The Houston Dash have fired coach Fabrice Gautrat and technical director Twila Kilgore, with Jaime Frias stepping in as interim head coach for the rest of the season.
The move comes with the Dash sitting 12th out of 16 teams in the National Women’s Soccer League and a 7-12-5 record. Six games remain in the regular season.
“Our conviction in this group has not wavered,” Dash president of women’s soccer Angela Hucles Mangano said in a statement. “We believe in the quality of this team and its ability to succeed both this season and beyond. We also have a responsibility to evaluate our trajectory and determine what is needed to achieve the ambitions we have for this team. Ultimately, this decision reflects our commitment to those ambitions and our determination to continue moving the club forward.”
Gautrat’s Time With the Dash
Gautrat was in his second season as head coach of the Dash. Last year the team went 8-12-6.
Kilgore arrived as technical director in February after serving as the U.S. women’s national team’s head coach from August 2023 to May 2024. She previously worked with the Dash as an assistant coach from 2019-21.
Frias takes over as interim head coach for the remaining six games.
The Record That Faces the Club
The Dash sit 12th out of 16 teams in the league. Their record stands at 7-12-5.
Six games remain in the regular season.
Here is what stands between the Dash and the finish line:
- Six regular-season games remain.
- The team sits 12th out of 16 in the league.
- The interim coach is now in charge.
The record does not look good for a team this deep into the season. Seven wins, twelve losses, five draws, and a bottom-half position suggest a pattern that has settled in rather than one that is about to break.
What Comes After the Decision
The Dash have made their choice. Gautrat and Kilgore are out. Frias is in.
The record tells you what the team has done. The statement tells you what the club believes it can do. The next six games will settle the question of whether the difference between the two is real.
The Dash are in a difficult position. They have fired their coach and technical director with six games left in the regular season. The team has a chance to show what it can do under interim leadership. Whether that chance becomes a win depends on the next six matches.
The statement points to evaluation and ambition without spelling out a single plan. Mangano’s words describe a process rather than a finished product. The club says it has a responsibility to look at where the team is headed and decide what is needed to meet its goals.
The statement also speaks directly to the team itself, telling players that the club’s belief in them has not changed. That is a message aimed at the players themselves, not at critics or fans.
The next six games will answer questions the statement could not answer. Can the team perform under interim leadership? Can the record improve enough to matter in a league with six games left? The Dash have answered the first question by naming Frias. The second question remains open.
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