A marquee matchup is on the schedule this Saturday in the Super League’s Fall Finale.
Second-place Dallas Trinity FC will host first-place Brooklyn FC at the Cotton Bowl at 3:30 p.m. ET in the biggest match of the season thus far. Brooklyn (8-3-2) is riding a league record five-match winning streak and sits atop the standings with 26 points, with Dallas (6-2-5) right behind with 23 points.
Here’s the breakdown on this top-of-the-table battle:
Potential outcomes
- A win for Brooklyn would extend its first-place lead well above every other team heading into the break. It would also leave the door open for Carolina Ascent (21 points) to jump Dallas on the table if it wins its match against Fort Lauderdale United.
- A win for Dallas would put both teams at 26 points, and with Brooklyn winning the first matchup between the teams, goal differential would come into play. Brooklyn has a +10 goal differential, and Dallas has +7. Trinity would need to win by at least two goals to move to first place.
- A draw would lock both teams in first and second place heading into the spring portion of the season.
The last meeting
Brooklyn hosted Dallas in its home opener on September 25 and earned a 2-0 victory behind goals from Jess Garziano and Mackenzie George. The home side dominated in nearly every statistic: 52% of possession, 60% duels won, 61% tackles won, 14 shots to Dallas’ three and 5-2 in shots on target.
Trinity’s Madison White made a huge penalty save in the 55th minute and recorded three saves on the night. Both clubs were also under interim managers at the time of the first match before Jess Silva and Pauline MacDonald took over their respective teams.
Players to watch
Brooklyn: Mackenzie George (F), Mackenzie Pluck (M), Leah Scarpelli (D)
Dallas: Allie Thornton (F), Samantha Meza (M), Jenna Winebrenner (D)
The battle in the midfield between Pluck and Meza will be one to keep an eye on. Both midfielders are quick, skilled with the ball at their feet and excellent at playing their teammates into space.
George, as seen in Brooklyn’s last outing, is clinical in front of goal but also makes the wide runs before sending crosses inside the box. Scarpelli commands the left side of the field, goes strong into tackles and is not afraid to take shots from distance.
Meanwhile, Thornton leads the league in shots on target (14) with a 66% shooting accuracy rate. Winebrenner reads the game well and makes the right decisions defensively while also winning 70% of her duels and 73% of her tackles.
This is an excerpt from The Super Newsletter, the USL Super League’s free weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Thursday.