The NWSL's Houston Dash enjoy early-season turnaround after years of struggle

The theme for the Houston Dash this season is “Prove It” and so far they seem to be doing just that. Just two seasons ago, the Dash finished last in the National Women's Soccer League standings. It looked like more of the same at the start of last season, until the team appeared as though they were starting to click under coach Fabrice Gautrat. It wasn't quite enough to get Houston into the playoffs, but it was something to build on this season. So far the Dash are fifth in the standings at 3-1-0 coming off an extended international break. Their nine points through the first four games are a team record. Midfielder Kiki Van Zanten leads the league with four goals this season. It is the fastest a Dash player has collected four goals in team history. Houston has nine total goals, second only to Angel City with 10. It is a team record for most goals Houston has scored through its first four games. “This season, I feel like it’s a culmination of everything that we’ve been putting together for the last two years. The Dash has had a tumultuous decade," defender Avery Patterson said. "I mean, I think there was a turnover of nine or so coaches in 10 years. So I mean, to say that we have consistency and we have a foundation to build on, I think that’s what’s being reflected in the games that we’re playing now and the performances we’re putting together.” The Dash also have a club record seven-game unbeaten streak at home dating back to last season heading into Saturday’s home match against the North Carolina Courage. Houston has made the playoffs just once, in 2022. That same season, coach James Clarkson was suspended amid an investigation by the NWSL and its players union into allegations of misconduct across the league. Clarkson denied any wrongdoing and later filed a lawsuit against the team. The team has struggled with attendance at Shell Energy Stadium and owner Ted Segal has launched unsuccessful attempts to sell the team. However, a few key personnel moves have signaled a culture shift. Before the 2025 season, the Dash brought in Angela Hucles Mangano as president of women’s soccer and Gautrat as head coach. This year Houston added former U.S. women's national team interim coach Twila Kilgore as the team’s technical director. Goalkeeper Jane Campbell has seen it all. She's spent her whole career with the Dash after joining the team in 2017 out of Stanford. In 2023, Houston allowed just 18 goals and Campbell was named the NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year. Campbell said it was a learning experience when the Dash fell to 12th in the standings last season before the summer break. But the team started to gel in the second half. One sign was the team's 1-0 victory at home over Kansas City that snapped a 17-game Current unbeaten streak. “I think last year was really good for us, because we realized what communication didn’t work, why we weren’t on the same page, and then we also realized what communication did work, and how to get on the same page quite fast, especially when we did hit speed bumps in the second half,” Campbell told The Associated Press in an interview just before the start of the season. Campbell is one of the team's steadying veterans, along with and . While it's still early, Gautrat said the team's fast start has been based on a combination of things, ranging from the takeaways from last season to the buy-in of both the veterans and newcomers like Kate Faasse and Linda Ullmark. “I think you had a blend of some excellent people, competitors, players, with also a new breed of freshness and talent, very teachable, and really wanting the same thing,” Gautrat said. “So I think it's been like this perfect mesh.” \\_ AP soccer: