Dash continue to build defense

The Houston Dash announced Wednesday the team has brought in Australian defender Ellie Brush and Brazilian defender Camila to help the club with their back line. To make room for the new players on the roster, Houston has placed defender Stephanie Ochs on the season-ending injury list. Ochs just underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL. Forward Stephanie Roche, who recently was called up to serve on the Republic of Ireland's Women's National team, has been waived by the club.

Twenty-six year old Ellie Brush joins up with the Dash from Canberra United in the Westfield W-League where she has played since the clubs beginning in 2008. She has notched 79 appearances - all of them starts - for the Australian club and has tallied 12 goals in her time with them. A central defender, Brush was part of the W-League championship-winning sides in 2012 and 2015. A Canberra native, she has also earned two caps with the Australi Women's National Team. She spent part of 2013 on loan to Avaldsnes in Norway's Toppserien, making 11 appearances (10 starts).

"Brian [Ching] and I felt we needed to do everything we could to address our defense, and I think Ellie is going to be a great addition," Dash head coach Randy Waldrum said in a press release from the team. "She’s played on a championship team, she was on the fringe of making the World Cup team for Australia, so I’m excited about having her. I think she’s going to bring a great tenacity and a great heading presence to our team."

Brazilian Camila has been with Brazil's Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol Femino since she was 18. The 20-year-old defender started her career with Kindermann in 2012, notching 30 appearances (29 starts) and scoring five goals in league and cup play. She then joined Ferroviaria and tallied nine starts - and four goals- in a runner-up finish in this year's Copa do Brasil. The Sao Bento do Sul, Brazil, native has been part of Brazil's youth international set-up, starting all three matches at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Canada and assisting on one goal.

"Camila’s a player I saw at the U-20 World Cup, and I think she’s going to be an up-and-coming star for their senior team," Waldrum said. "She’s a young player, but I think she’s a really exciting outside back. She can play on the right outside, on the left outside, and when Meghan Klingenberg and Allysha Chapman return from the national team, she’s even played outside forward for her club team. She’s got that versatility that we’ll have a use for her looking ahead."