Two more tickets to the 2026 Gainbridge Super League Playoffs were booked this past weekend as Lexington SC and Carolina Ascent FC joined Sporting Club Jacksonville in the field, but the final club to join them is still very much up in the air after Week 27’s action.
Here are three storylines we took away from the past weekend.
1. Spokane Zephyr’s Victory Makes Three-Team Postseason Race
Mathematically, Spokane Zephyr FC would still have been in with a chance to reach the Gainbridge Super League Playoffs if it hadn’t taken victory against league-leaders Sporting Club Jacksonville on Sunday evening at ONE Spokane Stadium.
At the same time, after Carolina Ascent’s late victory at Dallas Trinity FC earlier on Sunday afternoon, the door was open for Zephyr to make a move. Thanks to Emma Jaskaniec second-chance finish, tucking home from close range off Tori Zierenberg’s centering pass after her initial penalty kick had been saved by Jacksonville’s Kaitlyn Parks, Spokane took a 2-1 win to kick off its five-game homestand to close the regular season and narrow the gap to Trinity to just three points with four games to go.
“It feels amazing, I think it just shows all the work we have done all season,” said Jaskaniec. “We knew we had to get three points and we just showed out.”
Having won only three of nine home games previously this season, Spokane’s home form needed to improve, but the side now finds itself in with a real chance at the postseason. With only one game remaining against a current top-four side, and a key home game in its penultimate outing against DC Power FC, the door has opened for Zephyr, with the question whether it can step through.
2. Lexington’s Postseason Berth Comes First on Barry’s Landmark Night
When it came to deciding what was more important on the night, Lexington SC clinching its first trip to the Gainbridge Super League Playoffs or becoming the league’s single-season scoring record-holder, it was an easy answer for Cat Barry.
“Definitely the playoffs,” she said on Saturday night after LSC’s 4-0 victory against Tampa Bay Sun FC, itself another first in club history. “It has been something that has been in front of us as a team and something that we have been working towards and talking about since we came together. We felt like this was a special group since we came together in July, and this is just such a huge moment for us.
“It’s a huge moment for the entire club to write that into history, on the men’s or women’s side, to be the first team here to clinch a playoff spot.”
There’s no question Lexington’s turnaround from its inaugural season has been one of the stories of the season so far, but Barry’s impact for the side has been central to that success. Arriving from the Chicago Stars last summer, the United States U-20 international has been key, with the first hat trick in club history sending her to 15 goals this regular season.
The quickfire trio of goals – which officially clocked in as the second-fastest in league history with 15 minutes, 29 seconds between the first and third goals – saw Barry’s speed and composure take her to five goals in the past three games.
With a crucial game coming next against first-place Sporting Club Jacksonville, LSC will be hoping its forward ace can deliver again and open the Players’ Shield race wide open.
3. Carolina Ascent’s Martínez Shines in Postseason Clincher
If there is one key decision that helped turn Carolina Ascent FC’s season from one hanging in the balance to one headed to the Gainbridge Super League Playoffs with games to spare, it may be Head Coach Philip Poole’s move to insert Sydney Martínez in goal midway through February.
Since then, Carolina has gone on an eight-game undefeated streak that continued on Sunday evening with a 1-0 win against Dallas Trinity FC where Martínez produced a six-save shutout to allow Rylee Baisden’s 89th-minute goal to stand as the winner, booking Ascent’s second consecutive trip to the postseason.
“Step one is in the books, and it feels incredible,” said Martínez. “The goals ahead are simple – keep building momentum, stay hungry, play our brand of soccer, and take it one game at a time all the way to the championship. This group has shown what we’re capable of, now it’s about finishing the job.”
The only thing that might be more incredible than Martínez performance on Sunday was the journey it took to get her to the Cotton Bowl at all. The 26-year-old had started and played a full 90 minutes on Saturday in Toluca, Mexico as the Puerto Rico Women’s National Team’s bid to advance from Concacaf W Qualifiers came up short against El Tri before making the trip to Dallas, where she stood tall in net for Ascent.
Martínez has now recorded six shutouts and 28 saves in the past eight games, while delivering a save percentage of 93.3% and Goals Prevented mark of -4.39. As Ascent eyes postseason redemption, there might be no hotter goalkeeper in the league.