The Tampa Bay Sun racked up a second straight win tonight on the road, marking the team’s first stretch of consecutive victories this season. In the historic Cotton Bowl, Tampa Bay shined against Dallas Trinity FC and locked up a 2-1 victory. The Sun took down DC Power FC just five days ago with a 2-0 win in Washington, D.C.
Tampa Bay Defender Sabrina McNeill sent her second shot into the net of the season, embodying Head Coach Denise Schilte-Brown’s philosophy that every player, in every position, contributes to the Sun’s attack. Late in the second half, Sun Forward Carlee Giammona put away her first goal in 14 games to pull Tampa Bay into the lead. Sun Goalkeeper Emory Wegener sealed the win by assembling a decisive effort, allowing only one goal, off a penalty kick, from Dallas.
Match Recap
Dallas launched with a fury of early action, driving and attacking. Tampa Bay weathered the storm, turned the tables, and broke open the scoring in the 29th minute as the Sun swarmed into the Dallas box in a three-player push.
On the run, Sabrina McNeill passed the ball out to the left, seamlessly placing it at the feet of Maddie Pokorny. Pokorny, with no defender in sight, brought the ball into the penalty area and fired a cross in front of the net. In one fluid move, at the right goalpost, Faith Webber settled the ball, caused the Dallas goalkeeper to lunge toward her, and whipped the ball back to the left. That rapid pass found McNeill positioned just inches in front of the goal line for the put-away.
A sizzling Sun attempt came in the 42nd minute as Tampa Bay Forward Sydny Nasello blazed into Dallas territory, surrounded by maroon Dallas jerseys. Despite facing six Trinity players by herself, Nasello managed a powerful strike that had to be saved in the bottom right corner by Dallas Goalkeeper Tyler McCamey.
The Sun largely kept Dallas Trinity FC on its heels, with multiple scoring opportunities through the first and into the second half. Wegener maintained a razor-sharp focus, including a pair of back-to-back stops in a single scoring effort by Dallas in the 61st minute—first, leaping into the air to bat the ball above her head, then sliding and lunging three seconds later to deflect a ball at her side.
Dallas equalized in the 76th minute when the Sun gave up their 21st second-half goal of the season—the most in the Gainbridge Super League. Tampa Bay’s Vivianne Bessette took a Dallas attacker to the ground, and the foul set up a penalty kick for Dallas’ Amber Wisner. Wisner launched the ball toward the top left corner. Tampa Bay Goalkeeper Emory Wegener leaped in the correct direction and managed to get a hand on the ball, but not enough to stop it.
Tampa Bay capitalized on sloppy play by Dallas’ goalkeeper and defenders to score the game-winning goal in the 85th minute. Sun Forward Carlee Giammona intercepted a poorly passed Dallas ball in the Dallas penalty area, then—as she slid to the ground—quickly fired a shot past out-of-position Dallas Goalkeeper Tyler McCamey and into the bottom left corner of the goal. Giammona has shown a killer instinct to take advantage of goalkeepers and defenders making mental errors, and it made the difference in Dallas tonight.
Quotes
Head Coach Denise Schilte-Brown, on what this win represents:
“Tonight was about resilience and belief. You could see from the first whistle that this group was locked in—not just tactically, but emotionally. Every defensive recovery run had intent, and there was a real edge to how we competed. What stood out most was that we didn’t wait for the game to come to us. We went after it. That hunger, that refusal to let moments pass us by, is something we’ve been building toward, and tonight it showed in a big way.”
Sun Defender Sabrina McNeill, on executing the three-player push that resulted in her goal:
“We’ve been working on that all week and just trying to create numbers around the ball. So, as soon as I kind of felt them bite, and my team kind of lure the defender away, I just exposed the space, and then was waiting for the ball in the box. So, it was good.”
Sun Forward Carlee Giammona, on the club holding together through a difficult stretch to now bring home back-to-back wins:
“It’s definitely been a tough year for us, just trying to gain momentum, and I think we’re gaining it at the right time now. So, it’s looking up for us, and we’re excited for our next game. It’s a squad that never gives up. We’re gonna keep fighting till the end, and we showed that in both of these games.”
Next Match
The next Sun home game is on Sunday, April 5 at 5:00 p.m. vs. Carolina Ascent FC.
Final Result
Tampa Bay Sun FC 2 – Dallas Trinity FC 1
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