DALLAS — Dallas Trinity FC didn’t need pretty soccer on Saturday afternoon. Effort, organization and one timely finish were enough.
Lexi Missimo’s second-half goal lifted Dallas to a 1-0 win over Carolina Ascent FC at the Cotton Bowl, extending Trinity’s winning streak to three matches and pushing the club into the top four of the Gainbridge Super League standings.
Dallas (6-5-1, 19 points) matched Carolina on points with the victory but surged ahead in the playoff race by tightening up defensively and surviving long stretches without the ball. Carolina fired 19 shots, but only two tested goalkeeper Rylee Foster, who recorded her fourth clean sheet of the season.
The decisive moment came in the 64th minute when Missimo, making her continued return to form, finished a chance set up by Tamara Bolt. It marked Missimo’s first goal of the season and Bolt’s third assist.
From there, Dallas dug in. Defenders threw themselves into passing lanes, midfielders tracked runners, and Foster calmly organized the back line as Carolina pressed for an equalizer.
“It wasn’t the prettiest performance,” Foster said. “But the grit and resilience — putting our bodies on the line — that’s what’s been missing at times. That’s who we were today.”
Dallas finished with just six shots and one on target, but the collective commitment made the difference in front of a crowd of 2,377 during the club’s Hat Tricks for Heroes celebration honoring first responders.
Head coach and general manager Chris Petrucelli praised the group’s mentality, noting the willingness to slide, block shots and compete for every ball late.
Dallas, now 4-2-0 at home, will close its fall schedule next Saturday with a stiff test against first-place Lexington SC at the Cotton Bowl. With momentum building and the playoff picture coming into focus, Trinity has given itself something meaningful to defend.
