Now that 2026 is well underway, the new year brings a restart to the Gainbridge Super League, which will kick off the second half of the season this coming weekend. That gives Brooklyn FC women a chance to leave their mixed record of 4W-5D-6L behind, and return to play after a long holiday break that saw them sitting in 7th Place in the nine-team table after closing out 2025 with a statement win after beating Tampa Bay Sun FC on the road 3-0.
BKFC's 17 points put them just three points out of the playoffs and 4th Place. That spot is currently occupied by Dallas Trinity FC, which will be Brooklyn's opponents this coming Saturday at the Cotton Bowl Stadium. (January 31, 5 pm ET.)
Brooklyn FC got off to a strong start to begin the 2025 Gainbridge Super League campaign with a confident 2-1 win over the defending champions, Tampa Bay Sun FC. With goal contributions from Catherine Zimmerman and Annie Williams. However, the team would go on to hit a rough patch of inconsistency, losing three of their next five matches and not getting another win until their 10th game of the season.
But the team ended 2025 strong. With a 1-0 win against DC power in early November, courtesy of defender Leah Scarpelli capitalizing on a well-organized set piece in the 49th minute of the match, Brooklyn put together a record of 3W-0D-2L to close out the first half of the season. Now we'll see if that momentum can carry through to the start of the second half of the season.
Brooklyn head coach Tomás Tengarrinha, who was named to the position fewer than three weeks before the start of the season, took some time to adjust to the Gainbridge Super League. Tengarrinha's squad can have trouble scoring: Brooklyn have been held scoreless four times in 15 games played, and their 18 goals put them in 6th Place in the nine-team league. But they can be difficult to score against, logging three clean sheets in their last five played.
The squad's greatest attacking threats are Rebecca Cooke and Catherine Zimmerman. Both have four goals, which put them in a seven-way tie for 7th Place in the league. Cooke, a 23-year-old who joined from Bohemian FC Women in Ireland, cooled off after scoring early against Fort Lauderdale FC in a 1-1 draw in early November, going scoreless in the last five games played. But Zimmerman, a 32-year-old who joined from Western United FC in Australia, scored twice in the 3-0 win over Tampa Bay to complete the first brace of her professional career.
Defensively, Brooklyn added reinforcements in the form of former Virginia Tech standout Lauren Gogal. The 22-year-old center back joined from NWSL side Utah Royals, where she didn't see any playing time. Gogal's first minutes with Brooklyn came as a substitute in the 1-0 road loss to Carolina Ascent in December, but she played the full 90' in the shutout win over Tampa Bay to end the year. Will we see her in the Starting XI this Saturday?
Overall, the team improved as the season progressed. A squad that couldn't buy a win in September and October finished 2025 with the second-best form in the league, trailing only First Place Sporting JAX (4W-1D-0L) and Dallas Trinity (3W-1D-1L). Brooklyn is poised to climb the table.
But first, they must endure a grueling four-game road trip that will see them travel to Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Spokane, and Tampa Bay. These next matches will test Brooklyn's cohesion, and whether the squad is capable of getting results on the road.
Brooklyn's next home game won't take place until Sunday, March 22, when they host Carolina Ascent at Maimonides Park in Coney Island at 3 pm ET. By then, we should know if this is a team that will compete in the Gainbridge Super League and make the playoffs for the first time in club history. Or if Brooklyn is still a work in progress, and a squad that is building for the future.
