Dallas Trinity suffered their first defeat of the season on Saturday evening, falling 4-1 to Tyrone Mears’ Fort Lauderdale United at Beyond Bancard Field. The loss drops Trinity to 3-1-0 on the year.
Dallas lined up once again in their familiar 4-2-3-1, with Chioma Ubogagu returning to the starting XI in place of Sealy Strawn. Fort Lauderdale was without midfielder Taylor Smith, suspended after a red card in last week’s match against Spokane.
The match opened with both teams pressing high and trading early chances, but United broke through first in the 16th minute. Winger Kelly Van Treek pounced on a turnover from Dallas right back Samar Guidry and finished from close range to make it 1-0.
Fort Lauderdale continued to dictate play, dominating possession as Dallas struggled to move the ball out of their own half.
Guidry’s foul on winger Jasmine Hamid in the 39th minute led to a free kick that sparked a scrambled sequence in the box, ending with Dallas defender Hannah Davison turning the ball into her own net. Trinity went into halftime trailing 2-0.
“I thought that Fort Lauderdale played very well,” said Coach/GM Chris Petricelli after the game. “And I give them a lot of credit. We were off, and our level of play was not to the standard it needed to be. We have a lot to work on going into next week.”
Dallas made adjustments after the break, pushing defender Cyera Hintzen into midfield and moving Ally Thornton and Tamara Bolt higher up the pitch. The changes did little to slow United’s high press, which forced repeated turnovers deep in Dallas territory. Goalkeeper Rylee Foster was under constant pressure and in the 59th minute failed to hold a cross, allowing Van Treek to fire in her second goal of the night.
Trinity pulled one back in the 72nd minute when Ubogagu’s corner found captain Amber Wisner, who rose highest to head home. But any hope of a comeback ended in the 81st minute when Kiara Locklear added a fourth for United to seal all three points.
“We just need to learn from it and take accountability, watch film,” said Wisner. “Obviously, we’ll play this team again this season. We have to learn and grow from it, taking individual accountability. Luckily, we have another game in a week, so we can move on quickly and apply what we learned from tonight next Saturday.”
Academy midfielder Caroline Swann made her professional debut as a substitute in the 92nd minute. “I’m so grateful for this opportunity with Dallas Trinity, “Swann said after the game. “It’s such a great privilege to play for them, and I thank God for all the things he’s done and provided for me. It’s a dream come true to do it for my home city of Dallas, where I was born and raised.”
Dallas now travels to Tampa Bay to face the defending Gainbridge Super League champion Sun on Saturday, September 20, at 6:30 p.m. CT. The match will stream live on Peacock.
