Photo courtesy of Lena Malpeli.
Tampa Bay earns its first win of 2026 with a decisive 3-0 victory over Fort Lauderdale.
–
By Lena Malpeli
TAMPA, Fla. — The Sun has finally risen to the challenge. At Saturday’s Florida Derby, the Tampa Bay Sun found their second win of the season over rivals Fort Lauderdale United FC. The Sun cemented their win with two goals from forwards Sydny Nasello and Faith Webber, who scored her first professional goal in the Super League.
The Sun (2-6-9) has had a disappointing season following their inaugural championship year, currently ranked at the bottom of the league behind Fort Lauderdale. The Sun, who have never lost to Fort Lauderdale, broke a series of draws and losses since their early November win against Spokane Zephyr FC.
“We’ve been doing this all season,” said Head Coach Denise Schilte-Brown, “We’ll score, or get this equalizer, and then settle into mediocrity. Tonight we didn’t do that, and that was really great to see.”
The Sun struck first in the 12th minute with Nasello, who sprinted after a blocked shot and firmly lifted the ball over the United keeper into the upper left-hand side. United nearly equalized soon after in the 21st minute, but Sun goalkeeper Emory Wegener saved a left-footed shot heading towards the bottom left corner of the goal.
Wegener, who also stopped a breakaway in the 62nd minute with a reactive kick save, may have strengthened her case for the Sun’s starting XI, which has rotated its goalkeeper spot all season.
“Nothing changes. Whether you’re starting, whether you’re the backup,” said Wegener, but celebrated the shutout as an “amazing” feeling.
“You can’t stop smiling. You want to cry a little bit. And—it leaves you speechless,” she said.
The Sun continued to put pressure on Fort Lauderdale, winning 50-50 balls and pressing quickly on the counterattack. The game was physical; the Sun committed 17 fouls, and two Sun players received yellow cards, which Schilte-Brown said come with the derby territory.
“This is a gritty league,” said Schilte-Brown.
“Any time you have a derby, it’s going to be a little bit tougher, and you’ve got to be prepared for that, and I think the ladies were well up for that tonight.”
The pressure awarded a penalty kick for the Sun in the 62nd minute, and Sydny Nasello converted to make the score two-nil.
In the 83rd minute, Sun midfielder Sandrine Gaillard nutmegged a ball through towards Webber inside the penalty box, where Webber slipped the goal past the keeper’s left in a deft one-touch strike. Webber, on loan from the NWSL, is still getting to know her teammates but said the job is always the same: put the ball into the back of the net.
“I feel like, whenever I go on the field, I always expect to score. For the last—however many years I’ve been playing soccer—I feel like that’s my job.”
The next game for the Sun occurs on March 13th, away against Carolina Ascent FC, fourth in the league.