2014 season | |||
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President | Chris Canetti | ||
Manager | Randy Waldrum | ||
National Women's Soccer League | 9th | ||
NWSL Championship | Did not qualify | ||
Top goalscorer |
Nina Burger Tiffany McCarty Kealia Ohai (4 goals) |
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Highest home attendance |
8,097 vs. Portland Thorns FC (April 12, 2014) |
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Lowest home attendance |
3,561 vs. Washington Spirit (July 17, 2014) |
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The 2014 season was the Houston Dash's inaugural season as a professional women's soccer team. As the first expansion team to the National Women's Soccer League, United States' top-flight women's league, the Dash played a 24-game schedule that saw them compete against the eight other NWSL teams, playing each at home and away at least once. The Dash finished the season in last place and ended the season with 5 wins, 3 draws, and 16 loses and a -21 goal differential. The season for the Dash began on April 12, 2014 and concluded August 20, 2014 after the team failed to qualify for the playoffs.
On November 19, 2013, the Houston Dynamo began the initial talks of bringing a top flight women's professional soccer franchise to Houston. Just a week later, the effort was bolstered when the Dynamo began accepting refundable deposits for a potential NWSL expansion team. On December 11, 2013, the National Women's Soccer League announced that the Houston Dynamo and the city of Houston were awarded an expansion franchise to begin playing in the 2014 season. The following day, the Houston Dynamo held a press conference at BBVA Compass Stadium to formally announce the expansion club to the local and national media.
We’re proud and excited to welcome the Houston Dash to the NWSL as the first expansion team in league history. The creation of the Dash will mean enhanced opportunities for female soccer players at the professional level as well as the chance for fans from another part of the country to watch and interact with some of the world's most talented players. We are thrilled at being able to add an organization as strong as the Houston Dynamo as we work toward continuing to build a sustainable league.
During the press conference on December 12, 2013, Houston Dynamo President Chris Canetti announced that the club would be named the Houston Dash and would share similar colors to the Dynamo: orange, black, and sky blue. The crest, which features a soccer ball along with the words "Houston Dash" with sky blue lines in the background, was unveiled. Also present at the announcement were Houston Mayor Annise Parker and NWSL Executive Director Cheryl Bailey.
On December 23, 2013, former Houston Dynamo player Brian Ching was named "managing director", putting him in charge of day-to-day duties on both the business and technical sides of under the supervision of Houston Dash and Dynamo team president Chris Canetti. Later that week, Ching hired former U.S. women's national team and FIFA Women's World Cup winning coach Tony DiCicco as a consultant to help the Dash in their search for a head coach and building a roster for the first season in the National Women's Soccer League.