Published for Houston Dash fans — October 2026
By Toxlay Sports Editorial Team · Last updated October 23, 2026
⚽ Houston Dash Fans — Your Space City Orange Is Waiting!
A record-breaking captain in goal, a rookie striker rewriting the club’s scoring charts, and two matches left to finish a hard season the Houston way — loud, proud and still standing. Orange shirts, full voice: Dash On.
The Club
The Houston Dash are Space City’s team: a professional women’s soccer club based in Houston, Texas, playing in the National Women’s Soccer League and affiliated with MLS side Houston Dynamo FC. The franchise was awarded on December 11, 2013 — making Houston the first expansion team in NWSL history — and the name, crest and colors were unveiled the very next day. The Dash began play in the 2014 season, and the name itself is pure Texas history: “Dash” refers to the fast running speed of a horse, a historical mode of transportation for Texans in the 1800s.
The colors tell Houston’s story at a glance. Electric Orange is the primary club color, shared with the Dynamo, set against black and the sky blue known as Space City Blue — a nod to NASA and the city’s space legacy. The current crest, from the November 2020 rebrand, is a black hexagonal badge with a stylized orange split-letter “H,” the HOUSTON DASH wordmark and a small orange quasar star. The rallying cries are just as local: “Dash On” on the terraces, and “Hold It Down” — H-Town Hold It Down — printed inside the neckline of the club’s kits.
Home is Shell Energy Stadium, 2200 Texas Avenue, in East Downtown — EaDo — shared with Houston Dynamo FC and Texas Southern University football. Opened on May 12, 2012, it was the first soccer-specific stadium built in a major American metropolitan downtown, and it has carried the Shell Energy name since January 17, 2023. On a natural grass pitch under the Houston sky, it remains one of the great downtown matchday settings in American soccer. The club today is led by majority owner Ted Segal, club president Jessica O’Neill and president of women’s soccer Angela Hucles Mangano.
Whether you arrived searching for the Houston Dash roster, the Houston Dash schedule, or the story behind the orange shirt, this is the heart of it: a club still chasing the standard set on July 26, 2020, when Houston beat Chicago 2–0 in Sandy, Utah to win the NWSL Challenge Cup — Sophie Schmidt converting a fifth-minute penalty and Shea Groom sealing it in stoppage time. It remains the club’s only major trophy, won in the tournament that brought American team sports back from the COVID-19 shutdown, by a club that had never previously made the playoffs. Houston has reached the postseason only once since, in 2022.
⭐ FAN FAVORITE
#1 Campbell — Houston Dash Style Jersey
$59.99
The captain’s colors: a vibrant orange shirt with a black V-neck and black sleeve cuffs, and the name and number on the back in solid black. Fan-inspired apparel made for the Shell Energy Stadium faithful.
Last Season (2025)
Houston’s 2025 campaign was a near miss that still stings. The Dash finished 10th of 14 in the NWSL regular season with 30 points from 26 matches — eight wins, six draws and twelve defeats, with 27 goals scored — and did not qualify for the playoffs, missing the postseason for the third straight year and finishing six points shy of a playoff berth.
The frustration was how close the second half came to rescuing it: a 5-4-4 run after the break, with wins over three playoff teams, showed what this group could be when everything clicked, but the hole dug earlier was simply too deep. The individual honors softened the blow — defender Avery Patterson was named team MVP, earned 2025 NWSL Best XI First Team honors and was nominated for Defender of the Year.
Best Players Right Now
Jane Campbell — #1, goalkeeper, captain. The face of the franchise and its leader. In 2026 Campbell broke her own NWSL single-season saves record, reaching 114 saves on October 4, and kept the 47th clean sheet of her career in the 5–0 win over Chicago on August 19. A 2023 NWSL Best XI goalkeeper, she is the standard every Dash season is built behind.
Kat Rader — #22, forward. The rookie sensation out of Duke has been the story of Houston’s attack. Rader is the Dash’s top scorer with 10 goals, leads all NWSL rookies, and sits one goal shy of the league’s single-season rookie record of 11. She is the first Dash player to reach 10 goals in a season since Rachel Daly in 2018, and only the third in club history. She also leads the team with 40 chances created, was named NWSL Rookie of the Month in May and August, and will represent Houston at the 2026 NWSL Skills Challenge.
Avery Patterson — #15, defender/midfielder. The USWNT fullback signed a contract extension through 2028 on March 3, 2026, and keeps showing why the club moved to lock her down. The 2025 team MVP and Best XI First Team selection is an elite two-way right back whose attacking runs drive Houston’s wide play — her first-touch assist launched the opening goal in the 5–0 rout of Chicago in August.
Kiki Van Zanten — #12, midfielder. The Jamaican international is Houston’s second-top scorer in 2026 with five goals, including the Dash’s goal at Orlando on September 6, and she was named to the NWSL April Best XI of the Month. Energy, versatility and end product in the middle of the park.
Miljana Ivanović — #47, forward. The Serbian international signed for 2026 and announced herself in unforgettable fashion on October 4, scoring both Houston goals in the 3–2 loss to Washington — her first two NWSL goals, making her the first Serbian player to score in league play and the first Dash player ever to score her first two goals in a single game.
Kate Faasse — #23, forward. The 2024 MAC Hermann Trophy winner from UNC has four goals in 2026, and her eye for a pass matters as much as her finishing: it was Faasse who set up Rader’s 10th goal of the season at Portland on September 26.
Beyond the headline names, the squad leans on Danny Colaprico (#24), enjoying the first multi-goal season of her career; hometown defender Leah Klenke (#4), whose 2,448 minutes lead the team; Maggie Graham (#19), the team leader with 28 appearances; Messiah Bright (#6), scorer of the 85th-minute winner at Boston; and Sophie Schmidt (#13), scorer of the 2020 final opener.
Star Spotlight
The record, again — October 4, 2026. Some records get broken by strangers. Jane Campbell breaks her own. In the 79th minute against the Washington Spirit at Shell Energy Stadium, the Dash captain denied Trinity Rodman for her 114th save of the season, surpassing the NWSL single-season record of 113 she herself set in 2024. No goalkeeper in league history has ever carried a heavier workload at this level — and nobody has carried it better.
A night of pride inside a painful result. The same evening delivered Ivanović’s historic brace, twice pulling Houston level, before Washington’s 84th-minute winner settled a 3–2 defeat and eliminated the Dash from playoff contention. That is the Campbell story in one night: a personal milestone reached while standing between her team and a stronger opponent, still commanding, still saving, long after the season’s hopes had narrowed to pride.
The wall Houston builds on. The record night was no one-off. On August 19, Campbell kept her 47th career clean sheet in the 5–0 club-record-tying rout of Chicago. On September 20, in interim coach Jaime Frias’s first match in charge, she made 10 saves at Boston Legacy — including her 100th save of the season — to backbone a famous 2–1 road win. Captains lead in different ways; Campbell leads by making the save that has no right to be made, again and again.
🔥 More Fan Favorites
More Dash stars, same orange and black.
This Season (2026)
Honesty first, because Dash fans deserve it: this has been a hard year. With two matches left, Houston sit 13th of 16 in the expanded NWSL on 30 points from 28 matches — eight wins, six draws and fourteen defeats, 35 goals scored and 41 conceded — and were officially eliminated from playoff contention on October 4. It is the club’s fourth consecutive missed postseason.
It started so differently. The Dash took a franchise-best nine points from their first four games, but the season turned in March, when Houston traded two headline names to expansion side Denver Summit FC in a package reported at up to around $1.1 million, and the side slid into the lower half and never climbed back out. The form line since the summer tells the story: a 1–0 home loss to Utah on September 12, a spirited 2–1 win at Boston on September 20, a 1–1 draw at Portland on September 26, the 3–2 elimination loss to Washington on October 4, and a 2–1 home defeat to Orlando on October 18, when Colaprico pulled a goal back in the 55th minute.
The dugout changed mid-stream, too. Head coach Fabrice Gautrat — in his second season, and the sixth head coach in club history — and technical director Twila Kilgore were relieved of their duties on September 13, 2026, with the search for the next permanent head coach underway. Assistant coach Jaime Frias stepped in as interim head coach and immediately steadied the road form, taking four points from two trips: the win at Boston in his first match in charge and the draw at Portland. Whoever takes the job permanently inherits a captain with a fresh league record, a rookie striker on the edge of another one, and a Best XI fullback signed through 2028.
🧡 Love the Dash? Wear it. Shop Fan Sportswear →
Mark Your Calendar
Friday, October 23, 2026 — at Chicago Stars FC, Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium, Evanston, Illinois (7:00 p.m. CT, NWSL+). Houston’s final road match of 2026, with a season-series sweep on the line after August’s 5–0 home win.
Sunday, November 1, 2026 — vs Portland Thorns FC, Shell Energy Stadium, Houston (4:00 p.m. CT). Decision Day and Fan Appreciation Night — the season finale, and one last home afternoon in orange.
Friday, November 20, 2026 — 2026 NWSL Skills Challenge, Washington, D.C. Championship-week festivities, with Kat Rader on the announced roster representing Houston.
November 6–8, 2026 — NWSL Quarterfinals; November 13–15, 2026 — NWSL Semifinals. Houston are eliminated, but the league’s top eight open the postseason — essential viewing for every Dash fan scouting next season’s targets.
Saturday, November 21, 2026 — 2026 NWSL Championship, Audi Field, Washington, D.C. The league’s title match closes the 2026 season.
Biggest Rivalries — The Wars
One honest note before the list: there is no Texas derby in the NWSL. The Dash are the league’s only club in Texas — Dallas Trinity FC plays in the separate USL Super League — so Houston’s grudges were earned the long way, through cup finals, playoff heartbreak and years of shared history. These are the three that matter most.
1. Chicago Stars FC — the cup final grudge. Chicago are the team Houston beat to win the 2020 Challenge Cup final, and the clubs are among each other’s most frequent opponents, with 35 meetings in all competitions. In 2026 the rivalry produced Houston’s best night of the year: the 5–0 home win on August 19 that tied the club record, with Rader scoring her first professional brace and Campbell keeping her 47th career clean sheet. The return match in Evanston on October 23 closes the season series — and Houston arrive chasing the sweep.
2. Orlando Pride — the expansion-era rivalry. Houston was the NWSL’s first expansion team in 2014; Orlando joined in 2016, and their first meeting was billed as the inaugural match between the league’s two expansion teams. More than two dozen meetings later, the edge is still real. Orlando swept 2026: a 3–1 win in Orlando on September 6, when Van Zanten scored Houston’s goal, and a 2–1 win in Houston on October 18, when a Luana penalty and a Solai Washington goal assisted by Marta outlasted Colaprico’s second-half reply. Two defeats Houston will be determined to answer next season.
3. Kansas City Current — the playoff grudge. Kansas City are the only team ever to beat Houston in the postseason, winning 2–1 in Houston in the first round of the 2022 playoffs — still the Dash’s only playoff appearance. Every meeting since has carried that echo. In 2026 the clubs drew 1–1 on August 8, with Rader scoring from the penalty spot, a reminder that the gap on the day was a single kick.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do Houston Dash play next?
Houston close the 2026 regular season with two matches: away at Chicago Stars FC on Friday, October 23, 2026, at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium in Evanston, and then the Decision Day finale at home against Portland Thorns FC at Shell Energy Stadium on Sunday, November 1, 2026. The Dash are eliminated from the 2026 NWSL Playoffs, which run from the quarterfinals on November 6–8 through the semifinals on November 13–15 to the Championship on Saturday, November 21, 2026 at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.
Who are the Houston Dash’s best players in 2026?
The headline trio is captain and goalkeeper Jane Campbell (#1), who broke her own NWSL single-season saves record with 114 saves in 2026; rookie forward Kat Rader (#22), the team’s top scorer with 10 goals; and defender Avery Patterson (#15), the 2025 team MVP and NWSL Best XI First Team selection who signed an extension through 2028. Kiki Van Zanten, Miljana Ivanović and Kate Faasse lead the supporting cast.
Where do Houston Dash play their home games, and how do I get tickets?
Home matches are at Shell Energy Stadium, 2200 Texas Avenue in Houston’s East Downtown, a soccer-specific stadium opened on May 12, 2012 and shared with Houston Dynamo FC. It has carried the Shell Energy name since January 17, 2023. Match tickets are sold through the club’s official site.
Have Houston Dash ever won a trophy?
Yes — the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup, the club’s only major trophy. Houston beat Chicago 2–0 in the final on July 26, 2020 in Sandy, Utah, with Sophie Schmidt converting a fifth-minute penalty and Shea Groom adding a stoppage-time goal. The Dash have reached the NWSL Playoffs once, in 2022, losing 2–1 at home to Kansas City Current in the first round.
⚽ Houston Dash Fan Shop
The full Dash trio — Campbell, Rader and Patterson in orange and black. Fan-inspired designs, never official merchandise.
Sources & official links: Houston Dash official site · NWSL official site
Orange shirts, black trim, full voice — Dash On, Houston, and Hold It Down.
