2025 USL Super League Final Review

Date: Saturday June 14, 2025

Result: Tampa Bay 1-0 Fort Lauderdale 

Records: Tampa Bay Sun (46 pts 12W-10D-6L); Fort Lauderdale FC (42 pts 11W-9D-8L)

Standings: The Sun won the inaugural USL Super League Final! 

What more is there to say? The first ever USL Super League is in the books. The records are set. The teams are finally off. With everything done and dusted, the Tampa Bay Sun are the champions in the league’s inaugural year! Players will come and go. Coaching staff and front office folks, too. But, for eternity, they will be the first ever champions. No one can take that away.

How should we remember this team?

This article will not be one of lengthy review and usual process. This is just an occasion to celebrate. After the final whistle, when the Sun were crowned champions, they were handed a trophy and the confetti flew. Much like the players who started making snow angels out of the orange strips of paper, this is just a chance to soak it all in and look back on everything that was. 

Take a moment now to remember the first preseason game if you were there. It was a draw against Fort Lauderdale, one of four that would happen as these teams met six times since their founding. Tampa Bay got the first victory by beating FLOOTD 2-0 on April 5th. They followed it up with a winner in extra time after another 0-0 draw through 90 minutes on Saturday. 

Take a moment to think about the first ever competitive game for the Sun. A 1-1 draw at home vs. Dallas, it only partly set the tone for the rest of the season. Brooke Hendrix scored the team’s first goal in official competition to level the score. They drew their next game against DC Power before earning the first ever win away to Lexington SC on September 8, 2024. 

Players have already moved on from the club, both within the USL Super League and just in returning to their parent club after arriving on loan. Erika Tymrak stuck it out all year and will now retire as a champion with the new team near her hometown. To be able to send her off in this fashion is something remarkable in and of itself. She should serve as the example for all youth players in the area.

Speaking of hometown players, Sydny Nasello went to high school in Pasco County, played college soccer for the University of South Florida, and has returned to play under her former coach Denise Schilte-Brown at the pro level. Nasello won the MVP Award in the Super League Final. She also wins the RBLR Sun Player of the Year with 11 combined Player of the Match awards.

Nasello was electric all game against Fort Lauderdale. She scorched her defender over and over, always looking for Tash Flint, Carlee Giammona, or Cecilie Floe. The latter of those found the winner. The trio combined for 30 goals in the regular season and playoffs. But, it wasn’t all down to attacking output. Keeper Ashley Orkus finished the season with seven combined clean sheets, including in the Final.

In front of Orkus, the Sun almost always stuck with Brooke Hendrix and Viv Bessette in central defense. Their first fullback partners were Talia Staude, on loan from North Carolina Courage, and Kristen Edmonds. After the winter break, it was almost always Dori Haugen and Paige Almendariz who took over these roles, racking up 29 starts between them. 

Others who played big roles on the field include Sydney Schneider, Hannah Keane, Wasila Diwura-Soale, Parker Goins, Jordan Zade, Riley Parker (who transferred to Carolina Ascent in January), and, of course, the midfield duo. Captain Jordyn Listro and her frequent partner Jade Moore set the tone for this side, demanding the most from their teammates and always leading by example in the middle.

All of these players and more have written their names into the history books. Now, take one more moment. Think of the first match you attended – even if it was only one. I know multiple people whose first game was the Final. The memories created there will hopefully last a lifetime. More than that, I hope it sets the tone for many years of success for the Tampa Bay Sun Football Club. 

Player of the Game: 

Liz: Sydny Nasello

Tom: Sydny Nasello

RBLR Score Predictions Standings:

Lizzie: 29

Tom: 19

Yurika: 21

James: 19