 2022 Draft pick in a trade with OL Reign for Amber Brooks and Sofia Huerta. | [14] |
| 02/03/20 | Megan Oyster |
DF | OL Reign |
Acquired alongside Shea Groom and a 2022 Draft pick in a trade with OL Reign for Amber Brooks and Sofia Huerta. | [14] |
Transfers Out
| Date | Player | Positions played | Destination club | Fee/notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/04/19 |  Kyah Simon |
FW | Melbourne City |
Placed on Re-Entry Wire | [15] |
| 11/04/19 | Clare Polkinghorne |
DF | Brisbane Roar |
Placed on Re-Entry Wire | [15] |
| 11/04/19 | Grace Cutler |
MF | unattached | Placed on Re-Entry Wire | [15] |
| 12/19/19 |  Ariana Calderón |
FW | C.F. Monterrey |
Waived | [16] |
| 01/06/20 | Kealia Ohai |
FW | Chicago Red Stars |
Traded to Chicago for Katie Naughton and a second-round draft pick in the 2020 NWSL College Draft | [1] |
| 01/07/20 |  Devon Kerr |
GK |  FC Metz |
Waived | [17] |
| 01/22/20 | Lindsay Agnew |
DF | Sydney FC |
Waived | [18] |
| 01/22/20 | Jazmin Jackmon |
DF | unattached | Waived | [18] |
| 01/26/20 | Bianca Henninger |
GK | Retired | [19] | |
| 02/03/20 | Sofia Huerta |
FW | OL Reign |
Traded to OL Reign alongside Amber Brooks in exchange for a 2022 Draft pick, Shea Groom and Megan Oyster. | [14] |
| 02/03/20 | Amber Brooks |
DF | OL Reign |
Traded to OL Reign alongside Sofia Huerta in exchange for a 2022 Draft pick, Shea Groom and Megan Oyster. | [14] |