The Houston Dash in their second season made a dramatic leap from a cellar dweller to a playoff contender. The Dash finished with the most wins, the most points accumulated and the best finish in their short history. I am a stats guy. I love to look at statistics and try to figure out what they might tell us. Taking a look at the Houston Dash statistics for 2015, here are five things I see which I believe make the Houston Dash accomplishments all the more remarkable. First, the 2015 campaign was a World Cup year and no team in the NWSL had more players participating than the Houston Dash. The featured three on the USA team and three more on the Canadien team, a sincere testimony to the caliber of squad managing director Brian Ching and head coach Randy Waldrum have been assembling. The loss of six key starters would be a big blow to even the most experienced and depth laden clubs but for a second year organization still trying to find their way, it should have been devastating.

Second, not once after opening night were the Dash able to field the same starting line-up the rest of the season as they had in game one. Over the subsequent 19 remaining games of the season the Houston Dash only twice fielded the same starting eleven in consecutive matches. It happened on June 6th and June 20th and then again on June 27th and July 12th. Despite the ability for a variety of reasons to run the same eleven out there game after game, the Houston Dash were in the playoff hunt till the final three games of the season. A tip of the hat to Waldrum and his staff.

Third, the turnover on players due to the World Cup shown not only the professionalism of the paid athletes but the amateurs who played a pivotal role in keeping the Houston Dash in the playoff hunt. The Houston Dash brought in Jen Laponte, Carleigh Williams, Jazmyne Avant and Allie Bailey, four amateurs who played significant minutes to help keep the Dash in playoff contention. Bailey scored her first professional goal helping the Dash pick up an energizing draw on May 31, 2015.

In addition, the team went and got Toni Pressley, Niki Cross, Ellie Brush (Defender of the Year), Andressa (Young Player of the Year) despite not arriving until just in time for the July 27th game in which she played 90 minutes even though she barely had a training session under her belt, and Camila most of whom are expected back in 2016.

Fourth, With Erin McLeod and Bianca Henninger in goal, the duo allowed nine fewer goals in 2015. I grant you the team played four fewer games however since they allowed 44 goals in 2014, those four fewer games would not have made a difference. Together they combined for 6 wins which would have placed them in 3rd in the NWSL standings if one of them had done it alone. Last year neither goalkeeper alone or combined came anywhere close to the top tier in goalkeeping wins. Henninger ranked third in the NWSL for shutouts while McLeod finished seventh.

Fifth, Kealia Ohai,the second year forward, Team MVP & Player’s Player of the Year and Jessica McDonald (Golden Boot) showed they can be a force in the attacking third. McDonald followed up her third place finish in the NWSL scoring race in 2014 with seventh spot in 2014. McDonald with seven and Ohai with four accounted for nearly 50 percent of the scoring output. Ohai also kicked in five assists. Imagine what this duo can accomplish with another year together? And if you really want to dream, add Ella Masar to the mix, all she did was notch two goals in two games as a forward in the season’s final two games.

As an aside, the team finished second only to the Portland Thorns FC. Their average of 6,413 over a ten game home schedule was more than 2,000 ahead of the Chicago Red Stars.

What this all says to me is that the Houston Dash are moving in the right direction. Waldrum told me near the end of the season that when he took the position he expected to be competing for the top spot by year three. With two down and one to go, the team is well-poised to make that a reality in 2016 and with a growing fan base, don’t be surprised to see the Dash close the gap between them and the Thorns in the attendance race.