What went right for Ascent in USL Super League debut

CAROLINA ASCENT

Carolina Ascent's Aug. 17, 2024 debut against D.C. Power at American Legion Memorial Stadium was played before a USL Super League record 10,553 people. The Ascent posted the league's best record and top seed in the playoffs.

In 2018, when Atlanta United was on its way to capturing the MLS title in just its second season, technical director Carlos Bocanegra was asked about the impressive chemistry of its coach selection and roster build.

Was it just that good or just that lucky? Both, he said.

The same question was posed to Carolina Ascent coach Philip Poole this week as his team prepares for its USL Super League semifinal match against Fort Lauderdale United. The primary difference is the Ascent are doing this in the initial season for the entire league, where change is the constant and everything is a first.

The primary thing that worked for Atlanta then and the Ascent now is cohesive team chemistry that saw them go undefeated for the first 11 games of the season. In the first match in USL Super League history, a 1-0 win over DC Power FC, the Ascent sold out American Legion Memorial Stadium with an attendance of 10,553, which is the league record.

Winning on the pitch

Since that first match, Charlotte’s only professional women’s sports team has won 13 games, most in the league. The six losses are the fewest in the league, tied with Tampa Bay. They’ve scored the most goals with 45 and conceded the least (24). The plus-21 goal differential is seven better than next best Tampa. Their 12 clean sheets lead the Super League. 

There have been individual statistical accomplishments, as Mia Corbin finished as the league’s second-leading scorer with 12 goals. Jill Aguilera led in assists with seven from left wingback to claim the Golden Playmaker award. Goalkeeper Meagan McClelland, who started the first 17 games, was named the Golden Glove winner with the lowest goals-against average. Co-captain Taylor Porter was one of four players to play every minute of every game.

When the voted awards are announced, Corbin may well be the league’s first Player of the Year, and other Ascent players are worthy of serious consideration for other honors. 

In assembling the team, Poole says they did their research and made the calls, talking to previous coaches and anyone else who could provide insight to skills as well as personas of players they had in mind. 
“I think you do as much homework as you can,” said Poole, adding that he and his staff were “very intentional, deliberate on who we signed.

“And you hold your breath a little bit and say, ‘you know what? I hope we’ve signed good people.’ I think we got lucky. We've signed good people.”

As every coach and general manager in sports knows, intentions and results do not always align. So why did it work here?

“It's just been the commitment to professionalism, I think, plain and simple,” asserted Marion Crowder, co-host of the USL Super League Game Week podcast with Anna Witte, the radio analyst for Charlotte FC games on WFNZ.

“The environment, the support, the tools available to the players, absolutely yes, but from a granular look, for me, it was Philip Poole’s ability to maximize every player, and that's what I think we have seen shine through in the spring season. The only way for a coach to do that, and to really do it right, is to have every player understand their role within an organization, their role within the team, and their role within the game model.”

Crowder added: “All of those things matter, and we've seen it from many coaches, (but) that typically takes coaches years to figure out and to truly master.” 

As a co-captain with Vicky Bruce, Porter is a team leader, but this is a side blessed with a bevy of leaders who hold each other accountable for the greater good. 

“We have every level of experience on this team, and age group,” she said. “We have such a variety. People bringing their own leadership and their own spark and uniqueness to the game is just so important. You can't just count on one person. I think that's why we're so successful, because we don’t expect one person to seal the deal. We trust anybody to be able to close out a game.”

Culture club

“We definitely focused a lot on our culture off the field,” Porter said. “I think especially on a girls’ team as compared to a boys’ team, it is very different. Girls need that off-field relationship. The majority of us live in team housing, so we’re together a lot, and we've just created such a good bond. We trust everybody, and even with the injuries that we've had in the fall, we had to count on a lot of people to step up.” 

Winning off the pitch

Said Super League president Amanda Vandervort: “I think when the Ascent started, they knew who they were and what they wanted to be from day one. That vision was set by club leadership, and Phillip Poole, in particular, came in and created an environment that facilitated success. That vision, that willingness, and commitment to execute was something that Carolina had from day one.

“All the players that came into that club were part of that, not only shaping that vision, but sharing it and then executing against it. Carolina has been the most consistent team throughout the inaugural season here.”
The Ascent also had the advantage of ownership, primarily Dan DiMicco and Jim McPhilliamy, who had 10 years of experience operating the Charlotte Independence in the USL Championship and USL One divisions. 

“There was already an organization here before we started,” Poole said, “so we could hit the ground running a little bit quicker than other clubs. We signed players a lot earlier than other teams did. I was the second coach announced in the Super League.”

Said Vandervort: “Experience matters. One of the things we talk about at the USL, kind of broadly, is the value of experience and understanding, the needs of operating a successful league and clubs. So, infrastructure matters, knowledge and understanding matter, and I think we benefit a lot as the USL broadly, and the clubs that do share men's and women's teams benefit from that.

“What I think Carolina did do extremely well was build community,” says Vandervort. “They were at everything from the moment we announced Carolina Ascent. They were at youth soccer tournaments. They were featured at a Charlotte FC game. Philip was on the Zamboni at the hockey game. Anywhere you went in Charlotte, the Carolina Ascent was there. That's what you've got to do. You've got to get in and be part of the community and build a brand that reflects the people that you represent.”

Vandervort also spoke highly of the Ascent’s kit game as the variety of jerseys, hats, t-shirts, and other merchandise has led the league in sales. 

“The brand is a reflection of the community as a result,” she said.

A superior merchandising plan is something that benefited from a decade of experience with the Independence, which has always been on a level equal to its major league neighbors in terms of design and cool factor.

Who owns ya?

In her role as a sideline reporter for broadcasts of the USL Super League on Peacock, Witte has had an up-close and inside look at the Ascent. 

“Their ownership has totally bought into what the Ascent want to accomplish in the Super League,” she said, “from a financial standpoint to making sure the girls live 10 minutes away from the facility, to giving them an opportunity go to the Plunge House every week, and infrared saunas, and everything that they need in recovery, but also having the right staff in place from the beginning.

Said Poole: “I happen to believe that I work for the best owner in professional sports. Talk about a dedicated owner that’s present, that understands it, that knows the players, that backs me as our head coach, and that backs our players.”

The Ascent also built community on the ownership side. Running a first division club also costs a lot more than a third division tier team, as the Independence are, so they added to the Ascent ownership group with the all-female Empower HER Fund LLC.

“Investing in women’s soccer isn’t just about building a team—it’s about nurturing future leaders and empowering our community,” said Andrea Smith, a member of the fund, when the investment was announced last August.

“With a dedicated group of women investors, we’re not only shaping the future of sports but also inspiring young women to become champions on and off the field.”

Now there is one, possibly two games left in the Ascent’s first season. There aren’t any big USA Women’s National Team or international stars on the pitch for Carolina or their counterparts this year, but there was exciting competition that went down to the last day of the regular season. There were unforeseen circumstances and other issues that any first-year league might endure, including the NWSL, now in its 13th season, and 30-year-old MLS, but overall, it’s been a solid success. 

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