Brooklyn FC edged DC Power FC 1–0 at home on Saturday night, with Leah Scarpelli's second-half strike proving the difference in a scrappy USL Super League contest.
The first half produced no goals but plenty of needle. DC Power's Paige Almendariz picked up a yellow card in the 31st minute, and teammate Katelyn Duong followed into the referee's notebook just before the break. Neither side could find a breakthrough, and the teams went in level at halftime.
Brooklyn came out with more purpose after the interval. Just four minutes into the second half, Scarpelli latched onto a pass from Samantha Kroeger and found the net to put the hosts ahead. It was a clinical moment in an otherwise tight affair.
From there, the game grew increasingly fractious. Scarpelli herself was cautioned in the 73rd minute — a booking she could ill afford given her importance to Brooklyn's attack. Kelsey Daugherty joined her in the book three minutes later, and DC Power's Claire Constant was also shown yellow in the 83rd minute. Antoinette Williams rounded out a busy night for the referee, picking up Brooklyn's third caution in the 89th minute. Six yellow cards across the 90 minutes told the story of a physical, contested match.
Despite the mounting pressure from DC Power in the closing stages, Brooklyn held firm. The hosts managed the game well enough to see out the clean sheet and collect all three points.
The victory gives Brooklyn FC a valuable home win as the USL Super League season continues to take shape, keeping them in the hunt during a congested stretch of fixtures.
USL Super League