USL Super League | Sunday, April 19, 2026 | 4:00 p.m. CT Cotton Bowl Stadium | Dallas, TX Broadcast: KFAA, WFAA+, Peacock, TUDN Radio
Dallas Trinity FC (9-9-5, 32 points) returns to the Cotton Bowl on Sunday afternoon to host Carolina Ascent FC (11-7-6, 39 points).
Dallas enters off a 3-0 loss at Brooklyn that left it with one win in its last five. Carolina arrives on a seven-match unbeaten run and can clinch a second consecutive playoff berth with a win or a draw.
The clubs split their two meetings this season. Lexi Missimo scored the winner in a 1-0 Dallas victory at the Cotton Bowl on December 13. Sydney Studer scored twice in a 2-0 Carolina win in Charlotte on February 21. The all-time series stands 3-2-1 in Dallas’s favor.
Recovery Report
Dallas Trinity FC: Lauren Flynn is active. Sealey Strawn is out (international duty). Wayny Balata (leg) is out.
Carolina Ascent FC: Giovanna DeMarco (leg) is out. Sydney Studer (leg) is out.
The Bigger Picture
The Golden Girls sit fourth with four matches remaining after Sunday. The margin over fifth-place DC Power is three points. Carolina is seven points clear in third and within a point of second.
Carolina’s turnaround is the story of the spring. The Climbers opened the spring half 0-4 and sat fifth in early February. Seven matches unbeaten later, they have climbed to third, conceded just twice in the last six, and kept four clean sheets. They beat Tampa Bay 2-1 two weeks ago on a Lily Nabet strike and edged Lexington 1-0 last Saturday. Philip Poole has his side in fighting shape as they look to lock in a playoff spot with a decision on Sunday, but will be missing a key piece in Studer.
Dallas is 5-4-2 at the Cotton Bowl this season. The last home match produced a 3-1 win over Spokane. Last weekend in Brooklyn produced the worst performance of Nathan Thackeray‘s tenure, a 3-0 defeat in which Trinity looked anything but golden. He will be looking to turn it around in front of a home crowd that, with just a pair of home games left, is craving a big win.
Dallas Trinity
Sunday is a response match. The 3-0 defeat at Brooklyn was the kind of performance Thackeray described afterward as “a ways off” from where he wants the team, and Dallas returns home needing to show what the Cotton Bowl version of this group still looks like. 5-4-3 at Fair Park on the season, the home fans will be looking for another big home win.
Jasmine Hamid — Five matches without a goal between Fort Lauderdale and Dallas. A home crowd and a Carolina defense playing its third match in eleven days is the setting she has been waiting for since the transfer. If Hamid can open her Dallas account, it may just be the spark this club has been searching for.
Lexi Missimo — Scored the winner the last time these clubs met at the Cotton Bowl. Had Dallas’s only shot on target at Brooklyn. Although she’s been quiet this spring, if Missimo can get it going, she can be the engine that drives Thackeray’s attack.
Heather Stainbrook — Team of the Month for March and the best midfielder in the league over the last three months. Her form has been the through-line of the spring. Stainbrook continues to be a standout player and looks ready to take it to the next level.
Carolina Ascent
Two months ago, Carolina looked finished. Four straight losses opened the spring, Poole was searching publicly for combinations, and the Climbers sat fifth with their defense of the Players’ Shield in serious trouble. Seven matches without a loss later, they are one result from clinching a playoff berth and a point off second place. The run has been built on defense — two goals conceded in the last six matches — and on the goal threat of Tyler Lussi and Lily Nabet, both of whom played themselves into form over the course of March. They arrive in Dallas short of DeMarco and Studer but with the rest of the group intact.
Tyler Lussi — Player of the Month for March, and the forward Dallas will spend the most time accounting for. Direct, experienced, and dangerous in the box.
Lily Nabet — The January signing from Angel City FC has been Poole’s most dynamic midfielder during the unbeaten run. Scored her first professional goal to beat Tampa Bay in March.
Jill Aguilera — Last season’s Defender of the Year, back from Puerto Rico’s international window. Led the league in assists from left back a year ago and anchors a back line that has conceded twice in the last six matches.
What’s at Stake
Carolina can clinch on Sunday. Dallas needs a response. Four matches remain after this one.
PROJECTED DALLAS TRINITY FC LINEUP (4-2-3-1): Tyler McCamey; Cyera Hintzen, Hannah Davison, Amber Wisner (C), Sydney Cheesman; Maya McCutcheon, Heather Stainbrook; Camryn Lancaster, Lexi Missimo, Jasmine Hamid; Bethany Bos
PROJECTED CAROLINA ASCENT FC LINEUP (4-3-3): Sydney Martinez; Addisyn Merrick, Jenna Butler, Brianna Martinez, Jill Aguilera; Lily Nabet, Mia Corbin, Rylee Baisden; Riley Parker, Tyler Lussi, Mackenzie George