USL Super League | Wednesday, March 18, 2026 | 7:30 p.m. CT Cotton Bowl Stadium | Dallas, TX Broadcast: WFAA+, Peacock, TUDN Radio
Dallas Trinity FC (8-6-4, 28 points) hosts Lexington SC (7-2-9, 30 points) at the Cotton Bowl on Wednesday night, the third time these two clubs have met this season and easily the most consequential. Dallas trails Lexington by two points in the USL Super League standings.
A win closes that gap and moves the Golden Girls into second place. Lexington, coming off ten days of rest following Heather Stainbrook‘s 93rd-minute gut-punch at home, arrives with something to prove.
Dallas played Thursday in Washington and drew 1-1 with DC Power FC, extending an unbeaten run that now covers nine of their last ten regular-season matches. They return to Cotton Bowl Stadium ready to keep that streak going and looking for three points.
Dallas
Nathan Thackeray should have everyone available; the only outstanding question is Wayny Balata, who was unexpectedly on the injury report Thursday with a lower extremity issue. The question going into Wednesday is whether Dallas can replicate the defensive discipline they showed ten days ago against a Lexington side that will look considerably different with Emina Ekic back in the lineup. Dallas may also have some additional defensive support in the form of Sydney Cheesman, with the former LSU star signing with Trinity on Friday and expected to arrive in Dallas this week.
Heather Stainbrook — She scored the latest game-winning goal in club history in the last meeting and has been impossible to ignore since joining Dallas this winter. She’s been a standout for the club, and Lexington will arrive with a plan for her. The interesting question is what that plan looks like — whether Kosuke Kimura tries to take her away and open up space elsewhere for Dallas, or shadows her tightly and dares Thackeray’s attack to find another answer.
Chioma Ubogagu — Ubogagu is the player who opens things up for everyone around her. She holds, turns, finds passes into tight spaces, and can change a match by herself when she gets room to operate. The Cotton Bowl is where she does her best work. In December, she buried the free kick that earned Dallas a point against this same Lexington side, and she’ll look to be a difference-maker again this week.
Lauren Flynn — Flynn missed the matchup in Lexington due to suspension and returned to Thackeray’s XI on Thursday night. Whether she’s at center back or outside back, she’ll have her work cut out for her against a tough Lexington attack. If Thackeray wants to hold Lexington scoreless again, Flynn and the back line will need to provide the stability needed to do so.
Lexington SC
Lexington arrives rested, motivated, and more dangerous than at any time Dallas has faced them this season. Ekic was away on international duty for the March 8 loss, where she scored twice and tallied five assists for Bosnia & Herzegovina in two World Cup qualifying matches last week. Kimura has had ten days to prepare and gets his best attacking player back.
Catherine Barry — Lexington’s leading scorer was held without a shot on target in the last meeting. She came off in the 81st minute against Sporting JAX, having made little impact in that match too. Two quiet performances in a row for a forward of her quality means one thing – she will be desperate to remind everyone what she can do. Keeping her quiet a third time would be a significant achievement for the Dallas back line.
Emina Ekic — The last time she was at the Cotton Bowl, she drew the penalty that nearly broke open a match Dallas was holding together with discipline and determination. She is the player who makes everyone around her harder to defend, and her return gives Lexington an attacking dimension they missed last time out. She is the difference-maker.
Allison Pantuso — Named to the Super League Team of the Month selections for both January and February, Pantuso is the engine behind everything Lexington does. She wins the ball, controls tempo, and creates the conditions for Barry and Ekic to operate. If Dallas can disrupt her early, they can disrupt Lexington’s entire rhythm.
What’s at Stake
Nine matches remain after Wednesday. The playoff picture is still being decided from top to bottom. A Dallas win puts the Golden Girls in second place and closes the gap with JAX to just four points, while putting real pressure on Lexington heading into the final stretch. A Lexington win opens the gap back to five points and changes the math considerably for Dallas.
PROJECTED DALLAS TRINITY FC LINEUP (4-2-3-1): Tyler McCamey; Cyera Hintzen, Lauren Flynn, Amber Wisner (C), Samar Guidry; Wayny Balata, Heather Stainbrook; Chioma Ubogagu, Lexi Missimo, Camryn Lancaster; Bethany Bos
PROJECTED LEXINGTON SC LINEUP (4-3-3): Katherine Asman; Regan Steigleder, Allison Pantuso, Hannah Sharts, Alyssa Bourgeois; Taylor Aylmer, Tati Fung, Emina Ekic; McKenzie Weinert, Catherine Barry, Addie McCain