The top two teams in the 2025/26 Gainbridge Super League standings square off on Saturday afternoon when second-placed Lexington SC (7-0-9, 30pts) hosts first-placed Sporting Club Jacksonville (9-4-4, 31pts) at 2 p.m. ET on Peacock.
Here’s why it has the potential to be one of the games of the season, with the numbers you need to know for both clubs.
1. Attacking Powerhouses Square Off
The story of both Lexington SC’s surge up the standings in its second campaign and Sporting Club Jacksonville’s inaugural season success has been in the attacking third. The sides sit 1-2 in goals scored – Lexington with 33 goals, Jacksonville with 32 – and rank in the top three in the primary attacking categories.
| Club | Goals (Rank) | Expected Goals (Rank) | Total Shots (Rank) | Shots on Target (Rank) | Shots Inside Box (Rank) | Shot Conv. Rate (Rank) | Big Chances Created (Rank) |
| Lexington SC | 33 (1st) | 30.18 (1st) | 241 (1st) | 80 (2nd) | 170 (1st) | 19.76% (2nd) | 39 (1st) |
| Sporting JAX | 32 (2nd) | 28.32 (2nd) | 206 (3rd) | 83 (1st) | 150 (3rd) | 20% (1st) | 32 (2nd) |
What stands out most from these numbers is the quality of chance creation for both clubs. Both Lexington and Jacksonville don’t just get shots off, they get them from high-quality positions. Sporting JAX has recorded 72.8 percent of its shots from inside the penalty area, giving it an average of 0.14xG per shot, while Lexington isn’t far behind with 70.5 percent of its shots coming inside the box at 0.13xG per shot.
Compare that to the rest of the league’s average, which sits at 61.7 percent with a 0.11xG per shot, and you get an idea of how strong the top two have been in putting pressure on opposing defenses.
One of the key differences for the two sides, however, has been the manner which they’ve found the net. Sporting JAX has been outstanding in open play, recording a league-leading 26 goals as the side’s quality delivery from the flanks – completing a league-high 58 of 235 open play crosses – has set up prime opportunities for its front line.
Lexington, on the other hand, has been the dominant team in the league from set pieces this season with 14 goals coming from dead-ball situations. That includes a league-leading seven goals from corner kicks and four from throw-ins, with Hannah Sharts’ deliveries proving a challenge for opposing defenses to handle.
When the teams last met, Lexington took a 4-2 victory as the teams combined for 3.79 Expected Goals on 25 combined shots. With the form both have shown, we should get another front-foot display.
2. Race For the Golden Boot
Saturday’s clash doesn’t feature just the top two teams in the Gainbridge Super League, it also features the top two contenders for the Golden Boot. Sporting JAX’s Ashlyn Puerta currently leads the race with 11 goals with Lexington’s Catherine Barry sitting second on nine goals.
Both players are on relative heaters when it comes to their performance. Puerta’s 11 goals have come on just a 5.98xG mark, giving the 18-year-old phenom – who was called up to the United States U-19s camp headed to Portugal during the upcoming international break – a 32.4 percent shot conversion rate. Barry’s numbers sit closer together with her nine goals coming on 7.5xG with 36 of her 43 shots coming inside the penalty area, but it still equates to a 28.1 percent shot conversion rate.
Both players found the net when Lexington took a 4-2 victory against Sporting JAX in their first meeting last October, with Puerta’s finish one of seven goals in six away games she’s delivered this season. Their individual impact could play a defining role in which side comes out on top this time around.
3. The Playmaking Threats
While Puerta and Barry may be the attacking headliners for their respective sides, there’s plenty of back-up for both. Foremost are the top playmakers for each side, with Sporting JAX’s Paige Kenton on the doorstep of equaling the league’s single-season assists record and Lexington’s Emina Ekic providing a strong follow-up to her Player of the Year campaign at Spokane Zephyr FC in the 2024/25 season.
By her numbers, there’s an argument to be made that Kenton has been the most impactful attacking duel-threat in the league this season. While Puerta leads the league with 14 goal contributions, Kenton’s seven goals and six assists put her one off that pace. What’s more, the 23-year-old leads the league in both Expected Goals (7.66xG) and Expected Goals+Assists (10.99xG+A) this regular season while sitting fourth in Expected Assists (3.33xA).
With the likes of Barry and Addie McCain alongside her, meanwhile, Ekic has a chance to exceed her 2024/25 playmaking numbers. The Bosnia and Herzegovina international has recorded four assists in 15 appearances this season but is tied for the league-lead in Expected Assists (3.52xA) and Big Chances Created (8) while ranking second in Chances Created (31). Her Chance Created rate has also increased this season, with the 26-year-old posting 2.6 per 90 minutes compared to 2.0 per 90 minutes in the 2024/25 campaign, placing her in the 96th percentile among midfielders in that category.
Both Kenton and Ekic are capable of being gamechangers individually. How they impact Saturday’s game – and the means by which the other side tries to nullify their threat – will be key to watch.
4. The Big Picture Implications
There will be plenty of soccer to play for both Lexington SC and Sporting Club Jacksonville following Saturday’s game, including what could end up being a Players’ Shield decider on April 25 at Jacksonville’s Hodges Stadium.
At the same time, the implications of a victory for either side could be a defining moment in the race for the first silverware of the season.
For Jacksonville, it’s a chance to record a statement victory. So far this campaign, only two of Sporting JAX’s league-leading nine victories have come against teams currently above the playoff line, with another two coming against fifth-placed Carolina Ascent FC. Going on the road and becoming the team to end Lexington’s undefeated streak would send a message to the rest of the league, and put the side in control of first place regardless of LSC’s result in its current game in hand.
For Lexington, following up its 4-2 win when these teams first met would not only continue the club’s league-record 17-game undefeated streak, but it would offer the opportunity to stretch its lead to five points with a win in its current game-in-hand. Five points might not seem like a wide margin, but with only 10 games to play for Jacksonville after Saturday’s showdown, it would add to the pressure the first-year side would face to keep pace over the final third of the season.
Lexington and Jacksonville have been must-see TV throughout the current campaign, setting themselves apart at both the top of the standings and in their underlying numbers. It should make for one of the games of the season this weekend.