Brooklyn FC remain atop the table with fifth straight win

Brooklyn FC have found their groove and are not showing any signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Following a 3-0 win against DC Power FC in their last outing, BKFC secured a second-straight win in their six-match road trip amidst the frigid atmosphere of Lexington SC Stadium. After midfielder Emily Yaple displayed some nifty footwork sifting through the attacking half early on, the Greens collapsed on her, leaving Mackenzie George with virtually one player to beat on the edge of the box. The Brooklyn forward slotted her shot in the back of the net for her third goal of the season.

The third-highest scoring side in the USL continued to pile on the goals in the second half after defender Sasha Pickard won a duel by the halfway line to set up forward Luana Grabias on the flank to square a ball to forward Jessica Garziano, who just about gets it past the keeper to slowly traverse the goal line. Forward Dana Sheriff put any doubts to rest in stoppage time with an admirable pressing effort leading to a breakaway opportunity and a composed finish in the bottom left corner.

Goals galore

BKFC have netted 15 goals in 13 matches so far this season, with Grabias leading the club with four goals. While Grabias secured those goals in the two games prior to Saturday's match, Garziano has three along with two goals for both George and forward Isabel Cox, establishing the variety in goal scorers in this one squad.

Even in this weekend's matchup, all three goals came from the boot of a different player. The 4-1-4-1 shape head coach Jessica Silva favors provides many opportunities for either attacking midfielders or full-backs to come up and pile on the pressure in the attacking half.

This theme of high pressing, especially when the ball is lost in the opponent's half, sparked two of the goals in BKFC's win over Lexington with Pickard's midway duel being won which led to a goal for Garziano and Scheriff catching a Lexington defender off guard in their own half to secure a goal of her own on the night.

Defend, defend, defend

The BKFC low-block proved to be a force that the Greens could just not penetrate. The organization displayed by the back-line and midfielder Sam Krueger in transitions and in their own half led to six of Lexington SC's eight shots being taken from outside of the box.

While BKFC can be lauded as an efficient goalscoring team, Silva's side takes the defensive side of the ball just as seriously, if not more. They currently hold the top spot for the least amount of goals conceded so far this season with only eight and rank second for the most clean sheets in the USL Superleague with five.

Along with an 81.3% tackle success rate on the night, Brooklyn FC were not going to let Lexington SC get in the way of securing their third straight shutout with goalkeeper Neeku Purcell being stationed in between the posts for her fourth start of the season.

More than a goalscorer

Although Grabias did not secure a goal in this match, she made her presence felt in the attacking half in more ways than just putting balls in the back of the net.

After racking up four goals in two matches, with last match's hat trick being the fastest garnered in the USL, Grabias put the league on notice. And as a result, teams will be preparing for her differently now, by either double-teaming her or fouling her to deter her from going head-on at the opposition's back-line.

Grabias would come in short at times to retrieve the ball high up in the half to start up play in the attacking half. This hold-up forward role is something that led to her not only winning four fouls, but also being able to become a facilitator on the flanks and create chances for others as she did with Garziano for her second assist of the season.

BKFC will now travel to Texas to face third-place Dallas Trinity FC at the Cotton Bowl. The match will take place next Saturday, and will be their last match of 2024. Brooklyn will then take an 11-week hiatus, resuming play at the end of February.