The penultimate weekend of the 2025/26 Gainbridge Super League season left everything in the balance going to the final week of the season with Players’ Shield, No. 2 seed and final postseason berth all up for grabs going into Saturday’s slate.
Here are four things we took away from the past weekend’s action.
1. Lexington’s McKenzie Weinert is Hitting Her Stride at Exactly the Right Time
Lexington SC’s Catherine Barry made Gainbridge Super League history on Sunday afternoon as she not only extended her single-season scoring mark to 16 goals against Brooklyn FC but became the first player to record 20 goal contributions in a regular season in the process.
That might have been the headline to LSC’s 3-0 victory against BKFC to keep the Girls in Green in contention for the Players’ Shield going to the final game of the regular season, but the two-goal performance by McKenzie Weinert should take equal billing as the playoffs approach.
Weinert reached 10 goals this campaign – making LSC only the second team to have multiple players record double-digit goals in a regular season alongside the Sporting Club Jacksonville trio of Ashlyn Puerta, Baylee DeSmit and Paige Kenton this season – but the run the 27-year-old has been on of late is offering the secondary scoring the side has been missing at times over the campaign. Weinert had scored only once in a seven-game span between mid-February and mid-April but has now scored four goals in the past four games as the postseason approaches, adding a big attacking threat as LSC takes aim at claiming silverware.
“We have had our ups and downs, and I think we can just work on staying clinical and hopefully keeping some more shutouts,” said Weinert. “Once we get to the playoffs, it is just a fight. It does not matter who is the better team, so making sure we have it in us to fight is everything.”
2. Lancaster Stars as Dallas Trinity Maintains Control of Path
The spread of goalscorers at Dallas Trinity FC has been the biggest challenge to the side’s playoff push with the side lacking a consistent attacking threat over the course of the campaign.
With the potential the side could slip below the playoff line going to the final day of the regular season after a four-game winless run, though, Camryn Lancaster stepped up and led the way to a 2-0 victory against Tampa Bay Sun FC that kept Trinity in control of its pathway to the postseason, remaining one point ahead of Spokane Zephyr FC as it hosts Fort Lauderdale United next Saturday.
Lancaster’s early assist to Sam Guidry for her first professional goal was followed by an excellent finish from the right side of the penalty area that gave the 23-year-old a team-high four goals this season. There’s still work to be done, but Trinity will have been buoyed by its first victory in more than a month.
“We’ve been working really hard,” said Lancaster. “Every single week, no matter the final score, we’re learning from the result that happened. We’ve been coming to training focused and having a good mindset heading into the next match.”
3. Spokane’s Emma Jaskaniec Keeps Zephyr in Fight Going to Final Day
With Dallas Trinity FC having taken victory earlier in the night, the pressure was squarely on Spokane Zephyr FC to keep up as it faced a DC Power FC side that had been mathematically eliminated before the sides kicked off at ONE Spokane Stadium.
In a hard-fought contest, Emma Jaskaniec’s second half goal gave Zephyr the result it needed. The finish itself might have been scrappy, coming off a second chance from a free kick into the center of the box, but results are always more important that style, especially at this point of the season.
“To score a goal in a playoff push like this is just such an unbelievable feeling, to do my part to help the team go to the next step,” Jaskaniec said. “I think my goal was such a team effort… I’m so proud of this team and what we accomplished tonight.”
Coming out of central midfield, Jaskaniec’s past two goals have been key to Spokane staying alive in the race for the playoffs with the 24-year-old also having scored the winner against Sporting Club Jacksonville on April 19. While Zephyr need help, they will have a chance hosting a Brooklyn FC side that’s been mathematically eliminated to reach their first postseason.
4. Carolina Breaks FTL UTD Hex, Sets Up Sporting Finale
In truth, the numbers said Carolina Ascent FC should have claimed victory at home to Fort Lauderdale United FC the last time the sides met in March. Back then, the hosts simply couldn’t put the game away, and their missed opportunities came back to haunt them thanks to Kat González’s late equalizer.
On Saturday night at Beyond Bancard Field, Ascent left no doubt. The visitors’ dominance in territorial position paid off with three goals in the final half-hour from Meaghan Nally, Mia Corbin and Tyler Lussi that delivered a 3-0 victory and a chance at claiming the No. 2 seed from Lexington SC as it enters its final game of the regular season.
That contest comes next Saturday at home to current league-leader Sporting Club Jacksonville, which will arrive in search of clinching the Players’ Shield and the No. 1 seed in the postseason. With Carolina having claimed nine wins in its last 10 outings, though, Ascent is flying high as it prepares for the biggest game of the season’s final weekend.
“I’m really proud of the fight and mentality we showed tonight,” said Lussi. “It was important for us to keep our foot on the gas and stay focused because we always want to get a result. For us, it’s about staying locked in and mentally prepared for every game, taking things one match at a time, and continuing to show resilience as a team.”