Diana Ordonez transfers to UANL Tigres Femenil from Houston Dash

Diana Ordoñez has transferred to UANL Tigres from the Houston Dash for an undisclosed transfer fee.

Ordoñez had six months remaining on her contract with the Dash in the NWSL and was set to begin her free-agency negotiating window on July 1st, 2025.

“I’m incredibly thankful for my time with the Houston Dash and the NWSL. The city of Houston, its community and my teammates have meant so much to me,” Ordóñez said.

“Debuting as a professional in this country has been a dream come true, and I am grateful for every experience. I’m looking forward to what lies ahead.” 

Tigres finished 5th in the most recent LigaMX Femenil season and then were knocked out in the playoff quarterfinals for the first time in their history. Tigres is the most storied club in Mexican women's football, with six league titles since the league was formed in 2017.

Ordoñez will join up with the team next week in Monterrey and begin pre-season for the start of the 2025 Torneo Apertura in mid-July.

The Texan hope

The move closes a disappointing two-and-a-half-year chapter for Ordoñez in her home state of Texas, where one of North America's brightest young goalscorers struggled to find the back of the net.

It's hard to think of a player that Dash fans and Texans wanted more to succeed than Ordoñez. Raised in Prosper, just outside Dallas, Ordoñez is an all-action type of footballer. Gutsy, fiercely competitive. Off the pitch, she is known for her fashion, honesty in interviews, and connecting with supporters.

Her roots rising through the ranks in Texas at FC Dallas and in the U.S. youth national team setup spoke to many. As a Mexican-American who now plays international soccer for Mexico, she was also an icon to many in the Dash fanbase who shared her multi-cultural soccer and family experience in Texas.

Falling away

Unfortunately, Ordoñez arrived in Houston at a time of great instability. In 29 months with the club, she has played under five coaches and two general managers. The club has been in a state of constant flux.

In her three seasons with Houston, the Dash finished 10th, 14th, and now she leaves the club in 12th. In 2023 and 2024, Houston ranked last for goals scored.

The 23-year-old joined the Dash in January 2023 from the North Carolina Courage in exchange for $100,000 and a 1st Round NWSL Draft pick. She had made the transfer request to be closer to home.

At the time, Ordoñez was coming off a rookie season where she scored 11 times in 19 league games, a record total for goals by a first-year pro in the NWSL.

That outstanding 2022 season followed a collegiate career at the University of Virginia, where Ordoñez was viewed as one of the most consistent box-finishers in the country.

Across three seasons with UVA, Ordoñez scored 45 goals in 62 NCAA matches. That streak included a career-best 18 goals in 2021, her final season with UVA, where she was nominated for NCAA player of the year.

Since then, Ordoñez has racked up 44 league appearances for the Dash but managed just eight goals. Her best single-season total with the Dash was when she was the club's top scorer with five goals in 2024.

Unlike previous seasons, where Ordoñez was consistently used as a focal point of the attack, in 2025, Ordoñez has struggled for minutes under new head coach Fabrice Gautraut.

Ordoñez has fallen behind Messiah Bright as the Dash's starting number nine and managed just three appearances (72 minutes) this year. Her final appearance was off the bench a 1-0 win over the Utah Royals in April.

It is important to note that she missed the beginning of the season due to her recovery from shoulder surgery in the offseason, and then missed the last two games with an 'excused absence' as interest in a transfer from Tigres grew.

Nuevo Leon

For a while now, it has felt like Ordoñez has needed a fresh start to rediscover herself on the pitch.

Tigres – located just 125 miles south of the Texas border – feels like an ideal landing spot to rejuvenate her career. In the state of Nuevo Leon, she will have plenty of chance creators around her on the pitch and one of the most passionate fanbases in the world in the stands.

Ordoñez last lifted a club trophy in 2022, the NWSL Challenge Cup, with the Courage and will surely look to add more silverware while in Monterrey.

Ordoñez will be at home with several Mexican dual-nationals at the club such as Maricarmen Reyes, Annika Rodriguez, Aaliyah Farmer, and Tatiana Flores. With 2027 world Cup qualifiers on the horizon, that proximity to international games could help her further integration into El Tri too. She currently has 29 caps and 10 goals for Mexico since 2022.

READ MORE: Diana Ordonez on embracing her Mexican heritage, World Cup dreams

The transfer also makes me think back to 2022, when I spoke to Ordoñez, in Monterrey, while she was with the Mexican national team preparing for the 2023 World Cup qualifiers that would take place at Tigres' stadium.

I inquired whether she had interest in playing in LigaMX Femenil. Ordoñez, always wise beyond her years, paused and said she had to choose her words wisely because she knows the fanbase can get excited.

"Maybe at some point. But I would also say maybe to playing in Europe," Ordoñez mused. "The fans here [in Mexico] are unbelievable. It is what it is. And you don't get experiences like that in many other places. But other than that right now, I'm very happy where I am [the NWSL]."

I'm delighted she will get to experience that now.

Curiously, her third-last goal for the Dash was a brilliant laser-like finish from inside the box for the opening goal in a 2-1 win over Tigres during the NWSL x LigaMX Femenil Summer Cup in July 2024. Vintage Ordoñez.

Ordoñez' battling self was also on show when she got into a shoving match with her Mexico (now Tigres teammate) Annika Rodriguez.

Those two clubs will always have an intertwined history and this latest transfer feels strangely perfect. Another fitting knit on the tapestry. Ordoñez should be right at home in Nuevo Leon.