Two games against Dallas Trinity in ten days showed both the best and worst of what Lex Sporting has to offer this season. The club dropped a heartbreaker at home before salvaging a point on the road, but the bigger story was finally breaking out of the scoring drought that had plagued them for weeks. The March 8th home game against Dallas was frustrating from start to finish. Lex Sporting dominated the first half, outshooting the visitors 9-2 and putting three shots on target compared to zero for Dallas. Trinity didn't even register a touch inside the box until 23 minutes into the match. The second half followed the same script—more chances, more possession, but nothing to show for it. Then came the gut punch. In the third minute of stoppage time, Heather Stainbrook scored to give Dallas a 1-0 win and send the home crowd home wondering how they'd just watched their team lose after controlling the entire match. It was the second straight loss at home and extended a goalless streak that had now reached 243 minutes dating back to early February. Ten days later, the teams met again in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl, and this time the script flipped. Alyssa Bourgeois finally ended the scoring drought in the 26th minute, taking the ball 55 yards down the left flank after Sarah Griffith won it in midfield and slipping her shot inside the far post. The relief was palpable—Lex Sporting was up 1-0 at halftime and hadn't allowed a single shot on target in the first half. Dallas came out sharper after the break and equalized in the 55th minute when Lexi Missimo scored from a free kick. The home side took the lead in the 79th minute when Lauren Flynn converted a corner kick, the first corner goal the club had allowed all season. With time running out and the threat of a third straight loss looming, Catherine Barry came through in the 90+3' minute, pouncing on a rebound and rocketing it home to salvage a 2-2 draw. The goal was Barry's 10th of the season, putting her just one behind the league's leading scorer. The week against Dallas showed exactly where this team is at right now—talented enough to dominate possession and create chances, but struggling to put teams away when it matters. Two late goals decided both matches, one against them and one for them. The draw in Dallas at least stopped the bleeding after back-to-back losses, and finally finding the net again should provide some momentum heading into the final stretch of the season. At 7-2-10 with 31 points, the club is still in the playoff hunt, but they'll need to start converting dominance into wins if they want to finish where they belong.
Lexington Sporting Women Split Two Games with Dallas Trinity
Lex Sporting Women lost 1-0 at home to Dallas Trinity on March 8th, then earned a 2-2 draw in Dallas on the 18th as Catherine Barry scored in stoppage time to salvage a point