USL Super League | Friday, Sept. 18 | 6:30 pm CT | Amerant Bank Field, Fort Lauderdale, FL | Broadcast: Peacock
Dallas Trinity opens a four-game road trip Friday at Fort Lauderdale United, and for Jasmine Hamid, it’s a trip back to where her Super League career started. The Golden Girls come in on back-to-back wins for the first time this Fall. Fort Lauderdale sits seventh, with one win in four games and the fewest goals in the league.
The Recovery Report
Dallas Trinity
Heather Stainbrook is OUT (leg)
Lauren Flynn is OUT (lower leg)
Heather MacNab is OUT (lower leg)
Jamie Shepherd is OUT (leg)
Ally Cook, Rajanah Reed, and Chioma Ubogagu are out for the season.
Fort Lauderdale United
Shea Moyer is OUT (knee)
Heather Hinz is OUT (elbow)
Julia Grosso is out for the season (knee)
The Bigger Picture
Dallas started the fall 0-1-2 and hasn’t lost since. A 3-0 win over Brooklyn and a 2-1 over DC Power have Lee Nguyen‘s side up to fifth, level on seven points with DC Power and Tampa Bay and behind them only on goal difference.
Then comes the road. Friday is the first of four straight away from the Cotton Bowl, and Hamid isn’t dreading the miles.
“Traveling is the perfect opportunity for team bonding, because you can’t do anything but be in a hotel with everybody,” she said. “It’s going to be nice to bond, get closer together, away from Texas.”
Sophia Braun said much the same after the DC Power win. “Travel isn’t always the easiest, but we’re actually pretty excited,” the captain said. “Being able to spend more time together on the road is kind of fun.”
Fort Lauderdale comes in the other way. Tyrone Mears‘ side is 1-3-0, has scored just twice all fall, through Nicole Vernis against Brooklyn and Sh’nia Gordon against Tampa Bay, and has been shut out twice. On the road, they’ve lost both games and been outscored 5-1.
Dallas Found Its Finish
For three games, Dallas had the ball but not much else. The last two, the goals finally came, five of them. Against DC Power, they had 60 percent of the ball and made three big chances to none. Nguyen wants that to travel.
“We want to control the game with the ball,” he said after the DC Power match. “The more we have it, the less dangerous they are, if we can play in their half.”
Hamid’s the one making it count. She’s second in the league with three goals, both of the last two coming after halftime, and she’s slid from the No. 9 role she opened the Fall at, now back out on the wing.
“Everywhere on the front line is really comfortable for me,” she said. “I started off playing the nine, and now I’m out wide. It’s a bit more familiar, because I’ve been playing out wide most of my career.”
The series is even at 3-3-1, but Dallas has taken the last two by the same 4-0 scoreline. This is Hamid’s first trip back since she left. She signed on for Fort Lauderdale’s first season in 2024-25 and scored a club-record 13 goals in 47 games before the move to Dallas last April. Mears, who signed her and ran that first Fort Lauderdale team, is back on the touchline after a year upstairs.
“It’s always good to play an old team,” Hamid said. “Coach is also still there, so it’ll be good to see the girls. But a game is a game at the end of the day, and they’re our opponents, so it’s just going in with the competing mindset.”
Players to Watch: Dallas Trinity
Jasmine Hamid – Second in the league with three goals, and she’s found the net in each of the last two. If Dallas turns the Fort Lauderdale back line and springs her on the right, she’s the one who makes them pay.
Meila Brewer – Seventeen, one pro start, and a U.S. U-17 World Cup call-up next month. If Fort Lauderdale runs Gordon and Locklear at her early, it’s a test of how fast the rookie settles on the road.
Carissa Boeckmann – August’s Assist of the Month, a right back who won’t stay home, stepping into midfield in the build-up. If Fort Lauderdale sits deep, her runs forward are how Dallas gets an extra body into the attack.
Fort Lauderdale’s Goal Problem
Fort Lauderdale comes in off back-to-back losses to Carolina and Tampa Bay, both top-four sides, though they gave Tampa a game in last week’s derby before the lights failed and held things up for about 40 minutes. Their one win, 1-0 over Brooklyn in late August, was also the last time they played at home.
Haley Craig has 10 saves in goal, and captain Haley Thomas leads the side in passes and minutes at the back. They defend fine. Scoring’s the problem.
Players to Watch: Fort Lauderdale United
Sh’nia Gordon – One of just 13 players in the league with a goal and an assist, and Fort Lauderdale’s leader in shots and shots on target. If Dallas’s press leaves room in behind, Gordon’s runs down the right are the quickest way they get at it.
Kiara Locklear – The club’s all-time leading scorer and leader in chances created, seven goals in her first 18 games there. If Fort Lauderdale works a clean look, she’s the one most likely to finish it.
Kelsey Oyler – A defender who tops the team in tackles and interceptions and made August’s Team of the Month. If Dallas tries to go through the middle, she’sthe one who breaks it up and starts the other way off her left foot.
What’s at Stake
A third straight win keeps Dallas in the playoff cluster heading into a hard month of travel. Fort Lauderdale’s after its second win of the fall and a way back up the table after weeks on the road.
We’re closing in on the midway point of the season, and the question isn’t whether or not The Golden Girls have the talent or coaching to get it done. The pieces are there, the tactics are working. If they can continue to execute on this road stretch, Trinity could find themselves near the top of the table by the time they return home to Fair Park.
Projected XIs
Dallas Trinity (4-2-3-1): Purcell; Boeckmann, Brewer, Braun (c), Hintzen; Cedeño, Knox; Hamid, Lancaster, Gamero; Castain
Fort Lauderdale United (4-2-3-1): Craig; Thomas, Simpson, Mace, Oyler; Van Treeck, Vernis; Gordon, Cutler, Walters; Locklear