Fabrice Gautrat was fired as coach of the Houston Dash on Sunday, with the team also announcing that technical director Twila Kilgore is leaving the club.
Assistant coach Jaime Frias will serve as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season, with the club saying that it has already begun the search for the next head coach.
The Dash are 12th in the 16-team NWSL standings with a 7-12-5 record (26 points), with their most recent win coming on Aug. 19. Houston is coming off a 1-0 loss to Utah Royals FC on Saturday and has six games remaining in the regular season.
“Our conviction in this group has not wavered,” Angela Hucles Mangano, Dash president of women’s soccer, 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 became the sixth coach in Dash history ahead of the 2025 season, with Houston going on to finish 8-12-6 (30 points) and missing the postseason by six points. The 38-year-old came to the Dash after working as an assistant coach for the Chicago Red Stars in 2022 and the North Carolina Courage from 2023-24.
Kilgore, the second technical director in team history, returned to the organization in February. She previously served as the interim head coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team from August 2023 to May 2024, and first joined the Dash as an assistant coach from 2019-21.
“We want to thank Fabrice and Twila for their commitment to the organization and the work they have done on behalf of this organization,” Hucles Mangano said. “They have invested significantly in our players and our club, and we are grateful for their contributions. We wish them both continued success in their careers.”
–Field Level Media
