Golden Girls deliver the most complete performance of the season in Florida
Nathan Thackeray‘s first road match as Dallas Trinity FC head coach answered any lingering questions about whether this team had bought in. Trinity dismantled Fort Lauderdale United 4-0 at Beyond Bancard Field on Saturday night, delivering their most complete performance of the season and their largest margin of victory since a 6-0 demolition of Brooklyn FC last March.
Goals from Heather Stainbrook, Wayny Balata, Lauren Flynn, and Sealey Strawn extended Trinity’s unbeaten streak to six matches and solidified their grip on third place – firmly in playoff position with momentum building at exactly the right time.
Dallas (7-5-3, 24 points) controlled the match from start to finish, winning possession 51.4% to 48.6% and outshooting Fort Lauderdale 16-13 with eight shots on target to their three. The Golden Girls are now 2-3-0 all-time against Fort Lauderdale, with the clubs set to meet again at the Cotton Bowl on May 16th.
Thackeray deployed a 4-3-3 with Flynn partnering captain Amber Wisner at center back, Cyera Hintzen at left back, and Samar Guidry at right back. The tactical shift worked brilliantly. Hintzen pushed so high she essentially operated as a fourth attacker, while the midfield trio of Stainbrook, Balata, and Lexi Missimo bossed the center of the park from the opening whistle.
Both sides pressed aggressively early. Chioma Ubogagu fired wide in the 7th minute after a quick takeaway. But as Fort Lauderdale’s energy started to fade around the 20-minute mark, Trinity seized control and never let go.
Stainbrook opened the scoring in the 25th minute. Cam Lancaster sliced through Fort Lauderdale’s backline with a perfectly weighted pass, and Stainbrook finished calmly past keeper McKinley Crone. It was her first Dallas goal and marked the second consecutive match the Lancaster-Stainbrook connection had produced a goal contribution.
Tyler McCamey kept Dallas ahead with a crucial punch save in the 30th minute. Thornton tested Crone from a corner three minutes later. The hosts thought they’d equalized in the 40th when Kelli Van Treeck finished on a ball spilled by McCamey, but the assistant referee’s flag was already up for offside.
Trinity led 1-0 at the break.
Second Half Execution
Thackeray’s halftime message was tactical – drag defenders wider, create bigger pockets for Missimo and Stainbrook to exploit the spaces Fort Lauderdale was leaving open.
Missimo nearly made it 2-0 in the 52nd minute, unleashing a rocket from outside the box that forced Crone into a diving save. The rebound came right back at her, requiring a second desperate stop.
A minute later, the match was decided. Hintzen – who’d been marauding forward all night – delivered a clever backheel across the top of the box. Balata ran onto it and, falling as she shot, hammered it into the upper left corner for her second goal of the season.
“Honestly, I was just kind of running alongside Cyera,” Balata said afterward. “I saw a lot of open space. I was calling for the ball, shouting for it. She ended up finding me. Ideally, I wanted it on my right foot, but I saw the defender step out. I tried to get a shot off while kind of falling.”
The broader context: “I think it’s just finding our identity and playing to one another’s strengths,” she added. “We have a lot of talent on this team, and a lot of people have been showing up, bringing their game. It just clicked, and all came together tonight.”
Thackeray made his first changes in the 62nd minute, bringing on Hannah Davison for Hintzen and Strawn for Ubogagu. Dallas kept attacking. Balata nearly scored an Olimpico directly from a corner in the 64th, but a Fort Lauderdale defender headed it away at the last second.
Flynn made it 3-0 in the 71st minute, rising to meet a Balata corner and powering a header into the back of the net for her first USL Super League goal in just her second match with Dallas.
“It shows that the work we’ve done the past few weeks, we can really see it start to develop,” Flynn said. “I think it’s just a testament to how hard these girls work every day. Everyone came in today and did their part.”
Thackeray emptied the bench in the final 15 minutes. Bethany Bos and Maya McCutcheon entered in the 76th for Lancaster and Missimo. Bos, who signed just four days earlier on February 3rd, made her club debut. When McCamey went down with an injury in the 79th, Sam Estrada came on to close out the clean sheet.
Strawn capped the rout in the 86th minute, finishing a low driven cross from Thornton to notch her third goal of the season and make it 4-0. Sixteen players saw action for Dallas.
“That’s up to them,” Thackeray said when asked about his team’s opportunity this spring. “It’s how they prepare themselves, it’s how they respond to information, it’s how they deal with setbacks. The opportunities will be made for them. It’s an excellent group that’s constantly wanting to learn and get better. If they want to grow, then the opportunities for them are endless. I’m really happy for them tonight.”
Trinity now sits third in the Gainbridge Super League standings with points in six consecutive matches. They travel to face league-leading Lexington SC (7-0-9, 30 points) next Saturday at 1:00 p.m. CT at Lexington SC Stadium. The match broadcasts on WFAA and WFAA+ locally and streams nationally on Peacock.
TRINITY LINEUP (4-3-3): Tyler McCamey (Sam Estrada 79′); Cyera Hintzen (Hannah Davison 62′), Lauren Flynn, Amber Wisner, Samar Guidry; Heather Stainbrook, Lexi Missimo (Maya McCutcheon 76′), Wayny Balata; Cam Lancaster (Bethany Balcer 76′), Allie Thornton, Chioma Ubogagu (Sealey Strawn 62′)
SCORING SUMMARY:
25′ – DAL: Heather Stainbrook (Cam Lancaster)
53′ – DAL: Wayny Balata (Cyera Hintzen)
71′ – DAL: Lauren Flynn (Wayny Balata)
86′ – DAL: Sealey Strawn (Allie Thornton)