Tampa Bay Sun Home Win Over DC Power Review
Written by James Knowles
Date: Saturday May 24, 2025
Result: Tampa Bay 2-0 DC
Records: Tampa Bay Sun (46 pts 12W-10D-6L); DC Power FC (23 pts 5W-8D-14L)
Standings: The Sun stayed 2nd in the table.
With one game left in the season, the Sun knew what they needed to do. Get the win, secure the three points, and you’re almost a shoo-in for a home playoff game. So what did they do? Exactly that. With results around the league, that home semifinal fixture is now guaranteed. It was an incredible way to make the end of the season!
Are we the most in-form side in the Super League?!
It would of course be a big pronouncement to make. However, there are arguments in Tampa Bay’s favor. Going away to Carolina and getting a draw is important. (To be fair, it was all they needed that night.) Other than the blip away to Spokane, it’s just been coming up roses for the Sunnies. We’ll just blame that loss on the travel delays anyway - fair?
Coming into this one, DC didn’t have much hope. With their season effectively over and no chance of playoffs on the horizon, there likely wasn’t much to play for, either. Tampa Bay are scoring left and right lately, and beat the Power in their last two meetings - both away games. Not only that, it was a night of some celebration for the Floridians.
Before the match, it was announced that Erika Tymrak would be retiring from professional soccer. A Tampa Bay native, she was set to be honored by her last club. The team showed up for their water taxi ride to the stadium in shirts with her name as well as that of her teammate Jade Moore. This could mean the same thing for the English veteran at season’s end.
Although the game didn’t start well for the Sun, with keeper Sydney Schneider being forced into a substitution within ten minutes, it would end exactly as fans and players would’ve wanted. Roughly ten minutes after that, Sydny Nasello had a shot hit the woodwork. She didn’t sit with the disappointment, though, beating two players and then roofing it past DC’s keeper.
Nasello’s positive play lately has been augmented by her more direct actions in the box. She isn’t afraid to shoot it herself when the opportunity arises. It has made her significantly more dangerous. She was always able to wriggle past defenders. But now, she can finish off the play on her own. It has been a true turning point for the Sun among many others this season.
Defensively sound for most of the game, Tampa Bay just needed to ride out the play of their visitors and keep looking for chances as they came. In the second half, Cecilie Floe was the beneficiary when Tash Flint received the ball from Jade Moore, turning and seeing a ball over the top of the Power back line. It was a relatively easy finish from there for the Dane.
Maintaining a shut out despite the change in keeper was important for the home side. Ashley Orkus did just that and they closed out the game 2-0. Confidence boost? Check. Three points? Check. Home playoff game?! Check, check, check. Then, it was time to celebrate. And there was much to celebrate, too. Their position in the table was only one facet.
Tymrak and Moore got their flowers. No matter what happens with them both this summer or thereafter, their careers have been exemplary. Moore competed in World Cups. She overcame a real dearth in professional setups in England during her youth to see the women’s game transform from an afterthought to a real competition with real investment. Her future biography will be incredible.
Tymrak deserves more space from the RBLR writing crew. Before the season, a piece on Moore described her career until joining the Sun. The former of these, though, grew up in Lakewood Ranch. She’s a Floridian who played for the University of Florida, played for multiple NWSL clubs, and appeared for the US women’s national team. She should serve as inspiration to every youth player in the area. Wherever she winds up, here’s to hoping it’s somewhere around her hometown.