FC Dallas Trinity of the women’s Gainbridge Super League made history Oct. 18 in an international exhibition match against Mexico’s Club América Femenil of the Liga MX Femenil.
Dubbed the 2025 State Fair Clásico, the match was held at the iconic Cotton Bowl in Dallas toward the end of the Texas State Fair. It shattered records, drawing a Texas women’s sports record of 22,838 fans and marking a massive milestone for the sport in the U.S.
“I think that’s the biggest crowd I’ve ever played in front of,” Allie Thornton, Trinity’s leading goal scorer this year, said. “Just the energy you got from the crowd, it had an immediate effect on me. My mood was high, my energy was high, it’s hard to go out there and not play to your top capacity.”
Trinity held its own for much of the first half, but the more established Club América side took control in the final 11 minutes before halftime, scoring three quick goals. Dallas Trinity got on the board in the 70th minute when academy forward Sealy Strawn headed in a cross from Camryn Lancaster, but the final score stood at 3-1 for Club América.
“It was such an honor to play in front of a crowd that big,” Strawn said. “It’s like instinct kind of kicks in, you’re in that moment and you don’t really recognize anything else around you, like the crowd disappeared, the players around me kind of disappeared, and all I was really focused on was at least getting contact on the ball. As soon as I saw it go in, the excitement that hit me was unbelievable.”
This was the franchise’s second major international exhibition, following a match against the renowned FC Barcelona women’s team last season.
“It’s tough to compare to Barcelona, that experience was special because not a lot of people can say they’ve played against the best team in the world,” Thornton said. “I feel like where Club América differed was [that] we knew we could compete with them.”
The creation of the Gainbridge Super League and Dallas Trinity has opened new opportunities for young athletes to experience professional soccer at home. For players like Strawn who grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, this is particularly meaningful.
“When I was younger, you never really got that in Dallas,” Strawn said. “It’s been an honor, because I know there’s so many young girls here that get the ability to come watch us play in Dallas and in their home environment.”
Thornton emphasized how these international exhibitions provide a global stage without the need to travel thousands of miles abroad.
Alongside this, Thornton talked about how the ability to have these international exhibitions with clubs like Barcelona and Club América allows for that “international taste” to be satisfied without having to play thousands of miles away.
“I played five years in Europe and that was great,” Thornton said. “But it’s like, now I’m kind of homesick, and it put me in the position of ‘do I want to keep playing or do I want to go back home’ because at the time there wasn’t really an opportunity for me to do both. And then Trinity comes about, and it’s like ‘OK, now I don’t have to choose because this team has provided the opportunity for girls to do this and now they have more options.’”
Dallas Trinity currently sits at 6th in the Gainbridge Super League standings as of Oct. 30, with both players admitting the season has been more up and down than they’d want, but the team continues to have much higher aspirations.
“I wanna win a championship,” Thornton said. “There’s always gonna be ups and downs, we’ve learned a lot as a team and we’ve grown a lot stronger and closer through it, it’s all about staying consistent and just focusing on the grind and giving that to life that trophy at the last game.”
As Dallas Trinity continues to build a reputation for itself, the future is bright in the world of women’s sports in America and Dallas. For example, the Women’s National Basketball Association is continuing to grow, and their Dallas Wings recently drafted a star in Paige Bueckers.
“Watching the women’s sports world right now, it’s awesome,” Thornton said. “I feel so proud to be a woman in this era we are in because this emphasis on women’s sports, it’s no longer a moment, it’s a movement.”
FC Dallas Trinity — and the Super League as a whole — will look to build on their successful start, using events like the State Fair Clásico to build popularity and grab an important foothold in the sports world. The league has already improved greatly from its inaugural season, with more great things to come.
“I think [the Clásico] was such a cool opportunity to put our stamp on the city,” Thornton said. “Because we’re in a very competitive sports market, it would be easy for us to sit back and exist in this market, but we want to thrive here. We want the same legacy and support and fans that these bigger clubs that have been around get, so I think this was a great opportunity to say we’re here, we’re here to stay, and we’re here to thrive. And there’s no reason we can’t be.”
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[…] Missimo’s injury has taken her off the field for longer than expected, with her initial press release estimating she would be back in play by June. In the mean time, Trinity has had a historic run in the Texan women’s sports scene. Its Oct. 18 international exhibition match against Mexico’s Club América Femenil broke attendance records for the state. […]