Flint, Giammona and Fløe spearheaded the attack in the Sun’s quest for the league title
In a full circle moment for Tampa Bay Sun FC, the club hosted Dallas Trinity FC last weekend in the USL Super League Semifinal in what was a rematch of the teams’ inaugural game back in August. After conceding early, the home side responded with two unanswered goals to earn the 2-1 win to advance to the 2025 USL Super League Final.
The game-winner was a full team effort, starting from the feet of goalkeeper Ashley Orkus and working up the field through one-touch passes between five different players before finding Carlee Giammona. The striker, realizing Dallas ‘keeper Madison White was off her line, chipped the ball into the back of the net in the 59th minute.
“We came out today really connected,” Giammona said after the match. “We really wanted to play for each other, and I think that’s what we did. We’ve had a lot of good goals like that [game-winner]. I saw the ball coming in and was able to get on the end of it, so it was a good team goal.”
Tash Flint, who scored the equalizer on Saturday from the penalty spot, was credited with the assist on Giammona’s game-winning goal after receiving the pass from striker Cecilie Fløe. This trio of forwards has been the driving force for the Sun’s offensive success this season, combining for 27 of the team’s 42 goals and 8 of 24 assists.
It was a long journey before all three players ended up together for their first professional season in the United States. Giammona, who played collegiately at Alabama and Pepperdine, began her pro career at CF Monterrey before playing the 2024 season with Glasgow City in the Scottish Women’s Premiere League. Flint and Fløe, hailing from England and Denmark, had played in various countries overseas and internationally for their home nations before coming to Florida.
Flint, who was named earlier this week to the 2024/25 USL Super League All-League First Team, said once she adjusted to the style of play in the U.S., everything began clicking for her offensively.
“The leagues in the U.K. and the league here are really different,” Flint said. “One’s very technical, and one’s very athletic, and that’s where I needed to add to my game. I think the past couple months have been showing that through my work rate. I want to win games, whether that means scoring goals, assisting, or just putting in a shift in that game and playing well.”
Fløe was also named to the All-League Second Team for leading the Sun with 11 goals and four assists, in addition to recording 145 duels won, 43 shots and 26 chances created. The 23-year-old recently won Player of the Month for May after scoring in each of the team’s final three matches of the regular season, propelling Tampa Bay to the No. 2 seed.
Grabbing that hosting position was crucial, as Tampa Bay boasted the best home record in the league (8-2-4) during the regular season. The team hasn’t lost at home since March 19, and it took a 93rd-minute game-winner from the visiting Spokane Zephyr to steal the three points from the Sun.
Along with the five-match home winning streak, Tampa Bay is also riding a months-long scoring run. It takes going back to 2024 to find the last time the team was held scoreless, falling 2-0 to Dallas Trinity on December 8. The home field advantage combined with the brewing attacking confidence led by Flint, Giammona and Fløe has the Sun confident that the inaugural Super League title will be staying on this side of the Sunshine State.
“It’s the same mentality we’ve had for [the semifinal] and all year,” Giammona said. “We’re just going to play our game, stick together and play for each other.”