USL Super League | Sunday, March 22, 2026 | 4:00 p.m. CT Cotton Bowl Stadium | Dallas, TX Broadcast: WFAA+, Peacock, TUDN Radio
Dallas Trinity FC (8-6-5, 29 points) hosts Sporting JAX (11-4-4, 37 points) at the Cotton Bowl on Sunday afternoon, and the stakes are about as clear as they get. Dallas has drawn its last two matches and fallen to fourth in the USL Super League standings. JAX has won five of its last six and leads the league by eight points. The Golden Girls need a win. The league leaders would very much like to keep it the way it stands.
It is also one of the bigger occasions on the Cotton Bowl calendar this season. Sunday’s match celebrates Girl Scouts Day and Women’s History Month, with a special tribute to the 1984 Dallas Sting, the first women’s soccer team to represent the United States internationally.
Dallas
Nathan Thackeray is working with a short turnaround after Wednesday’s late heartbreak against Lexington. His group was already back on the training pitch as he spoke to the media after the final whistle, and he was direct about the mindset heading into Sunday. “It’s not necessarily about Jacksonville; it’s about us,” he said. “How do we make sure that we can generate performances?”
Lexi Missimo, for her part, sounded ready. “We’re very excited, and we’re gonna come out and hopefully beat the top team.”
The statistical gap between these two clubs is real. JAX leads the league in goals scored with 37 to Dallas’s 24, in conversion rate at nearly 20 percent to Dallas’s 14, and in clean sheets with 8 to Dallas’s 6. But Dallas has held its own defensively — the Golden Girls have won more tackles and duels than JAX on the season, with a tackles success rate of 64 percent to JAX’s 59. Set pieces have been a growing weapon. Two goals from dead balls against Lexington on Wednesday showed what this group can do when the details are right.
Bethany Bos — The false nine role Bos played Wednesday gave Dallas a different dimension in the final third, and she came close to leveling before halftime with that chip over the keeper. She is direct, wins fouls in dangerous areas, and creates problems for center backs who aren’t used to dealing with a striker who drops deep and pulls them out of shape. Against a JAX back line that concedes fouls at the third-highest rate in the league, her ability to draw set pieces could be decisive.
Sealey Strawn — She came on in the 70th minute on Wednesday and was directly involved in the Flynn goal nine minutes later. Strawn has three goals and a pair of assists off the bench this season, and opponents have yet to find a clean answer for her when she comes on with legs fresher than the defenders she’s running at. In a match where Dallas may need a goal late, having Strawn available is one of the more significant advantages Thackeray holds.
Sydney Cheesman — “Cheese” made her professional debut in the 89th minute on Wednesday and immediately won the ball back exactly as Thackeray had asked. The newly-signed defender brings athleticism and aggressiveness to a backline that will be tested by JAX’s pace and movement all afternoon. Thackeray’s enthusiasm about her arrival was palpable postgame. “It’s going to be an exciting future for her,” he said. Sunday could be her first real extended look.
Sporting JAX
Sporting JAX arrives in Dallas on the back of a 2-0 win at Fort Lauderdale last Saturday, their fifth win in six matches. Coach Stacey Balaam has made clear the league lead is no reason to ease up. “Just because we have the lead doesn’t mean we play any more relaxed,” she said after the Fort Lauderdale win. “If anything, we push harder, and we train harder.” The all-time series between these clubs is level at 1-1 — Dallas won 1-0 in Jacksonville in September, JAX returned the favor with a 2-0 win at the Cotton Bowl in November.
Ashlyn Puerta — The league’s leading scorer with 11 goals, set the record for the fastest player to reach ten goals in league history earlier this season. At 19 years old, she is the most dangerous forward in the USL Super League, and the player Dallas’ defense has to account for on every ball in behind. She has five assists to go with her goals and can create as well as finish. If Dallas gives her space, she will punish them.
Paige Kenton — Tied for the league lead in assists with six alongside JAX attacker Meg Hughes, Kenton is the engine that connects JAX’s midfield to their attack. She has played every minute of all 19 league matches, and her combination with Puerta has been the most productive partnership in the league this season. Disrupting that connection will be one of Dallas’ primary defensive challenges on Sunday.
Kaitlyn Parks — All eight of JAX’s clean sheets belong to Parks, who ranks fourth in the league in saves with 39. She is calm, commanding, and at her best in one-on-one situations. Dallas created good chances against Lexington on Wednesday but couldn’t convert enough of them. Against the league’s best goalkeeper, every shot on target will need to be a good one.
What’s at Stake
With eight matches remaining after Sunday, the table is still very much being written. A Dallas win cuts JAX’s lead to five points and injects new energy into the top of the table. A JAX win opens the gap to eleven and effectively settles the question of who finishes first. For Dallas, this is also about proving they belong in the conversation — not just as a playoff team, but as one capable of beating the best side in the league on their home pitch.
PROJECTED DALLAS TRINITY FC LINEUP (4-2-3-1): Tyler McCamey; Cyera Hintzen, Lauren Flynn, Amber Wisner (C), Sydney Cheesman; Wayny Balata, Heather Stainbrook; Chioma Ubogagu, Lexi Missimo, Sealey Strawn; Bethany Bos
PROJECTED SPORTING JAX LINEUP (3-1-4-2): Kaitlyn Parks; Grace Phillpotts, Georgia Brown, Maggie Illig; Sophie Jones; Sophia Boman, Meg Hughes, Ashlyn Puerta, Caroline Murray; Paige Kenton, Baylee DeSmit