Dallas Trinity went to Kentucky on top of the league and left with their ears ringing. In front of a sparse home crowd, Lexington SC handed the Golden Girls a 6–1 beating, the kind of loss that lingers long after the ride back to the airport.
Coach Chris Petrucelli didn’t blink at kickoff, sticking with the same 4-2-3-1 that earned a point in Tampa. But Lexington had the energy of an unbeaten team smelling blood. Nine minutes in, striker Catherine Barry rose above the crowd and buried a header from Tatiana Fung’s corner.
Dallas almost punched back. Allie Thornton forced a sharp save from Katherine Asman, and Chioma Ubogagu fired just wide, but the window slammed shut fast.
In the 21st minute, Addie McCain broke free on a 2-v-1 with Sarah Griffith and slotted home the second.
For a flicker, Trinity had life. Captain Amber Wisner dropped a perfect ball over the top from the center circle into the penalty area, and Sealy Strawn tucked it away for her first of the season.
“Amber played an amazing ball, so obviously, I can’t score that goal without her,” Strawn said. “I just locked my eyes on the goal and knew at that point I was going to shoot it. It was shooting it or no other option, and it worked out.”
That was the high point. Barry bagged her second six minutes later, Griffith her second assist, and Lexington strolled into halftime up 3–1.
The second half turned cruel. Samar Guidry was booked in the 48th, and Petrucelli rolled the dice with four subs in the 56th, Tamara Bolt, Rhea Moore, Camryn Lancaster, and Caroline Kelly, hoping to jolt the tempo. Two minutes later, Guidry lunged into Hannah Johnson, picked up her second yellow, and the match tilted off the rails.
With Dallas down to ten, Lexington swarmed. Emina Ekic curled in the fourth, McCain completed her brace, and Shea Moyer hammered home the sixth. The Cotton Bowl felt far away.
Petrucelli kept it blunt: “We had a couple chances early to really change the game and didn’t put them away. I think it went downhill from there. Four games on the road in a row is pretty unprecedented, so we need this upcoming break.”
Despite the defeat, Dallas remains top of the table by a single point over surging Lexington. They will use the week to rest before heading to Spokane for the final stop of their brutal five-match road swing. The Trinity faces Spokane Zephyr on Sunday, October 12th at 6 pm CT, live on Peacock.
