Brooklyn FC draw in return to USL Superleague play

Brooklyn FC are back to their USL Superleague playing ways after a three-month break. While the squad stayed busy after traveling to Italy and facing Serie A side Napoli, their first match back in the United States proved to be a challenge that pressed pause on their winning ways in the league.

The squad resumed play in an away fixture against Tampa Bay Sun FC. After a flurry of chances for both sides throughout the match, Brooklyn midfielder Mackenzie Pluck opened her scoring account for the season with a driven shot from outside the box to level the score and gift her squad a hard-fought point.

Although the 1-1 result snapped Brooklyn's impressive win streak, head coach Jessica Silva was pleased to leave Florida with a point after the first competitive match of 2025.

"Hard fought game on the road against a talented team. We had an excellent first 30 minutes where we really imposed ourselves. Second half was a little more shared with opportunties for both teams. Very happy we tied that up," Silva said.

Close but no cigar

Brooklyn FC started the match on the front foot.

Defender Kelsey Hill produced the first shot of the match in the seventh minute with a header sailing above the top right corner. The attempt was followed by a shot from outside the box by midfielder Emily Yaple only seven minutes later that kissed the right post.

Yet, none of these chances were able to break the deadlock before Tampa Bay's goal in the 42nd minute.

Finishing the match with six shots on target and only one goal is uncharacteristic for Silva's side, whose total of 20 goals is one shy of topping the league. But a 13% conversion rate speaks to an issue of clinical finishing rather than creating the chances themselves. After all, Brooklyn have 185 shots in 15 matches.

For midfielder Sam Kroeger, who was named Player of the Match, the draw against Tampa Bay Sun came down to a lack of consistency of play in both halves of the match.

"I think our first performance of 2025 was a good start. We pressed them from the start knowing it was going to be a 90-plus minute battle and it was going to take everyone. Unlucky that we didn’t get one in the first half with how high we pressed and recovered a lot of balls in Tampa’s half and created chances. With going down a goal, we did a good job sticking together and not panicking. I’m super excited to see this team evolve and proud that we got a point on the road. Now it’s time to build from this game and have consistent performances in both halves for next week’s game," Kroeger said.

The Big Macs

Pluck was named USL Superleague Player to Watch in January, and she has started off the latter half of this season's campaign in stellar fashion.

BKFC came out firing in the second half with two shots on target coming from defender Leah Scarpelli and forward Jess Garziano only five minutes in.

Brooklyn midfielder Mackenzie George somehow managed to maintain possession in Tampa Bay's box, dancing away from three players to serve Pluck a ball right on the tip of the box, which ruffled the netting in the top left corner for her first goal of the season.

"I think I've been itching for this moment and trying to stay patient for it. I really love to create and assist with attacks and I’m thankful this goal came early in the second half of the season to not only get the equalizer but to give me more confidence in the future to be a threat to goal," Pluck said.

No Time to Panic

While a draw is probably not how BKFC wanted to start their spring season, it's not a terrible result. They remain top of the Super League table with 30 points after 15 games, five points ahead of Carolina Ascent FC despite having a game in hand.

But to maintain the top spot, Silva is clear on what has to be reaffirmed within her squad.

"We’re process driven. [Saturday]’s results are lessons to grow from, and positives to build off of. We’re sticking to our growth mindset and will regroup in the next 24 hours to analyze the game and push forward," Silva said.