The new women’s soccer team that will play at the Cotton Bowl will be known as Dallas Trinity FC. It’s one of eight teams in the new USL Super League, that will also play in the Carolinas, Lexington, Ken., Spokane, Tampa Bay, Washington, D.C., Brooklyn and Fort Lauderdale.
Team colors will be maroon, prairie gold and live oak green. The team chose those colors because they “draw inspiration from the city skyline and the Trinity River, which reflects the vibrant nature of Dallas, as well as local pride and excellence.”
Dallas was chosen because of its history of promoting women’s soccer.
In 1973, the Dallas Sting became the first all-girls soccer club in the United States, and the Dallas Cup, founded in 1980, is still the most prestigious youth soccer tournament in the country. Currently, the Dallas region is home to more girls soccer players than anywhere else in the country, according to the U.S. Youth Soccer Association.
Jim Neil will serve as CEO of Dallas Trinity FC. The Neil family owns the team and has lots of local experience in amateur, college and professional sports. Locally, two members played soccer for Jesuit and Ursuline. Other family members work for the Mavericks and Rangers.
Chris Petrucelli will serve as general manager. Two-time National Coach of the Year and 1995 NCAA Championship Coach, Petrucelli returns to Texas as GM. Most recently, he was head coach of the Chicago Red Stars, from 2022-2023. Before that, Petrucelli was the head coach for the SMU Mustangs’ women’s soccer team for 10 years (2012-2022), and was head coach at University of Texas at Austin’s women’s soccer team from 1999-2011, winning Big 12 Championships in 2006 and 2007.
The new league begins play in August.
— David Taffet
