Dallas Trinity FC kicks off its second season this weekend with its home opener against Spokane Zephyr at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday night, scheduled for a 7:30 pm kickoff.
Trinity finished third in the Super League last season, forcing them to go on the road for the playoffs. Only 5 points separated Trinity from the top team, Carolina Ascent, but Dallas just edged into the postseason, one point ahead of 4th and 5th.
Allie Thornton led the Super League in goals, winning the Godel boot, and Sealy Strawn was named the USL Super League Young Player of the Year.
Despite finishing with the third-best-in-the-league 30 goals against, internal analysis obviously led the team to conclude they need to improve their defense, perhaps in part due to the loss of top netminder Madison White, whose loan from Racing Louisville ended.
So Trinity added seven new pro faces this summer, mostly in defense: Rylee Foster, Kiley Dulaney, Maya McCutcheon, Samar Guidry, Lauren Lapomarda, Wayny Balata, and Caroline Kelly. And two new Academy players in Caroline Swann and Rhea Moore. Ten players were not retained.
“I think we feel pretty good,” said General Manager & Head Coach Chris Petrucelli this week about his team’s progress in preseason training camp. “We certainly were able to play a number of matches against high-level teams, so I think we’re prepared from sort of the game model, and how we want to play, and things like that. We just need a lot more time to layer in some more stuff.”
While the club feels positive about its direction, we at 3rd Degree think there are some areas of concern as the season kicks off.
Let’s dig in.
Coach Search
Update: As we went to press, Trinity took the tag off Chris Petrucelli and officially named him Head Coach this season. We still believe this is not the long-term plan and expect a hire to be made, at some point, this season.
I don’t think it’s fair to say that search has failed, by any means, but Petrucelli remains Interim Head Coach. While the club still wants a new gaffer, they seem content to wait, perhaps even till this winter when NCAA or NWSL coaches might hit the market.
Petrucelli is a good coach, but he has another job, and you can imagine a new coach coming in midseason might disrupt things just a bit. Let’s keep an eye on this one.
Missimo Return and Tactics to Accommodate
It was just about four weeks ago that Trinity’s star player, Lexi Missimo, posted on Instagram (pic right) a clip showing her first “full gravity” running session in recovery. That came as a surprise to us, as the initial expectation was that Missimo would be back by the start of this season.
In total, Missimo played just five games with two goals and one assist for Trinity before her injury, but her talent was undeniable, and her impact on the team was large. Being a very creative player that needs freedom under the front line, Trinity had to reshuffle their tactics to fit her in… and then again when she went out.
Thus, the potential timing of Missimo’s return raises a question.
Is it better for the team to game plan without her, or is there an understudy who can fill her large shoes until the start playmaker comes back?
“It’s a good question,” Petrucelli said when asked, “because I think that’s something we’re sort of toying with and trying to figure out who that is at the moment. We would like to put in a way of playing and stick with it, right?”
“I think it’s pretty rare that that happens throughout the course of the season,” Petrucelli continued. “Typically, you will change, and you can have ups and downs, and all of that; but if we could stick with what we’re doing right now throughout the season, that means we’ve been pretty successful.
When asked, Trinity said they don’t have a fixed timeline on Missimo’s return. So, we’ll assume that getting healthy and then getting fit will take a couple of months, give or take.
Center Back and the Rebuilt Defense
A clear effort went into creating a stronger defense for 2025-26 with a new keeper in Foster and new defenders Dulaney, McCutcheon, Guidry, and Lapomarda.
Watching the team’s one open scrimmage (thanks, SMU!), it looks like the defense is still a work in progress, as Coach Petrucelli had Captain Amber Wisner (formerly Brooks) play center back in the second half. Guidry, who is a left back, played on the right.
“We’ve moved some people around,” Coach Petrucelli said of his defense. “I think Maya McCutcheon has pretty much solidified herself as one of those players. I think Samar [Guidry] has solidified herself as one of the players, maybe as more of a fullback than a center back. So, I feel like we’re there right now.”
“There could be a signing coming soon. That might affect that as well,”
You have to love how GM Petrucelli just threw in at the end, burying the lead, as we say in the business. A potential new signing in the back means we might see some shifting as the year gets going.
Can Youth Pay Off Again
In their first season, Trinity had a lot of success with their Academy program, with Jordyn Hardeman (6 games), Kamdyn Fuller (4 games), Kiara Gilmore, Olivia Belcher, Natalie Wagner (5 games), Evan O’Stenn, and Sealey Strawn (19 games) all taking part in games and training.
But there have been a large number of departures from the program; Hardeman (Virginia), Gilmore (Wisconsin), Belcher (Alabama), Wagner (Arkansas), O’Steen (Florida State), and Fuller (TCU) all left for college.
Strawn has returned and should factor, perhaps even beyond her 19 games and 7 starts last year. Joining her are US Youth Internationals Caroline Swann (midfielder, Solar SC) and Rhea Moore (forward, San Juan SC).
When pressed for the biggest surprise among his new additions, Petrucelli singled out the young Californian Moore.
“She’s really young, but Rhea Moore is a good player, and she’s 15 years old. But she has shown she can play off the left side. She’s shown the ability to score. We’re going to bring her along slowly, like we did with Sealey [Strawn]. But I think that [Moore] has big upside.
If Trinity gets the same impact from Swann and Moore they did from last year’s Academy pool, they will be in good shape.
Another Goal Scorer
Leading goal scorers Allie Thornton (13), Chioma Ubogagu (5), and Sealey Strawn (4) are returning, but Trinity could probably do with finding another consistent scorer in the starting XI.
Perhaps Camryn Lancaster?
Coach Petrucelli says she was quite impactful upon arrival. “Cam came in, and she was really, really good. And I think she’s continued to be good. She brings a little spark, a little energy, you know? She really works hard. And she can score some, too. So, yeah, Cam’s a good piece for us.”
With the rotating crew in the playmaking role, Ubogagu ended up leading the team in assists with 6. Lucy Shephard, mostly off the bench, finished tied on 3 assists with Thornton and converted outside back Cyera Hintzen. Missimo should be a big factor in this area.
Tactics and Early Depth Chart
Where does this all leave us in terms of how Dallas Trinity will play?
Against SMU, we saw a back four with something that started as a 4-2-3-1 but flexed into a 4-4-2 block at times.
Let’s try to plug the team into a depth chart based on what we saw that day at SMU and what we know about this team and its players.
Don’t chisel this in stone. I’m plugging in some of these names from their profiles, and one scrimmage watched. This chart might change fast once the season gets here.
| Thornton Shepherd | ||||
| Ubogagu Brian Moore | Lancaster Strawn | Bolt Kelley | ||
| Abiodun Balata | Wisner Swann | |||
| Hintzen or Guidry | McCutcheon Nankya | Davison Danielsson | Dulaney or Lapomarda | |
| Estrada or Foster |
As I mentioned earlier, Guidry played right back in the scrimmage against SMU, but she’s usually a left back, so I’ve put her on the left here.
Will we see a tactical shirt when Missimo returns? At that point, the depth chart might need a complete rework.
