Dallas Trinity FC 1, Houston Dash 0 | Saturday, Feb. 28 | Cotton Bowl Stadium
Kelly’s 64th-minute goal settles first-ever public meeting between Texas’s professional women’s clubs
More than 6,000 fans turned out to the Cotton Bowl on Saturday night, and Caroline Kelly gave them the moment they came for.
The TCU alum, making her first start under head coach Nathan Thackeray, broke a scoreless deadlock in the 64th minute — collecting a ball from Cyera Hintzen and finishing past Jane Campbell to hand Dallas Trinity FC a 1-0 victory over the Houston Dash in the inaugural I-45 Texas Showdown. It was the first public professional women’s soccer match between two Texas clubs, and Dallas made sure it ended in their favor.
The goal carried extra weight given what it took to get there. Kelly had not made a matchday roster in any of Thackeray’s previous matches. After leaving her off the 18 for last week’s loss at Carolina Ascent, Thackeray pulled her aside and told her she’d get the start in the friendly — but also gave her a specific instruction at halftime: she was operating too wide and needed to get inside. In the 64th minute, Kelly ran in behind the Houston defense, met Hintzen’s delivery, and finished.
“It was awesome,” Kelly said. “I think it was just a culmination of all the hard work that we put in these past few weeks. To see it result in success, it meant a lot to us as a team.”
Teammate Caroline Swann was equally delighted. “Caroline Kelly scored, who is my girl,” Swann said. “We call each other C squared. I was just so happy for her. When you see other people score, just have a good moment, you’re filled with so much joy for them.”
Thackeray was candid about what the night cost him. “The hardest part about being a head coach is picking who is in the 18 for gameday,” he said. “Because there’s people that work tirelessly to be involved with match day.” Kelly forced his hand. She came into Saturday outside his matchday plans. She leaves it as a genuine selection headache heading into league play.
First Half
Dallas controlled large portions of the opening 45, piling up nine shots and six corners without finding a way past Campbell. The most dangerous sequence came in the 32nd minute when Camryn Lancaster drove down the flank and fed the ball into the box. Jenny Danielsson got a shot off that Campbell saved, then tried again on the follow — and Campbell denied her a second time.
Houston had their moments, too. A header from a dangerous cross forced a stretched save from Tyler McCamey, who moments later came off her line to claim a ball in front of goal and keep things level at the break.
“I actually thought we played quite well for a lot of moments of the game,” Thackeray said. “We were very wasteful in the final third and had very good opportunities to score in both the first and second half, but we didn’t take advantage of it.”
Second Half
Thackeray made changes at the break, including introducing Sam Estrada in goal. Kelly’s adjusted run proved decisive, and once Dallas had the lead, they protected it. Estrada made several saves down the stretch to preserve the clean sheet as Houston pushed for an equalizer.
The match also marked a quiet piece of club history. When captain Amber Wisner — who spent four years in Houston, captaining the Dash and winning their 2017 MVP award — was substituted off, Lauren Flynn took the armband. It was the first time any player other than Wisner has worn it for Dallas Trinity FC. Coppell native Chioma Ubogagu, herself a former Dash player, was also part of a night that had plenty of full-circle moments for the Trinity roster.
The Cotton Bowl crowd — 6,110 in attendance — made their presence felt throughout, and Thackeray didn’t miss it.
“I don’t know exactly how many people were out there, but it was loud,” he said. “Whether it was 3,000 or it was 10,000, it was really loud. It shows me that there are fans here. It’s our job as players and coaches to entertain them and try to bring them back each and every week.”
Next Up
Dallas returns to league play Sunday, March 8, traveling to face Lexington SC (7-1-9, 30 points) at Lexington SC Stadium. Kickoff is 12 p.m. CT. The match airs on KFAA and streams on WFAA+ and Peacock.
SCORING SUMMARY: 64′ — DAL: Caroline Kelly (Cyera Hintzen)
ATTENDANCE: 6,110