GAINBRIDGE SUPER LEAGUE WOMEN'S SOCCER PREVIEW
Who: Sporting Club Jacksonville vs. Fort Lauderdale United.
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22.
Where: Hodges Stadium, University of North Florida.
How to watch: WJXT (TV), Peacock (streaming).
Leader of the pack: At age 18, Ashlyn Puerta is running away early with the league scoring lead, netting nine goals in 10 games so far. She's nearly on a goal-per-game pace, but her stoppage-time penalty kick was saved in the last Sporting Jax game, a 2-0 shutout over Dallas Trinity at the Cotton Bowl.
Sisterly showdown: Saturday's game would have matched Sporting Jax defender Daviana Vaka against her twin sister, Fort Lauderdale defender Laveni Vaka, although Laveni is out for the game due to injury. The two previously lined up together at Fort Lauderdale and in college at BYU.
International call: Following the match, international duty calls for several Sporting Jax players. Vaka will line up for Tonga in FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying on Nov. 28 against American Samoa in Avarua in the Cook Islands. If Tonga wins, she would play again on Dec. 1 against the Cook Islands or Tahiti. Central defender Georgia Brown heads to Cadiz, Spain, where she will represent Scotland's women's national team against Ukraine on Nov. 28 and against China on Dec. 2. Puerta is expected to receive a call for a United States Under-20 camp.
Seeing red: Fort Lauderdale United, second in the league and two points ahead of Sporting Jax, has already received three red cards in 11 games. Referees only assessed two red cards in the entire 2024-25 Super League season.
Quote of the week: "I think defensively, we've started to click a little bit more and tighten up. We know our roles, know our duties." -- Sporting Jax coach Stacey Balaam.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Sporting Club Jacksonville-Fort Lauderdale United, soccer kickoff time