Early test for Dallas Trinity FC vs. Barcelona provides many chances to learn for new club

It takes a lot of guts to host one of the best soccer clubs in the world to play your first-ever home game. Dallas Trinity FC is doing that.
Friday’s friendly against FC Barcelona at the Cotton Bowl will mark the home debut of North Texas’s first professional women’s soccer team, which joined the USL Super League this season.
Trinity FC kicked off the season last week in Tampa Bay with a 1-1 draw.
“Facing Barcelona, one of the best in the world, is truly an honor,” said Hannah Davidson, who scored the first goal in Trinity FC history in the draw against Tampa Bay.
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“All of us grew up watching Barcelona. It’s a major club, so it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, which is really special. They play amazing football, and many of us have learned from them, so to have the opportunity to play against them is just a dream come true,” said the 27-year defender.
Barcelona FC is one of the most successful women’s clubs. They have won the Spanish league nine times and the UEFA Champions League three times.
Barcelona has experience and high-quality players, including Alèxia Putellas, a two-time Ballon d’Or Féminin winner whom many consider the best player in the world.
In 2023, Spain won the Women’s World Cup in Australia, beating England. Of that Spanish team, eight were Barcelona players (Irene Paredes, Aitana Bonmati, Mariona Caldentey, Putellas, Laia Codina, María Pérez, Salma Paralluelo and Cata Coll).
Barcelona’s power and popularity contrast with the modest and humble beginnings of a team that has just been born in Dallas.
“To have a great team like Barcelona in an iconic stadium like the Cotton Bowl is a unique opportunity. I don’t think it gets much bigger than that for me,” said Gavin Beith, the Scottish assistant coach of Trinity FC.
Beith is in charge while the Scottish head coach, Pauline MacDonald, awaits her visa so she can travel to Dallas and begin working with the team.
Only some Trinity FC players have international experience, including Gabriela Guillén, a defender who has played 87 games with the Costa Rican national team.
“Facing Barcelona is a very nice challenge but a very tough one,” said Guillén, 32, who is aware that facing a powerhouse like Barcelona carries certain risks.
“It’s worth facing a rival like Barcelona because I think they can show us what we have to improve to face what is really important, which is the USL.”
The eight-team USL Super League schedule has matches from August to December, a midseason break that runs through January, and then more games from February to May.
Trinity FC’s official home opener is set for Saturday, Sept. 7 against DC Power FC.
Beith considers debuting at home against Barcelona a privilege and does not see the match as a risk that will expose his players’ inexperience.
“I don’t think there’s any risk at all because if we’re being honest, no one expects you to win the game, so anything’s going to be a bonus for us,” said Beith, who was drenched in sweat after directing a team practice on the Hockaday School soccer field in 98-degree weather.
Beith hopes the game against Barcelona will celebrate the arrival of professional women’s soccer in North Texas.
“We go into the game full of excitement, we’re going to try to compete. We need to look up to these players and these clubs to emulate that because that’s what you want to try to do. You want to try and be the best you can be,” Beith said.
The assistant coach hopes Friday’s game will be the launch of a successful, long-term women’s soccer project in Dallas.
“It’s about showcasing Dallas Trinity, and using Barcelona to do that is massive, absolutely huge,” Beith said. “There’s no bigger club in the world that can actually do that.”
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