USL Super League | Saturday, April 25, 2026 | 6:00 p.m. CT
Maimonides Park | Brooklyn, NY
Broadcast: KFAA, WFAA+, Peacock, TUDN Radio
Dallas Trinity FC (9-10-5, 32 points) returns to Maimonides Park on Saturday for the fourth and final meeting between these clubs this season, arriving with something to prove and a midfield that looks nothing like the one that left Brooklyn two weeks ago.
The Golden Girls have won one match in their last six. Three points Saturday would push them to 35 and give some air back to a fourth-place cushion that has thinned to three points over DC Power and Spokane with just three matches remaining after this one.
Brooklyn FC (6-11-7, 25 points) has won once in its last six and sits seventh, seven points out of the playoff picture with four matches left. Their season is effectively over. Maimonides Park has been a difficult place for Dallas. Brooklyn won the last meeting here 3-0 two weeks ago. The all-time series stands 3-3-1 heading into Saturday.
Recovery Report
Dallas Trinity FC:
Wayny Balata (lower leg) is out. Heather Stainbrook (lower leg) is out. Lauren Flynn is active after returning from injury last Sunday.
Brooklyn FC:
Lauren Gogal (knee) is out. NaYeong Shin (upper body) is out. Hope Breslin is suspended (red card, MW26).
The Bigger Picture
Two weeks ago in this same building, Thackeray came with a game plan that didn’t suit his players and said so afterward.
This time, he has said publicly that Dallas will play their own football regardless of what Maimonides Park asks of them. He has been narrowing the training pitch by five yards on each side all week to simulate the conditions. The work has been done. Saturday is the execution.
The problem is the losses of Stainbrook and Balata. Stainbrook has been Dallas’s best player since January. Balata was the double pivot partner who allowed Stainbrook to push forward and create. Losing both from the engine room in the same match is the most significant personnel blow of the spring.
Whoever fills those spots will be asked to do their jobs on a pitch Thackeray himself has called almost impossible to play on.
Dallas Trinity
Jasmine Hamid spoke this week about the narrow pitch. It’s a mental game, she said. Don’t think about the pitch, don’t think about the conditions, stay positive and execute regardless of what’s in front of you. That’s the message Thackeray has been delivering all week and the one Dallas has to carry onto the field Saturday.
With Stainbrook and Balata both out, McCutcheon is the likely starter in the pivot alongside whoever Thackeray turns to from depth — Jenny Danielsson being the most likely option. The attack is intact. Hamid, Lexi Missimo, and Camryn Lancaster give Dallas forward options. Lauren Flynn is available after returning from injury last Sunday and adds stability to the back line alongside Amber Wisner.
Jasmine Hamid — She has been direct about what it takes to play at Maimonides Park, “It’s a mental game. We just need to think positive going into a negative situation, and if we just think positive the whole time and forget about all the extra stuff, then we can get through it regardless of what’s going on.” A first goal in a Dallas kit would go a long way toward making that belief stick.
Lexi Missimo — She has been steadily improving over the last run of matches, and was the player who drew their only shot on target in the 3-0 loss here two weeks ago. Brooklyn’s back line is missing Gogal, and Breslin is suspended. There is more space to exploit Saturday than there was in MW26. If she can continue to improve her form here, she could be the key to Dallas’ playoff push.
Lauren Flynn — Back in the XI after missing the Brooklyn trip with a lower leg injury. She watched that match from the stream, saw how narrow the pitch played, and has had two weeks to prepare specifically for what Saturday asks of her. “The field’s not ideal,” she said this week, “but we do control our own actions, and it’s just about executing our game plan despite the field.”
Brooklyn FC
Brooklyn arrives with their own problems. Gogal’s absence in defense, Shin out with an upper body injury, and Breslin suspended after her red card in the last meeting here leaves Brooklyn shorthanded in ways that matter. Rebecca Cooke remains their most dangerous player and the one who hurt Dallas twice in MW26. Samantha Kroeger set up both of those goals. Kelsey Daugherty has been one of the better goalkeepers in the league all season. They are missing pieces, but they still know how to make this venue work for them.
Rebecca Cooke — Two goals in the last meeting here, both assisted by Kroeger on fast breaks. She is at her best when Brooklyn can transition quickly, and Dallas’s back line loses its shape for even a moment. Flynn and Wisner will have her movement on their minds from the first whistle.
Sam Kroeger — The midfield engine behind Brooklyn’s best performances this spring. Both Cooke goals in MW26 came off Kroeger crosses. She controls the tempo when Brooklyn is at their best and will be the most important player on the pitch if Dallas starts to tire late.
Kelsey Daugherty — She held Missimo’s only shot on target in the last meeting without difficulty. Dallas created almost nothing that afternoon. If Saturday goes the way Thackeray intends, she will be tested far more than she was two weeks ago.
What’s at Stake
Dallas needs this result. A win keeps four points of breathing room over the teams below with three matches left. A loss or draw brings DC Power and Spokane back within touching distance with a Cotton Bowl home match against Fort Lauderdale and a road trip to Lexington still to come. Thackeray said this week that the identity is coming with them to Brooklyn regardless of the conditions. Saturday is the test of whether he meant it.
PROJECTED DALLAS TRINITY FC LINEUP (4-2-3-1):
Tyler McCamey; Cyera Hintzen, Lauren Flynn, Jenny Danielsson; Samar Guidry; Maya McCutcheon, Amber Wisner (C), Camryn Lancaster, Lexi Missimo, Jasmine Hamid; Bethany Bos
PROJECTED BROOKLYN FC LINEUP (4-1-4-1):
Kelsey Daugherty; Emma Loving, Kelsey Hill (C), Allison Pantuso, Samantha Kroeger; Jennifer Cudjoe; Mylena Freitas, Riley Childers, Audrey Coleman, Jessica Garziano; Rebecca Cooke