Sarah Lowdon, the Dash's 'bridge' in the coaching room

It has been quite a remarkable ride for Houston Dash first assistant Sarah Lowdon. 

Just 15 months have passed since Lowdon joined the club in early 2022. In that time, she has been the assistant to three different head coaches and served as acting head coach of the Dash for the first half of the 2022 NWSL season.

While last season provided a significant learning curve and a breathless adventure for Lowdon as a coach, she’s again appreciating focusing on her duties as an assistant in the NWSL. Those responsibilities began with scouting prospective college players for Houston to select for the 2023 season. 

“It was a massive year,” Lowdon reflected in a press conference on Thursday. “Just a massive year of growth in general. But I think the offseason was great. To be honest, it was a little bit of time off, and then straight back into it with the draft. As you know that that kind of is not something that you just show up at the draft and do; it's something that there's a lot of preparation for.” 

When the Englishwoman assumed the role of acting head coach in April 2022, the remit was to guide the club through a tumultuous time, which she achieved with aplomb. 

Lowdon stepped up from being an assistant coach because James Clarkson had been suspended by the league just a few days before the start of the NWSL regular season. Despite the chaos, she personified calm. A good reader of people and a natural empath, Lowdon understood what her players required in a moment of adversity.

"When she [Lowdon] comes into the room, any tension or anything is just nonexistent," Dash captain Sophie Schmidt told The Striker in May 2023. "She does a really good job of being personable, open to feedback, and different personality types. I think it's exactly what we needed in this transition period right now."

During that period of uncertainty, Lowdon displayed incredible leadership, player management skills, and tactical flexibility. She led the team to a 4-3-3 record over ten matches, equaling a club record of six consecutive undefeated games. 

Highlights of her tenure included a masterful 2-0 win over the Portland Thorns, an outrageous 5-0 demolition of the Orlando Pride, and a mature 0-0 against Angel City FC in front of their raucous home support.

READ MORE: After win in Portland, will Sarah Lowdon stick with formation change?

'Very collaborative'

Nearly a year on from that temporary stint as the head coach, Lowdon is now relishing the chance to work with new Dash head coach Sam Laity, who was appointed in December 2022. 

After just a handful of months, the duo has already become close. Although Lowdon and Laity only met in person for the first time at the NWSL Draft in Philadelphia, in January 2023, she says that it “feels like I've known him for 10 years, which I think is a great thing.”

With the vast majority of the Dash's 2022 squad returning in 2023, including their top 10 players from last season in terms of minutes, Lowdon has a huge amount of trust she can lean on in the locker room. Lowdon is poised to be the glue for Houston in 2023.  

Under Laity, Lowdon’s role as an assistant has evolved to reflect her confident relationship with the players. That connection will be essential to helping translate the entire coaching staff’s desired tactical plans to the team. She will oversee analyzing "pictures" from matches and training, before then providing feedback to the squad.

Lowdon will act, in her words, as a "bridge." 

“I think my job as the first assistant coach is to be the bridge between the head coach and the players. That’s how I see it," said Lowdon. “Obviously, when you have a new head coach, they want to implement their own ideas. And I think Sam's done a great job of it. The staff has been very collaborative and listening to our feedback, which is something that's been a breath of fresh air.”

With the vast majority of the Dash's 2022 squad returning in 2023, including their top 10 players from last season in terms of minutes, Lowdon has a huge amount of trust she can lean on in the locker room. 

But the sense of togetherness and shared experience doesn't just end with the players. Lowdon and Laity have plenty in common too.

Laity became the head coach of the Dash having spent 10 years as an assistant in the NWSL. Like his first assistant, he also was thrust into the role of interim head coach when the OL Reign decided to part ways with Farid Bensiti in 2021. 

READ MORE: 'It's the right fit': Meet Sam Laity, the new Dash head coach who bided his time

Lowdon believes it is this understanding, of what it is like to be both the assistant and the head coach, that can help her to be an even better coach in her second year in Houston. She knows exactly where she is needed most.

“I’ve had a little bit of a taste of what it's like to be a head coach. So I have a lot of empathy for the head coach now and hopefully, I'm an even better assistant than I was last year," Lowdon said. 

She added that "just having that empathy for what the head coach has to do and having a little bit of insight" has been key. 

"And I'm seeing now obviously stepping in here, it is just making sure that you fill in the gaps as much as possible. And that's what we're all trying to do as a staff and just make Sam's job as easy as possible."

One step at a time

Last season, Lowdon quickly set the tone for the Dash to become the best away side in the NWSL. In 2022, no team took more points on the road (23) than Houston. The Texas club finished the season with a steely away record of 7-2-2 away, with three of those wins and two of those draws belonging to Lowdon.

A big factor in that success was built on the idea of togetherness that Lowdon managed to install in the squad. One of the ways she achieved this was by taking the entire 27-player roster on the first away trip of the year, which resulted in a 2-1 win over the Kansas City Current. 

Houston will hit the road for the first time this season and head to Chicago in Matchweek Two. It will be the first of three consecutive away trips for the Dash. 

Although Lowdon says they will only be taking the required 20 players to the 'Windy City" this weekend, she still believes that away matches provide a good opportunity for the players to bond and "focus on the job."

Lowdon cannot pinpoint why the Dash have been so successful away from home since she joined the club in 2022. But if there is anything she can pick out, it's the players. 

"I'm not really sure if there's one specific thing, but I think, for me, it's the players. The players bought into what we were doing. And again, full credit goes to them. Because at the end of the day, they have to get them to step this step on the pitch and do what we're asking so full credit to them," she said.

After opening the NWSL season with a 0-0 at home to Racing Louisville, this weekend Lowdon and the Dash coaching staff desires to keep developing the players' style and cohesion rather than just secure as many points as possible. 

"Sam [Laity] hasn’t emphasized winning he wants us to concentrate on that growth and progress following the first game," Dash right back Caprice Dydasco told the media on Thursday.

Evolving into the team that Laity wants them to be won't happen after one match. Admittedly this Dash team is still a "work in progress" but there is plenty of enthusiasm that the bridge between the players and coaches in Houston is strong. 

"The team's adapting to Sam's philosophy. I think they're adapting great. It's nice that we had the offseason to kind of get that organized. I am really enjoying working with Sam. And I think the players are really enjoying playing for him (too)," said Lowdon.