DC Power shows potential in “prove-it” win at Lexington; Tampa Bay Sun show resilience in victory at Carolina
Road victories for DC Power FC and Tampa Bay Sun FC at this past campaign’s Gainbridge Super League Final participants provided the first big shakeup of the 2026 Fall Season on Saturday, but it was business as usual for Sporting Club Jacksonville to move clear at the top of the standings after Week 3 of the campaign.
Here are four things we took away from the action.
1. DC Power Shows Potential as Contender with Win in Lexington
Given what they’d offered in the opening two weekends of the season, there was the feeling DC Power FC’s trip to defending Gainbridge Super League champion Lexington SC on Saturday afternoon was a “prove-it” game.
With goals in either half by Loza Abera and Emily Colton, the Power did just that. It wasn’t simply that the visitors took a 2-1 win at Lexington SC Stadium, but the manner in which they accomplished it, turning their pressure into opportunities and capitalizing on Lexington’s errors to get their second consecutive win. Abera might have needed a second bite at the apple to finish off her penalty kick, but the Ethiopian standout now has three goals in three games, while the Power have racked up league highs in shots (60), shots on target (20) and Expected Goals (7.27xG).
There was optimism that the Power could build on their strong second half to the 2025/26 season over this fall. So far, that’s proving to be the case.
2. Tampa Bay Sun Get Vital Win in Smash-and-Grab in Carolina
In its season opening draw at Dallas Trinity FC, we saw a version of Tampa Bay Sun FC where the Super League’s inaugural champions were on the front foot and applied pressure consistently in the attacking half.
Going into two of the more challenging environments to visit in the over the past two weekends, the Sun had to absorb more pressure – especially this past Saturday as they visited Carolina Ascent FC, see the momentum chart below – but the way the side moved through that to create chances and ultimately an impressive 2-1 win on the road showed the resilience Tampa Bay can play with to contend for a postseason berth this season.
With Cristina Roque putting in a solid overall performance – recording four saves to effectively outduel her Puerto Rico National Team teammate Sydney Martinez at the other end – the Sun took only nine shots, but all nine came from inside the penalty area as Shea Connors’ well-taken penalty kick and Sydny Nasello’s sharp first-time finish proved enough to earn a first win against Carolina since March, 2025.
“We knew we had to be patient but also aggressive when the opportunities presented themselves,” said Sun Head Coach Denis Schilte-Brown. “Carolina is very organized defensively, so we needed good movement, quick decisions and a willingness to be direct at the right moments. I thought we created problems in different ways, and once again our substitutes came into the game and made a real impact. That’s becoming a strength of this group — we’re not relying on just 11 players to win games.”
We’re expecting to see the Sun be more expansive – and find more success in its pressing game – as it gets into its home slate, but this was an excellent result and performance.
3. Baylee DeSmit is Powering Sporting Club Jacksonville’s Perfect Start
To paraphrase Dan Patrick – kids, ask your parents – you can’t stop Baylee DeSmit, you can only hope to contain her.
On Saturday night that task fell to Dallas Trinity FC’s defense, but as with both Fort Lauderdale United FC and Tampa Bay Sun FC before them, it proved too big an ask. The 23-year-old’s thunderbolt of a left-footed strike late in the first half at Hodges Stadium set Sporting Club Jacksonville to a third consecutive win, leaving the side as the last standing with an unblemished record three weeks into the season.
DeSmit has four goals in three games to start the fall campaign and 16 goals for Sporting JAX overall at a strike rate of a goal every 117.4 minutes. Fourteen of those goals have come this calendar year, with DeSmit quickly putting herself into the frame as the favorite for the Golden Boot at the end of this season.
4. Fort Lauderdale United Earns Victory, Needs to Show More
After its late defeat in its opening game against Sporting Club Jacksonville, getting a result was the most important thing for Fort Lauderdale United FC on Friday night against Brooklyn FC. Thanks to Nicole Vernis’ finish 28 seconds into the second half after excellent work by Sh’Nia Gordon to set up the opportunity, the hosts took a 1-0 win at Amerant Bank Field to send BKFC to its third consecutive loss to start the season.
While the result was positive for FTL UTD, the underlying performance still showed there is work for Head Coach Tyrone Mears to do to make this side a potential playoff challenger. Through two games, Fort Lauderdale has only logged 17 shots and has a 1.5 Expected Goals mark, an average of 0.09xG per shot. What’s more, the flow of Friday’s game trended toward Brooklyn, which looked brighter than in its opening two performances but was unable to find a decisive moment in the attacking third.
With a trip to Carolina Ascent up next, Fort Lauderdale’s going to be in for a serious test. It will need to step up its game accordingly.