2026 NWSL Previews: Houston Dash, North Carolina Courage
/Our 2026 NWSL Season Previews have started and today we hit Chicago and Bay. If you want to support this coverage of the league, you can head to our Patreon. For $5 a month you can get access to a lot of the data visualization tools we use to make these previews.
If you’re more of an audio person, our friends at Expected Own Goals spoke to Meredith about both the Dash and the Courage, available wherever you get your pods. If you want to support them, you can head to their Patreon.
Houston is filled with promise, Laredo’s a beautiful place
By Meredith Shea
In 2025 the Houston Dash, once again, had a rough go of it. Over optimism about new faces was quickly tempered when the results didn’t come. The Dash finished 10th on 30 points, however the overall performance was probably deserving of slightly less. They finished with a nearly league worst 27 goals (thanks Bay) and a league worst 24.3 xG.
Despite their lower mid-table finish, there were aspects of Houston’s season that should make fans feel tepid optimism towards the future. Avery Patterson had a season that elevates her to the elite fullback table. By the numbers, Patterson was the best performing fullback across the league in terms of g+ and earned herself a spot on the NWSL Best XI. Patterson showed great tactical versatility in the attack and was particularly dangerous on the dribble. Arguably the biggest growth we saw in her game was the ability to maintain her attacking production while being solid defensively. Between 2024 and 2025 her cumulative interrupting and fouling g+ went from -0.13 and -0.11 to 0.30 and 0.07, respectively. That improvement saw Patterson find her way into being a fairly regular USWNT squad member over the past year. Still only 23 years old, she is chock full of upside and fans should expect to see continued growth and production.
Player acquisitions made throughout the 2025 season also showed the Dash making a continued effort to grow and plan for the future. This was highlighted by the addition of Italian left back, Lisa Boattin from Juventus. While Boattin wasn't fit to start until the last few games of the 2025 season, she should be the first choice left back coming into 2026.
This positive momentum is largely due to the continuation of Angela Hucles Mangano, as President of Women’s Soccer, and Fabrice Gautrat, as Head Coach. The pair was hired on opposite sides of the 24/25 new year and are now entering their second season in charge. This is the first time since early 2022 that the Houston Dash have had a head coach for over a year. Additionally, the Dash recently made a splash by hiring Twila Kilgore as their technical director.
Gautrat clearly has a vision of what the on field product should look like and, while they cannot always execute, the duo of Hucles Mangano and Gautrat have spent the last year signing players that fit this vision. Well, signing players they can afford. While a proportion of the league is operating deals with seven figure transfer fees and contracts, Dash loyals should be asking, is our club ever going to pay those prices? For now, evidence points firmly at no. It is worth mentioning, however, that Ted Segal has been trying to sell the Dash for over a year now and new ownership will presumably come with deeper pockets.
This offseason, the Dash saw modest changes to their roster. Notable departures included Michelle Alozie, Ryan Gareis, Abby Smith, and the retirement of Katie Lind. None of these players were super integral to the Dash last season, allowing the team to continue to build.
Houston's only notable non-rookie addition was free agent Makenzy Robbe, previously with the Wave. The 31 year old spent the last year mostly coming off the bench as a forward for Eidevall, although in past San Diego seasons she saw significantly more minutes. The Dash of late love a NWSL journeywomen, and Robbe fits the bill.
Houston signed four rookies, Kat Rader (forward, Duke), Kate Faasse (forward, UNC), Linda Ullmark (midfielder, UNC), and Leah Klenke (defender, Notre Dame), all to 3+ year contracts. The length of the contracts and quantity of the rookie class shows a serious investment from the Dash to build through the college game. Faasse, the 2024 Mac Hermann winner, had 31 goals and 11 assists over her last two seasons with UNC, and is likely the name of the class. But ASA’s prospect dashboard, is considerably higher on Ullmark and Klenke. Regardless of whether she starts, Klenke will add defensive depth as a competent passer at left centerback or left back. Dash fans should keep their eye out for whether, or maybe how soon, Klenke takes over Paige Nielson’s starting center back role.
Should we have a dash of optimism this go around?
In short, not really. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of reasons for Dash fans to think the team will get marginally better–the core of the 2025 squad is still there and there is continuity and a clear vision from the coaching staff. Looking back at 2025 though, it is clear the Dash failed to answer the biggest questions the season posed.
The paramount question for the upcoming season is, who will score the goals? While the Dash were not far from league average when we look at xGA, Houston’s xG was basically in the toilet. Houston’s top xG performers from last year were do-everything-attacker Yasmeen Ryan, with 4.88 xG, and Messiah Bright, with 3.11 xG. Ryan wasn’t really brought into the Dash to be the goal scorer. The team certainly expected some goals to come from Ryan, but Ryan’s ability to serve teammates and escape from tight traffic are the qualities that really make her shine. Bright, on the other hand, was brought in to score goals. Houston signed Bright in hopes she could return to her 2023 form (5.68 xG in about 1800 minutes), but about halfway through the season decided to test out other directions, including acquiring Canadian Clarissa Larisey. Ultimately nothing really worked and the Dash ended the season with more strikers and less answers.
This season Dash hopefuls should lean on the potential of Faasse and the experience of Robbe as potential difference makers offensively. Faasse gives the Dash speed up top that they desperately need after letting go of Gareis and Alozie. Robbe, or Bright, could be just enough of a distraction to allow Faasse to operate in isolation. The reality is though, the Dash have set themselves up poorly up top yet again. The Dash need to find about 7-10 more goals to be a playoff contender this season. Even if every signing is a success, it is hard to see them producing at that level.
While goalscoring is front and center, behind the scenes the 2025 Dash had a bad midfield that did not get the reinforcements it needed. In terms of g+, the Dash had the worst midfield unit of 2025. Restricting to players with at least 1500 minutes, the combined g+ contribution of Dash midfielders was a whopping -5.78. For reference, Chicago was second worst at -4.64. WORSE THAN CHICAGO. This basement g+ is at least partly due to the team's overall bereft attack, but on a personnel level it is tough to argue that the Dash’s midfield was good enough to compete.
The midfield for the Dash mainly consisted of Maggie Graham, Delanie Sheehan, and Danielle Colaprico. Colaprico is sliding down the wrong side of the age curve and struggled last season. Graham, after tons of experimentation, landed next to Colaprico in the double pivot. While Graham has the mobility Colaprico lacks, she lacks the comfort tactically after playing mostly higher up the pitch in her college days. Sheehan also struggled to find her place last season acting as the most attacking minded midfield last season. Sheehan, who is much better as a deep lying playmaker, oftentimes struggled in her role higher up the field. Keep an eye on college signee Linda Ullmark, who did a lot less defensive work than Houston’s other midfielders, but had pretty significant shot creation chops in North Carolina as a 10.
I suspect the Dash felt they needed Graham's physicality over Sheehan to help supplement their mid defensively. This decision forced both players into roles that are less natural for them. The Dash should have used the offseason to find a serviceable six to act as the fulcrum of their midfield. Instead, their defensive midfield corps consists of three 30+ year olds (one of whom will be on the SEI list for at least the first few months of the season). Good news for the Dash? Both Colaprico and Sarah Puntigam are off the books after this season and the Dash need to spend that money on a defensive midfielder in their prime.
Overall Dash fans should be excited about their young prospects in the game, but realize that playoffs are most likely not in the cards (again). If Hucles Mangano and Gautrat can keep up this grind for a few more years, the Dash will be well on their way to being a serviceable but cheap squad (heeeeey Louisville). Of course if they want to crest beyond that hill, someone’s going to need to pay the piper.
The Sean Nahas era came to a close in 2025 with a whimper, not a bang, after four and a half years as head coach. There were, supposedly, a “multitude of factors” involved in his dismissal, but if the decision was based on the product on the field it came at a strange time.
Going into 2025, Nahas’ preferred style was simply not working. He preferred high possession, slower soccer, compared to his predecessor’s press and possess model that featured direct transitions and aggressive defending in the opponent third. The change was jarring, and in a transition heavy league it was inviting opponents to hit the Courage on the counter. The season started and it looked like more of the same; the Courage picked up two points in their first five matches and looked woeful defensively. This led to a shift in the approach as the Courage switched from a back four to a back three.
This helped repair the leaky defense and turn results around. The Courage would take 17 points out of the next 10 games before Nahas’ firing. At the beginning of this 10 game stretch, new sporting director Ceri Bowley was appointed. This likely has far more to do with Nahas’ dismissal than the rest of the multitude, but the timing was strange and the club’s tight-lipped approach was stranger. Interim manager Nathan Thackeray guided the team the rest of the way to a decision day elimination, but was not kept on as Bowley looked elsewhere for the new manager for the team.
Can He Hacken it in NWSL
BK Häcken FF manager Mak Lind was tapped to be the third permanent manager for the NC Courage. Häcken hired him to break a streak of coming up just short; in 2023 and 2024 his team placed second before finally breaking through at the end of the 2025 season. Shortly after, his move to the Courage was announced.
His style is likely to be a slight return to how the Courage approached games prior to Nahas’ tenure. These are the biggest likely shifts:
Under Lind, Häcken was more aggressive in the counterpress than the Courage were. In fact, the Courage’s overall defensive intensity dropped significantly under Nahas.
Lind’s teams tend to be more aggressive in taking on opponents on the dribble, topping the Damallsvenskan for 1v1s per 90. At the same time, the Courage were last in the NWSL in the same metric.
While Häcken was a dominant team in the league, they did not hold an extreme amount of possession. They were more aggressive and direct, trying to fashion chances quickly and accepting the loss of possession as a result.
Mak Lind also has a huge opportunity in the squad; the Courage return the fewest % of minutes in a very long time, with key contributors leaving at multiple positions. He will be able to form the squad exactly how he wants, with opportunity to bring in new players who can play a role.
Building from the Back
Lind inherits a bit of a problem along the back line. The team switched between style, and never found a perfect mix of center backs as the season went along. Kaleigh Kurtz, longtime starter, is gone; Malia Berkely left late last season. The remaining center backs are Maycee Bell, Natalie Jacobs, and Natalia Staude. Of the three only Jacobs was anything more than replacement level at the position (+0.08 net G+/96 AA as a CB in 2025)
The Courage did go out and sign Napoli center back Cameron Brooks. She should hold down the left center back position, which means that Lind has to determine who will be her partner and if the team will return to the back 3 lineup where they had their most success. If they do return to the 3 CB lineup, the depth will become a major concern.
One of the best outcomes of the 3 defender lineup was the freedom it gave Ryan Williams. Williams is an underrated player for how the Courage play; she is a release valve for progression, and was 2nd in NWSL for receiving G+ from progressive passes outside the box. She also adds progressive carrying and is an avid crosser, though with the Courage last season there just weren’t the targets that would encourage that approach.
The biggest upgrade that can happen for the Courage this offseason is at goalkeeper. Casey Murphy is one of the most experienced and decorated goalkeepers in the league but there is no avoiding the fact that she cost the Courage points with her abject performance in 2025. With her move to Boston, the Courage have the chance to upgrade. Unfortunately, most of their signings have been underwhelming.
Kailen Sheridan has a long and successful record in NWSL, but has performed worse over the last few years. Her last year with a G/xG below 1 (the average) was in 2022, and her latest season was the worst in her career. With her experience she is likely to enter the season as the starter. Backing her up is Madi White, who spent last season with Dallas Trinity but did not have an encouraging run with them. Over the offseason, the Courage brought in Molly Pritchard from Ohio State University. Pritchard was actually one of the best goalkeepers in college soccer, allowing just 13 goals from an expected 21.17. She has the shot stopping ability to be the starter, if she can manage to learn what else is needed at the pro level.
Shuffling up the Midfield
The biggest roster change in the offseason for the Courage is the departure of club legend Denise O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan leaves a fascinating legacy; despite being widely recognized by managers and players as one of the best midfielders in the league, she’s never been rated by Goals Added.
Sully is hardly the only player to have this divide, and it’s informative to understand the gaps between the algorithmic approach to the game (essentially which actions contribute the most to scoring/conceding probabilities) and the “eye test”. O’Sullivan was extremely ball secure and combative in winning it back, which coaches and fans love to see but the models are fairly ambivalent about. Meanwhile, she did not take the progressive or creative risks that lead to big swings in goal probability. This was especially notable in the high possession, low tempo years that defined the Nahas era. Regardless of debates about her contribution, she now needs to be replaced. Fortunately for the Courage they had already begun the process of bringing along those replacements.
Wonderkid Riley Jackson signed her first contract with the Courage in 2022, but 2025 was her real breakout year. She established herself as a locked in midfield starter and even earned multiple callups to the USWNT (including for the most recent SheBelieves Cup). Jackson is a sublime passer, and was third overall among midfielders on passes completed over xPass in 2025. She especially has a great eye for a progressive pass, and was second overall in the league for progressive passes completed above the average midfielder.
While Jackson is an excellent passer, she is still developing in other areas of her game. That’s where Shinomi Koyama can fill in any gaps. Koyama is herself an accomplished passer, and loves to make runs into dangerous areas where she can interplay with the Courage forward line. Between Jackson and Koyama, the Courage have a complimentary and multifaceted midfield that should ease the transition away from O’Sullivan.
Manaka Magic
The Courage’s best player might just be 21 year old Manaka Matuskobo. In a league where the most successful strikers have trended more towards large, fast transition players, Matsukobo stands out (figuratively). The diminutive striker relies on her ability to drop deep in possession and help in the progressive phase. In the middle third, she receives 35% more of the burden (how much value she receives, before she does anything with it) than the average striker. For many strikers, dropping deep in possession costs them and their team further down the field, but that has not affected Matsukobo. She is heavily involved in and around the box, and is excellent at finding the space to get high quality shots.
She’s not perfect, though; her small frame means she’s not a threat on aerial deliveries like crosses or set pieces, and every time she drops into the midfield there has to be a counterweight pushing the backline to ensure the opponents stay open. That’s where the rest of the attack is important.
The Rest of the Attack
After bringing in Jaedyn Shaw in a blockbuster move, the Courage moved her on to Gotham in September. Although the financials of this deal represented a huge allocation money profit, it still is generally better to have good players than bags of cash. For whatever reason, the Shaw signing just did not work. She failed to settle into a position, playing in various spaces and roles across the middle. Combined with the other stars in Ashley Sanchez and Matsukobo, the three individually excellent players could not develop the right amount of chemistry. With Gotham, she found herself more frequently in the left half space and wing and returned to form.
The Courage are going to try again, with a slightly different formula this time. Ashley Sanchez remains a question mark; she’s played well but likes to be central, in many of the spaces that Matsukobo also likes to use. The ideal of a free flowing attacking lineup is nice, but in the end spacing and width are important factors unless you’re going pedal-to-the-metal relationism, and who knows if that actually works.
To assist them in that process, they are bringing in AC Milan’s Evelyn Ijeh. Ijeh is a more traditional striker; she’s big, technical, and while not particularly fast she does look to make runs in behind more often. If she’s meant to be a backup to Manaka, she provides a much different wrinkle. If she’s meant to be a starter, that will require a shift in formation. The most sensible shift would be to maintain the 3 CB lineup that brought the Courage success, but have Sanchez and Matsukobo operate behind Ijeh as wide forwards/dual 10s. That would allow them the flexibility to move around supported by Jackson and Koyama.
Additionally, the Courage added Ally Schlegel and Chioma Okafor. Schlegel, like Ijeh, is a big target in the box who can receive balls in from wide spaces. She’s more used to the level and might even be the opening day starter as Ijeh adjusts. Okafor, signed from the University of Connecticut, is a talented and aggressive dribbler who is used to working as a second striker or along the wings. She will provide a different look than either Sanchez or Matsukobo.
Chasing the Current
There’s really no question that the NWSL has been divided into tiers for the last few years. There’s Kansas City, teams chasing Kansas City, and teams that get eaten alive by Kansas City. (Because nothing in life is predictable, Kansas City has not won the NWSL in that time). The Courage were in the middle group, and likely will be again this season. Success for the Courage would be defined as being among the “best of the rest” and making the playoffs.
Roster wise, this is as much upheaval as the Courage have ever had. Add in a new coach and there are more question marks heading in 2026 than ever before. The signs are positive; the signings from the outside look like good fits in positions of need. Lind’s style should be a better fit for the league than Nahas’s approach to the game. The pieces are there; now it’s time for them to come together.