The Houston Dash have signed Australian defender Ellie Brush and Brazilian defender Camila, the club announced today. The players will be added to the Dash roster upon receipt of their P-1 Visas. Per club and league policy, terms of the transactions were not disclosed.
Brush, 26, joins the Dash from Canberra United in the Westfield W-League, where she has played since the club’s inception in 2008. Brush has made 79 appearances — all starts — for the Australian club, scoring 12 goals. The central defender was part of the W-League championship-winning sides in 2012 and 2015.
A native of Canberra, Brush has earned two caps with the Australia Women’s National Team. Brush spent part of 2013 on loan to Avaldsnes in Norway’s Toppserien, making 11 appearances (10 starts).
“Brian [Ching] and I felt we needed to do everything we could to address our defense, and I think Ellie is going to be a great addition,” head coach Randy Waldrum said. “She’s played on a championship team, she was on the fringe of making the World Cup team for Australia, so I’m excited about having her. I think she’s going to bring a great tenacity and a great heading presence to our team.”
Camila, 20, has played in Brazil’s Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol Femino since she was 18. The defender began her career with Kindermann in 2012, making 30 appearances (29 starts) and scoring five goals in league and cup play. Camila then joined Ferroviária and made nine starts—scoring four goals—in a runner-up finish in this year’s Copa do Brasil.
The São Bento do Sul, Brazil, native has been part of Brazil’s youth international set-up, starting all three matches at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Canada and assisting on one goal.
“Camila’s a player I saw at the U-20 World Cup, and I think she’s going to be an up-and-coming star for their senior team,” Waldrum said. “She’s a young player, but I think she’s a really exciting outside back. She can play on the right outside, on the left outside, and when Meghan Klingenberg and Allysha Chapman return from the national team, she’s even played outside forward for her club team. She’s got that versatility that we’ll have a use for her looking ahead.”
In corresponding moves to make room on the 20-player roster, defender Stephanie Ochs has been placed on the season-ending injury list after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL and forward Stephanie Roche has been waived.
ELLIE BRUSH
Position: Defender
Number: 24
Date of Birth: August 19, 1988
Birthplace: Canberra, Australia
Height: 5’5”
Previous Club: Canberra United
CAMILA
Full Name: Camila Martins Pereira
Position: Defender
Number: 9
Date of Birth: October 10, 1994
Birthplace: São Bento do Sul, Brazil
Height: 5’3”
Previous Club: Ferroviária
