Home vs. Lexington FC Preview
Date: Saturday April 12, 2025
Kickoff Time: 7:00 pm EST at Riverfront Stadium in Tampa, FL
Records: Tampa Bay Sun (30 pts 7W-9D-5L); Lexington FC (16 pts 4W-4D-12L)
Standings: The Sun are 5th in the Super League and Lexington are 7th.
After a resounding win against in-state rivals, the Sun are looking up. They will want to continue to rack up the wins with playoffs around the corner. The good news is their upcoming opponent have 12 losses this season. If Tampa Bay can play the way they did last week, it’s a sure fire W. Get to the Riverfront this weekend to cheer the ladies onto another victory!
How do we turn this into a winning streak?
Last Saturday, the Sun played one of their best games all season. Every player from front to back, keeper to striker and everywhere in between, minimized errors and maximized their time in possession. Ashley Orkus led the way with some huge saves, keeping a clean sheet. This had been elusive for Tampa Bay throughout almost all of 2025.
Turning to this Saturday, with all due respect, the Blue and Gold won’t need to reach the same level of masterclass to get the job done. Lexington travel to Florida having lost four of the six games since the winter break, only beating last place DC Power along the way. They were shut out at home in their last two, losing 4-0 and 3-0 to Carolina and Dallas, respectively.
Left winger Hannah Richardson leads the team with three goals, while her midfield partner Shea Moyer, also the captain, has two. Striker Hannah White joined the club from the University of Georgia in January, starting her professional career at the same time. She has one goal in her six matches, scoring the winner in the aforementioned game against DC.
The club have also brought in two former Colombian youth internationals, both on loan from NWSL sides. However, neither of them have played of late. They are a squad seemingly in need, in need of defenders, midfielders, attackers, heck even a keeper. They have only kept one clean sheet in 2025, that coming in a 0-0 draw against Brooklyn at the beginning of March.
Where the Sun have struggled lately is defensively. (This does not take into account that last match against FLOOTD, in which everyone played well, as stated above.) This game has all the makings of a feast for strikers. Cecilie Floe will return from international duty with Denmark, while Tash Flint has overtaken everyone as the team leader with eight goals.
Floe’s return could mean one of two things for the left side of the Sun attack. If she starts on the bench, Sydny Nasello, who has mostly played behind the Dane, will get more license to get to the endline herself before looking to either shoot or whip the ball across the box for someone else. Against Fort Lauderdale, her directness stood out, as she took multiple shots on herself.
This is not often what Nasello has done, and especially so when Floe is on the field. The latter will usually be tasked with getting high and wide, leaving Nasello to dribble her way closer to the top of the box and figure things out there. Considering the travel to Denmark and back, it is more likely Floe will start on the bench, giving Nasello another chance to hone her shooting in the USL.
The midfield for Tampa Bay also seems tailor-made to overrun their Lexington counterparts. Jordyn Listro and Jade Moore have been combining better and better as weeks go by. Carlee Giammona similarly has been an incredible option when building out of the back. Her ability to score is underlined by the fact that she has six, good for second overall on the team.
Where the Blue and Gold will really want to maintain focus, though, is at the back. While this opponent will not have the same prowess up top as the last, it is important to keep up their good play and build good habits for the remaining months of the season. Confidence is key, and the more of it they have for April and May, the better chance they have of playing in June.
Score Predictions from the RBLR Sun Podcast:
Liz: 2-0 W
Tom: 3-0 W
Yurika: 2-1 W
James: 3-0 W
