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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 2017 season and more. Each day this week we will release a new question or two that we had our staffers answer.
What move did the Dash fail to make during the offseason?
Daniel: The Dash spent the offseason adding a new piece to nearly every aspect of the team. At the draft, the club improved their goaltending with Jane Campbell and added more depth to their attack with Nichelle Prince. Houston improved their defense with the aforementioned Falknor, South African international Janine van Wyk, and Brazillian defender Bruna Benites. Houston's midfield went unchanged over the offseason, as the team's core of midfielder from last season; Morgan Brian, Amber Brooks, Andressa, Caity Heap, Denise O'Sullivan, and Cami Privett will all play a role for the club in 2017.
Meg: Any move that may have involved signing a known player. With the exception of Lydia Williams, Rachel Daly, and the Brazilians, the Dash continue to sign players who are not exactly from top national teams. I would like to see them use the Daly connection to target English players. Given it's unlikely they could land (or afford) someone of Lucy Bronze's caliber, there are other options.
I also think they should have looked into trading Henninger. They now have 2 national team level starting keepers, but can clearly only play one. She has a chance with the Mexican National Team, but in Houston (baring some injury to Williams) she will not get playing time. She needs game time and she's not getting it in Houston.
Shana: I don't know that there was any one "miss" that the Dash had during offseason that makes or breaks the season. I think appropriate measures were taken to secure the right players. An obvious loss to the first leg of the season would obviously be Carli Lloyd for the month and a half chunk she will be gone, but after last season there's only room for improvement, right? I really don't think they had any huge missed opportunities in the offseason.
Alicia: The Dash’s three goalkeeper lineup. All three are starting caliber and they should have traded someone in the offseason after drafting Jane Campbell. Williams came in as the starter last year so the team should have traded Henninger even though they just re-signed her in October. I find it hard to believe that no other teams would have given something for her.
What moves do you think the Dash missed out on this offseason? Tell us in the comments!