2025 Position Group Preview - Attackers
(image via Houston Dash)
The offseason is over and the National Women’s Soccer League season begins this week. The Houston Dash will get their 2025 campaign underway on Friday. The Dash went through a number of changes this offseason, from a new head coach to new key players on the roster. Leading up to the first match against Washington Spirit we’ll be breaking down each position group, the players within the group, and some expectations for them. We start today with the forwards/attackers.
Michelle Alozie
2024 stats (NWSL play): 24 appearances, 0 goals, 1 assist
Projected 2025 role: Backup winger/striker
Alozie never really got going in 2024, finishing with 0 goals and just one assist on the season. She is somewhat of a player without a position as she can play in the front three of an attack or as a fullback/wing back, and last year’s coaching staff seemed perplexed on how to use her. The Nigeria international will look to get a fresh start under this new staff and hopefully carve out a role. It looks likely that she will be be bench option or spot starter at any of the front three positions, primarily on the right wing.
Ramona Bachmann
2024 stats (NWSL play): 12 appearances, 2 goals
Projected 2025 role: Starting left wing
Bachmann just returned to Houston after missing most of training camp and will need to get up to speed. The 34-year-old showed promise last season but she only played 834 minutes. Now another year older and with her partner expecting a child, she could be in and out of the team this season. Bachmann has the talent to be the Dash’s starting left winger but it remains to be seen if she will be fit for that role to begin the season.
Messiah Bright
2024 stats (NWSL play): 21 appearances, 1 goal (with Angel City FC)
Projected 2025 role: Backup striker
Bright had a strong rookie season in 2023, scoring 6 goals for Orlando Pride. She moved to Angel City last season and struggled to find game time, making just one start. The former TCU star is still only 25-years-old and will now suit up for her third team in her third pro season. Bright will likely back up Ordoñez as the team’s number 9. She can also play on the wing or as a 10, or could take the striker position from Ordoñez if she struggles.
Evelina Duljan
2024 stats (NWSL play): 8 appearances (with Orlando Pride)
Projected 2025 role: Backup winger
Another player who joined preseason camp late, Duljan is a bit of a mystery. She’s still just 21 and made only 8 appearances for Orlando in their double winning season in 2024. A young player with upside, she previously spent a season with Juventus in Italy, is something the Dash can afford to let develop.
Ryan Gareis
2024 stats (NWSL play): 7 appearances
Projected 2025 role: Backup left winger
Gareis returned from maternity leave last season and made 5 starts down the stretch. She scored a nice goal in preseason and if she can add that to her pace and dribbling ability, Gareis will be a good option off the bench or to spell Bachmann and Avery Patterson, if she plays further up the field this season.
Diana Ordoñez
2024 stats (NWSL play): 24 appearances, 5 goals
Projected 2025 role: Starting striker
Can Fabrice Gautrat unlock the rookie season version of Ordoñez? After 11 goals in her rookie season with the North Carolina Courage, Ordoñez has just 8 in her two seasons in Houston. If the Dash are going to be successful this season and climb the table, they need Ordoñez bagging goals. With the talent added this reason, including the next player in the article, she should have much more goal-scoring chances in 2025.
Yazmeen Ryan
2024 stats (NWSL play): 25 appearances, 5 goals, 5 assists
Projected 2025 role: Starting right wing
The USWNT winger was the marquee signing for the Dash this season. Ryan has won everywhere she’s been in NWSL, winning league titles in Portland (2022) and Gotham (2023). Her dynamicism will be huge for the Dash attack, vastly improving the right wing position for Houston. For an offense that sputtered all of 2024, Ryan’s inclusion into the team will be a big shot in the arm for the club’s rebuild.
Amanda West
2024 stats (NWSL play): 16 appearances, 1 goal, 1 assist
Projected 2025 role: Backup striker/winger
West had a solid rookie season as a bench option. She played on the wings for the Dash in 2024 but seems more suited as an out-and-out striker. She may have fallen down the depth chart this offseason but West will be an option for the front three again in 2025.
