Semifinal Win Over Dallas Review

Date: Saturday June 7, 2025

Result: Tampa Bay 2-1 Dallas 

Standings: The Sun moved on to the first ever USL Super League Final! 

The Sun proved to the league and to themselves that they are an incredibly strong team this weekend. Despite going down in rather unfortunate circumstances, the whole squad rallied, including keeper Ashley Orkus, and gave themselves the best chance to beat Dallas. Now that they have, they will host Florida Derby rivals Fort Lauderdale in the first-ever USL Super League Championship Final.

What a game that was!

Even with a costly mistake in the first half, Tampa Bay never put their heads down. They never stopped fighting, and they never stopped believing. In the post game press conference, manager Denise Schilte-Brown and goalscorers Tash Flint and Carlee Giammona all said the same thing. The self belief permeates this roster from front to back. 

The home side started well enough. They looked to mostly be in control, looking for balls over the Dallas backline for striker Cecilie Floe frequently. The visitors were not down and out by any means. They still had a couple of moments, most notably from the set pieces they could create. Sadly, that’s where calamity arose for the Sun defense around the 15th minute. 

Keeper Ashley Orkus was facing the actual sun in the first half. Even so, she’ll know the goal she conceded was a huge mistake. Everyone on the backline came back to tell her to keep her head up. (She would do that and made several key interventions over the rest of the game.) It’s the type of mistake that would keep you up at night were it not for the final score. 

Although this wasn’t Trinity’s only chance to score, the visitors never looked particularly dangerous. It’s a testament to the Sun’s gameplan that they were able to largely nullify the opposition threat from the wing after Chioma Ubogagu had had some good runs in the first 20 minutes. On the other side of the field, the hosts were getting into their stride. 

Tash Flint played her game of dropping deeper to help as a metronome at the top of the midfield. She is extremely hard to dispossess, and that was to the benefit of Jade Moore and Jordyn Listro behind her. When the two would look up, Flint was always there ready to receive the ball. She could then lay it back, allowing the deeper players to look for options up top. 

Carlee Giammona started mostly hanging on the right side, while Sydny Nasello offered her own presence on the other wing. They would switch as needed for the rest of the match. DSB afterwards stated that Nasello had been tasked with running at the Dallas backline, who, due to injury, had been forced into some uncomfortable changes in personnel. 

The overloads with players didn’t always come off. The balls back into the box were also less than stellar, at least according to Schilte-Brown. But, before the 60th minute, one of the best goals the Sun have scored came from such a play. Tampa Bay had, through numbers and possession, drawn the Trinity backline all over to their left side. 

Unbeknownst to them, the Sun’s left side was open. Giammona was streaking into space there and met the cross to her. A beautiful chipped finish over the head of the Dallas keeper sparked jubilant celebrations across Riverfront Stadium. With further help from Orkus and her own backline, it was all the home side would need. 

Tampa Bay looked the better side for most of the game. Over the last 20 minutes, they seemingly ran the Trinity defense ragged, never letting up until the final whistle. It was the kind of performance that galvanizes a team. But, I’ve used this phrase over and over in 2025. It’s almost hard to overstate – or understate – where the squad is right now. The vibes? Baby, they’re immaculate. 

Player of the Game: 

Liz: 

Tom: 

RBLR Score Predictions Standings:

Lizzie: 28

Tom: 18

Yurika: 20

James: 18