Ascent continues winning streak, ascend to table summit

CAROLINA ASCENT

Carolina Ascent forward Mia Corbin (9) is tied for USL Super League's goals lead with nine in 21 matches. Carolina, which has three consecutive clean sheets, is atop the Super League standings.

It wasn’t the waterfall of goals the Carolina Ascent deluged upon opponents in their last two matches but they’re still winning.

The Ascent beat DC Power 1-0 Tuesday, which coupled with 4-0 and 3-0 wins the previous two games, it’s a third consecutive clean sheet for the Climbers, and eight total goals in those three matches. Carolina will carry that vibe into Saturday’s home match against struggling Brooklyn FC. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at American Legion Memorial Stadium.

“They stuck to their task, and it paid off,” coach Philip Poole said. “The group defended well against a team desperate for a result. I have to hand it to the players. It was a tricky game, and they got the job done.”

Sarah Troccoli put Carolina ahead 1-0 in the 59th minute when Riley Parker went down the right wing on a pass from Kathryn Gonzalez in the center circle. From just outside the top right corner of the penalty area, Parker punched a pass that was probably meant for Troccoli, who was on a dead run down the middle.

The pace and height of the pass didn’t give Mia Corbin, about 8 yards to her left and a bit forward, the chance to play dodgeball. Fortune would favor the brave though as Corbin jumped and deflected the ball towards the middle of the goal where Troccoli arrived on time to beat goalkeeper Morgan Aquino to the ball and knock it home.

By the numbers, it was all good for Carolina: 14-8 in shots, 6-1 on target. The defense caught DC offside eight times.

The win and three points that come with it also levitated them to the league leadership again with six games to play.

Briefly back atop the league standings last week, the Ascent entered the match two points behind Dallas Trinity (36 points), a club they demolished in Charlotte on March 29. Dallas downed Lexington 3-0 the previous week to take the league lead.

The Corbin count

Mia backwards is aim, and Mia Corbin’s aim has been true. Coming into the match, Corbin had ascended to the top of the scoring list with nine goals in 21 games (32 shots), which has brought her level with Addie McCain of Ft. Lauderdale and Allie Thornton of Dallas.

While she got the assist in DC, it will be a race to see who the first to 10 goals will be on Saturday. Corbin will have a 30-minute head start on McCain, who is facing DC, and two hours on Thornton as Dallas will be in Spokane.
Corbin was honored as the league’s MVP with her four goals in March.

Call of duty

The Ascent were playing their first match in the last three without Eli (Beard) Hutchinson in the starting lineup as she played earlier in the day for Israel in a 3-3 draw with Bulgaria in a UEFA Nations League group match.

It was her last spell with Israel – an Oregon native, she played five years professionally in Israel and gained dual citizenship, qualifying her for the national team – where Hutchinson got a giant dose of confidence by scoring her first international goal playing at right back against Estonia on Feb. 25. It turned out to be the game winner in a 3-1 match.

Upon her return to Charlotte, Poole brought Hutchinson on as a 70th minute sub for striker Riley Parker on where she energized the attack as the Ascent fought to equalize late in a 2-1 loss to Ft. Lauderdale on March 2. She had been listed as a defender for the Ascent but Parker started her at center forward in the next match against Spokane Zephyr up front and Hutchinson responded with her first USL Super League goal five minutes in.

Hutchinson notched her second in a 3-0 demolition of Dallas at home on March 29 and assisted on Corbin’s first of two goals in that game.

DC Power were impacted more so by the women’s international break, losing five players to national team duty.

In total, 17 USL Super League players were called up to represent 15 countries.

Next up

Brooklyn FC have not won in eight games since resuming play after the winter break, with four draws and four losses, leaving them in third on 33 points from 22 games.

In two previous matches, they drew 1-1 in New York in Oct. 15 with Carolina winning 2-0 four days later in Charlotte.

With six to eight of 28 regular season matches left for the top five teams, it’s a race to the finish for the top four spots that will make the semifinals of USL Super League’s inaugural playoffs with home advantage going to the top two.

Including Saturday’s match, there are three home and three away games left in the regular season. The Ascent will also be at home on April 19 (7:30 p.m.) against Spokane, and May 17 (7 p.m.) against Tampa Bay.

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