The Houston Dash have signed midfielder Mana Shim ahead of the 2018 National Women's Soccer League season.
Shim is a veteran in the NWSL, having played in the league since its beginning in 2013. She began her professional soccer career with the Portland Thorns as a disocvery player after not being selected in the 2013 NWSL College Draft. From there she would become a mainstay on the Thorns roster, being named Portland's Newcomer of the Year in 2013. She helped lead Portland to the first-ever NWSL Championship, claiming the title over the Western New York Flash. The 26-year-old spent almost five seasons with Portland, recording a total of 74 appearances, nine goals, and nine assists.
The fomer Santa Clara University midfielder spent the first half of 2017 with the Portland Thorns before spending a part of the year in Sweden with Växjö DFF.
Shim has been training with the Dash since the start of preseason. During her time with the club so far, they have played scrimmages against Rise Soccer Club, the U-15 Houston Dynamo Academy, and Texas A&M. They opened preseason with a 2-0 win over Rise, fell 3-0 to the Dynamo Academy, and most recently took a trip to College Station and took the 1-0 victory over Texas A&M Women's Soccer.
Shim and the Houston Dash will continue preparing for the 2018 NWSL regular season by taking a trip up to Portland to face off against Shim's former team, the Thorns, the Chicago Red Stars, and the U-23 USWNT in the Thorns Spring Invitational. The mini tournament will take place from March 11-17.
The Dash will then return home to Houston and get ready to host the Chicago Red Stars in their opening day match on Sunday, March 25 at 4 pm Central Time in BBVA Compass Stadium.