7 losses, 2 draws, and 2 goals scored—That’s the story of Houston Dash over their last nine NWSL games. Dark clouds continue to surround the Texas-based club as it grapples with difficult results, with the latest one being a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Trinity Rodman’s Washington Spirit. Their difficulties also take double fold as their head coach Fran Alonso remains AWOL from the club. Tensions seem to have reached a boiling point forcing Dash star Diana Ordonez to demand the need to “improve at many levels.”

Forget the hopes for playoffs; Dash occupies the bottom spot of the NWSL table with just 14 points in 20 NWSL games (3W, 5D, 12L). Though the remaining six games of the 2024/25 campaign would hardly make any difference, they have still hit the panic button. “I think there are a lot of things that need to improve at many levels. It’s not all here on the field from game to game,” said Ordonez, while speaking with Spanish outlet Desde La Linea Podcast in the aftermath of the latest defeat.

Although assistant coach Ricky Clarke is giving his all, the results are just not there for Dash. “There are things we need, like our head coach coming back—or another (head coach). We’re missing a lot of help. The part we can do is work and try and play as a team, but there’s a lot we’re missing,” added the 22-year-old striker, as compiled by The Athletic.

Notably, head coach Fran Alonso’s absence from the sidelines is due to an illness. The Spanish tactician, who took charge in December 2023, has been absent from the dugout since late June when the club revealed that his health condition prevented him from traveling for an away game against the Kansas City Current. Since then, he has been on an extended leave. Adding to the turmoil, assistant coach Gilberto Damiano, who was brought on in March, is also no longer listed on the team’s staff roster.

Either way, it’s unclear when Alonso will return. But even if he does in any of the final six games, that won’t make any difference to their season. In the meantime, they can only carry forward a strong mentality to turn things around.

Despite the setback against Trinity Rodman and Co., Diana Ordonez calls for a “better” response

Diana Ordonez further called out to her teammates for working on the team’s overall mentality. This is something that has really affected Houston Dash, like the penalty that Clarke and Co. gave to Washington Spirit inside 7 minutes due to a handball by Allysha Chapman. This is something that Ordonez feels is happening to them in every other game.

“We have to change our response to those things when we see them happening because they’re going to happen. I think it seems to happen to the Houston Dash, in particular, a lot. So obviously we’re going to be frustrated but we have to respond better,” added Ordonez, urging her teammates to make one final push.

On the contrary, though Ricky Clarke describes this moment as “a difficult space,” he didn’t fall short in heaping praise of his coaching staff and players for keeping their heads up in such a tough time. “I’m throwing everything at this. I care about this club. I care about these players. And for me, the most important thing is to try and remain balanced,” he said.

It’s unfortunate how things are transpiring for Houston Dash at the moment. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen how they tackle things in the final stretch of the NWSL.