When the Houston Dash announced the acquisition of Carli Lloyd yesterday, it caught the women’s soccer world by surprise. Few expected that Western New York would trade Lloyd away, even after CSN Houston’s Sebastian Salazar tweeted Wednesday night that a U.S. Women’s National Team starter was headed to Houston.

Carli is a player that I consider one of the top two women’s players in the world right now and the fact that we were able to get a deal for her really goes to show our commitment towards improving our product on the field for next season

The availability of Lloyd came as a bit of a surprise to the Dash as well. “We’ve been in the process of reaching out to a lot of different clubs; Western New York was one of them. We never really thought that Carli was available, but when we found out that she was we obviously went after her aggressively,” said Dash Managing Director Brian Ching by phone yesterday afternoon.

“Obviously, we were all disappointed with where we ended last season. We knew we needed to make some big moves ahead of this season to get better. Carli is a player that I consider one of the top two women’s players in the world right now and the fact that we were able to get a deal for her really goes to show our commitment towards improving our product on the field for next season,” added Ching.

In order to obtain Lloyd, the Dash had to give up Becky Edwards, Whitney Engen and a 2016 3rd round college draft pick. The draft pick could be viewed as a throwaway; third round picks have proven to be hit or miss. Looking back at 3rd round picks in the 2013 draft, most of the 3rd rounders are no longer in the league and only Amber Brooks stands out as an impact pick. Initial results of the 2014 draft look a little better, but not enough to fret over the pick.

Edwards and Engen are a different matter, though; particularly Edwards who was arguably the best player on the team last season and very likely would have been available to the Dash while other players (including Lloyd now) are away for the World Cup. Therefore, the question of whether or not the Dash gave up too much to obtain Lloyd is a reasonable one to ask.

“I think that we gave up a lot to get Carli, obviously Becky was a big part and Whitney when she was here was a big part of our team last season. They were arguably two of our best players but we really feel that a player of Carli’s caliber doesn’t come available very often and that we needed to do anything we could to get her. We’ll definitely miss Becky as she was our MVP last year and Whit; but we think this move makes us better,” responded Ching.

The fact that Brittany Bock and Lauren Sesselmann will be back from injury next season and can fill the roles vacated by Edwards and Engen helps, but Ching indicates that this did not enter into the thinking in deciding to make the trade. “It had nothing to do with any of our players except the fact that we value Carli that much. We were willing to give up a lot to get her.

“We feel that to pick up a Carli Lloyd, it makes your team 100 times better and we’re a team that is looking to compete for the championship. She’s the kind of player that we can build a team around while she is here.”

While the loss of Edwards, in particular, hurts from the standpoint of the World Cup period, the potential gain both before and after the World Cup more than offsets the loss. It is important to understand, as well, that this is just the first of many moves for the Dash. Ching understands the Dash need to build a roster that can compete both during the World Cup and outside of the World Cup.

“You look at the season, obviously the national team players are going to be away during the World Cup and that’s why we felt like Becky is a big loss for us because she’d be a player who would be around year round. Having said that, I think this deal probably puts us in a better position to win the league when Carli’s around and we are going to be actively out searching for more players to compliment our side to help get us through the World Cup period.”

Ching and coach Randy Waldrum previously spoke to Orange in the Oven about off-season plans and in particular the emphasis on bringing in quality international players.

With Lloyd now in place, the prospect of bringing in two top notch international players to put in the lineup with her, along with Kealia Ohai, Brittany Bock, Meghan Klingenberg, Ari Romero and others makes 2015 playoffs, and perhaps even a Seattle Reign like turn around, a very realistic prospect.

The Lloyd deal, as a first step in overhauling the team, indeed positions the Dash to compete for the NWSL Championship. It is a bold move, one worth the risk of losing Edwards and Engen for. Just as importantly, it gives the front office something to work with when selling tickets as opposed to last season where many potential fans were turned off by the lack of “name players”.

Ching is very aware of the off the pitch benefits, “She’s a household name when it comes to the US women’s national team. It’s going to help build our brand even more. These are the types of players we want to go after, these are the types of players we feel need to be playing here in Houston, especially if we want to be considered one of the best clubs around.

“I think we were happy with the fact that we started a women’s soccer franchise here last season, but moving forward we want to be winners on the field, we want to have recognizable names in the market and hopefully she is the first of many big moves.”

One name not mentioned above is Morgan Brian, senior at the University of Virginia who is currently with the national team in the CONCACAF Championship. Brian is generally viewed as the top player in college and a lock to be taken #1 in the 2015 NWSL Draft, a pick which the Dash currently hold. A number of pundits have questioned whether Lloyd and Brian can co-exist in the same midfield.

Asked whether the Lloyd acquisition changes the Dash approach to the draft, Ching responded, “No, our philosophy going into the draft is take the best player available. Obviously if Morgan Brian is available, I think she is the best player in the college game right now and we would take her. Having said that, that’s the plan, things could change between now and then and it is a long way away. If we had to draft today, that’s we who would take.”

As to the possibility that Brian could become an allocated player and come to the Dash that way rather than through the draft, “We hope for it, but in actuality I doubt that’s the situation. We’d love for that to happen, but we’ll have to wait and see.”

For now, Dash fans can bask in the knowledge that Lloyd will be donning orange next season, and dream of the moves yet to come which will put quality players around her. If this first move is any indication, we are in for a fun run up to training camp.