For Sarah Lowdon, the past year has been somewhat of a whirlwind.

She went from being unemployed - a volunteer coach at college level - to acting head coach on the US’s biggest stage.

Having left Penn State University in 2021 and joined NWSL team Houston Dash in March 2022 as an assistant coach, Lowdon was elevated to acting head coach just weeks later. She kept that role for half a season.

“It was a crazy year,” Lowdon reflects to WSC, on a period when she went from no job to having three different roles in the space of 12 months.

“The decision you make is the right one always, because you go with your gut and I always go with what aligns with my values.

“I had never been a head coach before. I had no idea what head coaches do until I got thrust into it.

“Those four months of my life were an amazing period. I’m grateful to the players for buying in and getting the job done.”

The job she refers to includes a six-game unbeaten streak, and a playoff finish for the first time in the Dash’s history, with Lowdon more than playing her part in the team’s most successful season ever.

If you don’t know the history of Lowdon’s career, you might be wondering how she went from volunteer to successful head coach in such a short space of time. 

Originally from Newcastle, in northeast England, where she played for her beloved Newcastle United, Lowdon moved to the US to continue her on-field career.

She went on to work in volunteer roles at colleges and the South Texas Youth Soccer Association, spent time with the Dash as an assistant from 2015-2017, and was director of operations and equipment manager at the University of Florida.

Lowdon’s career choices, and the decisions she has made with her gut, have at times looked unconventional - but the approach has, she says, been about “experience over titles”.