Vera Pauw, a Dutch woman with extensive experience coaching on the international level, will make her club coaching debut with the Dash.

The club will announce her hire by Tuesday afternoon, a source confirmed.

Pauw, 54, last coached the South Africa women's national team from March 2014 through August 2016. She resigned following the Summer Olympics. Later that year, she was one of 10 shortlist candidates for FIFA's Best Women's Coach of 2016.

She is a long way from South Africa and her native Netherlands, but she said she views the Dash coaching position as a great opportunity.

"I see a team with huge potential in a club that wants to grow," Pauw said. "What I saw from the footage of the team is that it is a challenging opportunity. I think the team can grow a lot. I think the club wants to make something special of the women's program, and that attracts me."

Dynamo and Dash president Chris Canetti was attracted to the idea of hiring Pauw after several people suggested her, including longtime University of North Carolina coach Anson Dorrance.

GET TO KNOW VERA PAUW Age: 54

Birthplace: The Netherlands

Coaching credentials: UEFA Pro-license; Video analysis Pro-license

Book authored: "De voetbalwrouwen komen era an" ("The soccer women are arriving at the top/The development process from amateur to professional soccer players) Coaching history

March 2014 – September 2016: Head coach South Africa national team July 2010 – July 2012: Technical Director Russian national team October 2004 – April 2010: Head coach/Technical director Netherlands national team 1998 – 2004: Head coach/Technical director Scotland national team 1986 – 1998: Staff member of The Netherlands Football Association Technical Department & Academy FIFA experience

She was appointed as a FIFA instructor in 1994 and has been the head of or a member of FIFA technical study groups for 10 international tournaments, including the last five World Cups. UEFA experience

She is a UEFA technical expert and was a member of the technical study group at the 2005 Women's European Championships.

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Canetti emailed Pauw, and the long process began. Several reasons extended his search, including the fact Pauw was in contention for another, but undisclosed, national team job.

"We wanted to be very thorough because we know how important it is to get this (Dash coaching) situation straightened out," Canetti said. "She has a tremendous resume, track record and awesome experience. She's a student of the game and very detail-oriented. She's very technical and understands the game very well.

"She will be able to quickly make an impact and substantially change the culture and help our players develop."

Pauw earned 89 international caps as a defender with the Netherlands. She was the first Dutch player to play professionally in Italy in 1988. Ten years later, Pauw was appointed as coach and technical director of the Scotland national team.

She stayed with Scotland until 2004 when she was named to the same position with the Netherlands national team. She led the Dutch to the semifinals of the 2009 European Championships.

Pauw served as interim coach of Russia's national team for three months in 2011. Her experience extends to technical study groups with FIFA, where she analyzed World Cups.

At every stop, Pauw has prided herself on developing players.

"I work for players everywhere I go," she said. "The choices I make are based on whether I see challenges to get players to another level...What I like about the Dash is that there is a lot of individual potential.

"You can see they have a lot of talent to solve football situations. There is a lot of diversity in the team. If you balance that with the qualities the team is missing you can really get somewhere."

The biggest 'somewhere' Pauw can take the Dash is to the playoffs for the first time in club history.

The Dash have finished eighth out of 10 in two-straight seasons. The closest they came to qualifying for the postseason was in 2015 when they were six points from the last qualifying spot.

The 2018 season will be their fifth in the NWSL. Canetti said Pauw is the woman to get the Dash over the hump.

"Lots of people believe we have a lot of talent on this team," Canetti said. "It is just a matter of tweaking everything a little bit from the roster to the way we train to the tactics to the environment to how we do things off the field to how we interact with one another. I expect that she'll have a big impact on that right away."