Haley Hanson is one of the few Dash players to have faced every LigaMX Femenil team that Houston has played against.
Hanson, who was drafted by the Dash in 2018, first faced off against a Mexican team during her rookie season when the Dash played the Rayadas de Monterrey. The following year, Houston traveled to take on Tigres Femenil in 2019. In 2021, the Dash hosted Tigres at PNC Stadium for a friendly. On March 2, the Dash played UNAM Puma Femenil in Mexico City and currently hold a 3-1-0 record against teams from Mexico.
The defender said Houston’s most recent trip to Mexico was different for a variety of reasons. Not only did last week’s trip mark the longest that the Dash stayed in Mexico, it also gave Houston two opponents instead of one.
“I didn’t realize when we were going into it that the altitude was higher than Denver,” Hanson said. “I was not prepared for that really. Looking back at it now it’s such an advantage for us that we did that, but that was brutal. It was tough – from warmups to training to the game – it was hard to overcome. But we got our red blood cell count up so, that was good.”
Despite the altitude playing a factor, the Dash were still victorious over Pumas Femenil on March 2. A late header from Dash defender Annika Schmidt helped break the 0-0 tie. Having seen LigaMX Femenil in the few years since the start of the league, Hanson said she has seen the level of play increase as well as the popularity of the league.
“Throughout the years, they’ve really been distinguishing themselves as a league that is competitive on a global scale,” Hanson said. “We are seeing more and more players that are choosing to start their professional career there or continue their career there. Playing Pumas this last time around I was really impressed with their style of play – which is different for us compared to what we see on a weekly basis in our league. I am excited to see what LigaMX Femenil will do in the future.”
While in Mexico the Dash were able to visit Xochimilco, a local tourist attraction that is one of Mexico’s most popular destinations. The boat ride through one of the most ancient parts of Mexico gave Hanson and her teammates a chance to strengthen their relationships and experience the local culture.
“Even before our trip, we just love to spend time together. Being in an environment where we were doing all of these things together, I think really brings out that we never really get sick of each other. I personally feel that any of us could be in a different group on any given day and we would love to be spending time with different people,” Hanson said. “It’s very much a fluid culture that we are building. We have enough new and old faces that we are kind of getting to know each other. It’s really, really fun and trips like that amplify how close we really are becoming.”
Now the focus shifts to the start of the NWSL competition calendar, which begins March 20 against the Chicago Red Stars at PNC Stadium. Hanson, who was a member of the 2020 Challenge Cup team that beat Chicago to claim the title, said while the team has a mix of old and new faces the goal is the same.
“[The trip] brought some lessons that I was happy we were facing at that moment as opposed to later in the season,” Hanson said. “Without that experience, with being in the altitude, on the road and playing that opponent – I don’t think we would have necessarily gotten to that point and learned those lessons.
I’m just super grateful for these last six weeks and super hopeful going into the Challenge Cup.”
