Dallas Trinity FC continues to chase Carolina Ascent at the top of the USL Super League, but both teams are feeling the strain of a long, injury-hit campaign. In their recent win over Lexington, head coach Pauline MacDonald could only name five substitutes out of a possible seven, with Trinity missing ten players due to injuries and other commitments.
This shortage is not unique. Carolina Ascent, too, was without six players in their 5-2 victory over Fort Lauderdale. So, is it fair to say the USL Super League regular season title may be decided by who can keep 11 players healthy?
MacDonald acknowledged the challenge:
“It’s an extremely long season. We will hopefully have a few players back next weekend, which is a real positive for us. We were short tonight, as I’m sure you appreciate, but at the end of the day, we have a roster for a reason, and we believe that everybody can add to tonight’s performance.”
The issue is compounded for Dallas by the overlap with the youth soccer calendar. Forward Natalie Wagner missed the Lexington match with her FC Dallas academy side, splitting two games in Houston over the weekend. Sealy Strawn‘s goalscoring performance came in part due to a concession by Solar SC, who restricted the 17-year-old’s minutes in a 5-0 win over DKSC on that morning.
Both FC Dallas and Solar are locked in a tight race atop the ECNL’s Texas league, and as that race comes down to the wire, their willingness to compromise their own lineups to accommodate Trinity’s needs may diminish. One potential stroke of luck is the location for the ECNL regional playoffs. Despite the playoffs clashing with the USL Super League championship game, they will take place in Fort Worth, which could add another layer to earning home advantage in the postseason.
Strawn, who juggles academy and professional commitments, credits Trinity’s cooperation and the support of high-performance trainers for helping her manage the workload. Still, she admits the schedule is grueling.
“Normally we have, say, one off day for Dallas Trinity,” explained the DTFC attacker. “That’s normally when I go to my solar practices. There have been times where I have to do a two-a-day. The away trips are the hardest because you’re gone for three days. I’ve got to kind of deal with that next weekend because I’ve got some Solar games, and obviously we have an away game, so we’ll see how that one comes next week.”
Academy players have contributed over 1,300 minutes for Dallas this season, but the squad has also lost key young talents. Kamdyn Fuller left to focus on graduating high school a year early before enrolling at TCU, while Kiara Gilmore (Wisconsin), Olivia Belcher (Alabama), and Jordyn Hardeman (Virginia) all departed for Division I college soccer.
Hardeman impressed in six starts in an injury-hit defense, and her loss was compounded by the expiration of Waniya Hudson‘s loan from the Washington Spirit. Add to that Maya Gordon‘s season-ending knee injury and Maja Henriksson battle with a concussion sustained early in the season. Hanna Davison and Gaby Guillen are walking wounded, missing the weekend win.
At the height of the defensive injuries, Amber Brooks was forced into the backline, taking an enormous presence out of a midfield post-Sam Meza. Most notably, the blockbuster arrival of Lexi Missimo was derailed by surgery on a foot injury.
Despite these setbacks, MacDonald and Tinity GM Chris Petricelli have reinforced the squad: Tamara Bolt and Camryn Lancaster have added attacking flair, while Deborah Abiodun, Atty Palomo, and the permanent signing of Julia Dorsey have helped stabilize the defensive line.
With the regular season entering its final stretch and the playoffs looming in June, maintaining squad health is now the top priority. MacDonald is focused on player management as Dallas faces consecutive road trips:
“We now go on the road in terms of Back to Back trips, which is always challenging, and it’s all right, we will listen to the players,” said MacDonald. “We have a fantastic head of performance [Jonathan Corbett], and we’ll make sure that we tailor training in the correct manner so that we’re fresh and ready to go again next weekend.”
As the race for the USL Super League title intensifies, the ability to keep players fit and available may ultimately separate the contenders from the rest.