Dallas Trinity FC 0, Sporting JAX 4
Sporting JAX handed Dallas Trinity FC a 4-0 defeat Sunday afternoon at the Cotton Bowl, a result that flattered the scoreline only slightly and exposed a Dallas side running on empty. Three hard matches in eleven days had taken their toll, and against the league’s most complete roster, there was nowhere to hide. Dallas (8-7-5, 29 points) remains in fourth place in the USL Super League standings, but only just, with eight matches left to play.
The afternoon started at 90 degrees, shade just beginning to roll over the south side of the Cotton Bowl, where 3,741 fans had gathered to celebrate Girl Scouts Day, Women’s History Month, and to honor the 1984 Dallas Sting.
Nathan Thackeray started Caroline Swann in central midfield alongside Wayny Balata and Heather Stainbrook. Lexi Missimo and Camryn Lancaster flanked Bethany Bos, who led the line. The back line remained unchanged from Thursday’s match.
Dallas pressed high and pinned JAX back, not allowing the league leaders to get out wide. Lancaster ran at Grace Phillpotts twice up the right, drawing a save from Kaitlyn Parks in the 25th. Amber Wisner got her head on a Balata corner in the 26th and sent it straight into Parks’ arms.
The good stretch came with a cost. Bos had gone down in the ninth minute after head contact with Georgia Brown and came off for concussion protocol four minutes later, with Allie Thornton replacing her. Cyera Hintzen played through a bloody nose at the water break in the 35th minute, when the temperature had climbed to 92 degrees. Swann drew a yellow in the 33rd. Dallas was still in it, but the cracks were forming.
Jacksonville made them pay in the final moments of the half. Baylee DeSmit and Ashlyn Puerta combined on a quick 1-2 before DeSmit finished low past Tyler McCamey in the 45th minute. Then, just two minutes into stoppage time, Paige Kenton received a flick over the top and struck a screamer from outside the box that gave McCamey no chance. Two goals in three minutes. Dallas trudged into halftime down 2-0.
The second half was harder to watch. Jacksonville came out on the front foot, and Dallas couldn’t find their footing. Thackeray had addressed the defensive breakdowns at halftime, but the lesson didn’t hold.
“We spoke about the exact moment at halftime,” he said, “and then we conceded from the exact same moment to make it three.” The third goal came in the 56th minute when Kenton ran up the left and slid the ball across to Sophia Boman running unmarked through the middle. One-on-one with McCamey, Boman slotted it home without breaking stride.
Dallas made a wave of changes in the 64th — Hannah Davison, Maya McCutcheon, and Sydney Cheesman all came on — but there was no way back. Chances came and went. Lancaster fed Thornton in the 61st; Thornton sailed it over. Thornton fed Lancaster in the 63rd; same result. McCamey made a diving save in the 76th to keep the margin from growing wider. Meg Hughes made it four in the 85th, converting a ball over the top from substitute Jade Pinnock. Sealey Strawn was denied in a one-on-one with Parks in the 92nd, a fitting final image for the afternoon.
Parks earned her ninth clean sheet of the season, tying the league record. Kenton’s second assist of the match gave her seven on the year, a new league record outright.
“I know that wasn’t the team that we are,” Thackeray said afterward. He didn’t lean on the schedule, but he acknowledged it. Three days off in three weeks. Five matches in that stretch. Lexington off a ten-day break before the last meeting, Jacksonville off eighteen days with two days to train before arriving in Dallas. “It impacts the team,” he said. “I figured they’d probably get to 60 minutes and be shot.” He was right. “I didn’t think it would end 4-0 like that at home. It was far from what we wanted. It’s a brand new chapter for this team — it’s not going to be perfect all the way along.”
Stainbrook, asked about what comes next, kept it forward-facing. “We’ll keep working on the things we can control, playing our game, putting this one behind us, and win as many games as we can.”
Samar Guidry was straightforward. “It’s definitely a wear on the body. I feel like I’m in college again. Honestly, it’s fun. Every time we get to go out and have an opportunity to play, it’s great. We’re not a team built on excuses. We’re built on opportunities.”
A longer week lies ahead. Dallas returns to the Cotton Bowl on Tuesday, March 31 to host defending champion Tampa Bay Sun FC (2-8-9, 15 points) at 7:30 p.m. CT. It’s World Cup Preview Night with a DTFC Countries of the World jersey giveaway upon entry. The match streams on WFAA+, Peacock, and TUDN Radio.
STARTING LINEUP McCamey; Hintzen, Wisner, Flynn, Guidry; Balata, Swann, Stainbrook; Missimo, Lancaster, Bos
SCORING SUMMARY 45′ — JAX: Baylee DeSmit (Ashlyn Puerta) 45+2′ — JAX: Paige Kenton 56′ — JAX: Sophia Boman (Paige Kenton) 85′ — JAX: Meg Hughes (Jade Pinnock)