With Dallas Trinity in second place and Fort Lauderdale in fourth, this game carried a lot of weight in the race for the USL Super League playoffs. To make matters harder for Dallas, the team announced last Friday that Lexi Missimo would be out for the remainder of the season, bringing Trinity’s injury count to seven players.
Head coach Pauline MacDonald made only two changes to the starting XI, bringing on Deborah Abiodun for Sealey Strawn and Tamara Bolt for Gracie Brian.
Dallas nearly conceded in the second minute but, instead, got on the board a minute later thanks to Allie Thornton, who buried a goal from a fantastic run by Bolt, making this her tenth goal of the season, the first player in USL Super League history to reach double digits.
“I’m absolutely delighted for Allie. We really wanted to secure the three points this evening, but it wasn’t meant to be. However, we will build on it and come back stronger next weekend.”
Trinity Coach Pauline MacDonald
Hannah Davison went down in the eighth minute with what appeared to be a non-contact injury. She walked off in some pain, and Julia Dorsey came in to replace her.
Dallas kept applying pressure, Chioma Ubogagu made a brilliant cut inside, and Amber Brooks followed up with a shot that went high. Cyera Hintzen blasted a shot in the twenty-first minute, but her shot went straight at the keeper. Trinity goalkeeper Madison White made a tremendous save in the twenty-third minute from Jasmine Hamid, on a shot that was headed straight for the top right corner.
Fort Lauderdale equalized in the thirty-fifth minute after Jorian Baucom’s shot hit the post, bounced off White’s back, where Kiara Locklear swooped in to slot it in.
Dallas would continue to rally toward the end of the half and got dangerously close to a second, but the set pieces did not materialize to any good chances.
MacDonald made only one change at the start of the second half, taking off Abiodun and bringing on Gracie Brian.
What was already a very physical match ratcheted up in the second. Bodies were flying everywhere. Ubogagu, Jenna Walker, Brian, and Atty Palomo were taking some serious knocks. All the momentum shifted to Dallas in the second half. Camryn Lancaster smashed a shot off, but it went just wide of the goal.
Palomo had a moment of sheer brilliance in the sixth minute in what was already a stellar performance for her, scorching past two Fort Lauderdale players, ultimately earning a free kick in the process, but Dallas did not capitalize.
MacDonald made a sub in the sixty-eight minute, bringing on Strawn for Bolt. Shortly after, Palomo stripped the ball from Fort Lauderdale, setting up Strawn for a shot in, and Hinzten’s follow-up attempt was cleared out.
In the eighty-fourth minute, a controversial no-call happened when Hintzen was taken down inside the box with Dallas appealing for a penalty, only to be waved off by the referee. Just five minutes later, Strawn made a fantastic play, stripping her defender only to be shoved down with no-call again from the referee.
Dallas nearly surrendered their lead in the ninety-second minute when Fort Lauderdale launched a fast break down the left-hand side, but Felicia Knox’s attempt went wide.
Dallas continued to fight in the final five minutes, but Fort Lauderdale’s extremely physical play didn’t garner any whistles from the referee despite Dallas’s protests. The chances they created just weren’t enough to get out of the match with a win.
“All the games at this point are tough. Like I said, it’s most important this time that we get three points every time, so we just have to bring our A-Game every time.”
Trinity Striker Allie Thornton
Dallas remains in second place in the standings with five games remaining, including two home matches, one next Saturday on April 19 against Lexington, and the final match on May 31 against Carolina Ascent.
