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The NWSL season is almost here so to prepare we gathered all of our Houston Dash writers to ask them about the offseason, the upcoming 2016 season and more. Each day this week we will release a new question or two that we had our staffers answer.
What do you think will be Houston's record at the end of the season? Where will they finish in the standings? Will they make the playoffs, etc?
Meg: Hopefully more wins than losses. I think we'll see them make the playoffs contingent on not relying too heavily on the NT players (read: Carli Lloyd) when they're with the team.
Shana: I think Houston's record at the end of the regular season will be 13-4-3. After losing some pretty great athletes on the field, the organization made the right moves picking up important aggressive assets of which will certainly give the other teams in the league a run for their money. I say that the Dash will definitely make the playoffs and they'll finish in third place in the standings by the end of playoffs.
Daniel: Throughout the offseason General Manager Brian Ching and head coach Randy Waldrum made all the necessary moves to improve the club. It's clear the departure of Jessica McDonald and Meghan Klingenberg signaled the beginning of a new era for Houston. But where will the Dash finish in 2016? I believe Seattle and Portland are both a lock for the playoffs, while Houston will battle between Washington and FC Kansas City for the final remaining positions.
Trista: There's a lot of things to look at when attempting to guess a record for the end of the season. Taking a quick glance at the past two seasons alone, one sees a vast improvement for the Dash. The team went from ending their inaugural season in 2014 at the bottom of the table with only five wins, 16 losses, and three ties, to finishing last year at fifth in the table, bettering their record (in a way) to six wins, eight losses, and six ties. There are various reasons for that of course; the acquisition of Carli Lloyd arguably is a big part of that. Being optimistic, I hope that Houston can continue that growth. I'll hedge my bets and hope for a top five finish (preferably top three), cashing in a ticket into the playoffs, and hopefully with a record of at least 8 or more wins. I'm an optimist.
Alicia: This going to be a huge year for the Dash. Not necessarily in terms of the number of wins but in terms of can they do it now that they have all of the pieces? While they don't have to contend with losing players for the World Cup instead they will face losing them for the Olympics. Last year the team just missed out on the playoffs, but this year I think that they will make it in. Just barely.
Dash fans what do you think will be Houston's record at the end of the season? Where will they finish in the standings? Will they make the playoffs, etc?