Women’s soccer club will play in league final Saturday

The Tampa Bay Sun Football Club, the first professional women’s soccer team in Tampa, held a press conference today to discuss its participation in the inaugural United Soccer League (USL) Super League championship final against the Fort Lauderdale United Football Club. 

The match will take place at Riverfront Stadium (Blake High School) in Tampa Saturday at 7:30 p.m. 

Head coach Denise Schilte-Brown, team captain Jordyn Listro and player Sydny Nasello appeared and spoke to the media. 

The 2024-2025 season was the first for the Super League, which consists of eight clubs. The Suns most recently won a match against the Dallas Trinity Football Club to secure its spot in the championship. 

For the Sun’s coaching staff and players, Saturday’s game means everything. 

The season was not always an easy one, and the Sun’s athletes had to learn how to work as one to compete against talented competitors. 

At Friday’s media event: Sydny Nasello, left, head coach Denise Schilte-Brown and Jordyn Listro. Photo by Michael Connor.

“There’s not enough words to really describe how it means and to really put all the feelings out there. This has been a lot of hard work, these two young ladies and all their teammates have worked so hard from day one,” Schilte-Brown said. 

“I feel this is meant to be, this is where we’re meant to be and the work is earned, but for Tampa Bay, this is historical.” 

Nasello, a bay area native, couldn’t be happier that the championship game is at home. 

“These are all the people that have been a part of my journey since I was a little kid, friends and family, the ones that kind of got me here and pushed me to be in this position that I am in today. So to be able to celebrate all of these victories in my career and all of these moments, it’s super special,” she explained.  

Listro, Nasello and the rest of the team are preparing for the match with a focus on what’s at stake. Staying with their season-long routines has been key, physically and mentally. 

“Obviously, there’s more emotions and I’m very excited, but I personally just kind of continue with my specific routines I’ve been doing all season long – that’s really how I stay consistent, I just do the same thing over and over again so that my body feels the same way and I can perform the same way,” Listro said. 

The ultimate goal is to win, and bring another championship victory to Tampa Bay (alongside the Buccaneers’ 2021 Super Bowl win, and the Lightning’s multiple recent Stanley Cup victories), but for Schilte-Brown and her players, it’s much more than that. 

Women’s soccer is becoming more relevant locally and nationally and is inspiring a new generation of young girls to pursue sports. 

“For little girls everywhere, this is a dream come true, this is what we all wanted growing up. I never had this, I feel blessed to be a part of it now but when I watch the players walk out with those little girls (in the crowd), and I see them looking up to them, it’s a moment that we should capture forever,”  Schilte-Brown added. 

She believes her players can set an example of excellence – and help make women’s soccer even more popular.  

“[These are] the moments you want to play for, this is why you play the game, to play in finals like this, and to be able to do it in our hometown with our fans that’ve had our back all year long, there’s nothing else like it,” Nasello explained. 

Tickets for Saturday’s game are still available at tampabaysunfc.com. It will also be streamed on Peacock. 

Photo provided.