Carolina Ascent need to match performance with results 

CAROLINA ASCENT

The Carolina Ascent and DC Power are equal on points with 13 and have identical 3-3-4 records going into Friday's match in Washington, D.C.

Sitting sixth in the Gainbridge Super League, the Carolina Ascent are coming off a two-week break, going into Friday’s visit to DC Power. 

The two teams are equal on points (13) with similar 3-3-4 records. DC is ahead on a better goal differential (plus-2 to 0). An Ascent win would elevate the team to third in the table pending Saturday’s games. This will be the second time this season that the Ascent have had at least 10 days between matches. A draw and a loss bookended the first break. The second by two wins. Does it matter? Coach Philip Poole doesn’t think so. 
“A good break is when you’re on a bad run,” he said. “It’s good to reset. When you’re on a good run, you want to keep playing, so I don't subscribe to it.”  

After a very good run of three wins and a draw from Oct. 4-30, the Ascent lost at home to Fort Lauderdale 1-0 in their last outing. After their best performance of the season the week before in Spokane, the Ascent could not find the back of the net. They outshot Fort Lauderdale 19 to 9 (4-2 on target). But the Floridians blocked seven of those shots before they could test the goalkeeper. They also created 10 corner kicks to just 2 for FTL but could not convert any of them.

“I think the Fort Lauderdale game, the result and the performance didn't match,” Poole said. “We should have won the game handily, and we didn't. That's football sometimes.”

When the teams met on Oct. 4, the Ascent went up 2-0 early on goals by Mackenzie George and Maddie Mercado just two minutes apart. DC came back to even the game by the 50th minute until Alyssa Walker’s 84th-minute goal claimed the win. Poole expects the return match to be just as tight. 

“I think everyone in our league is a difficult opponent,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anyone that’s more or less difficult than the next. DC are a good team. They’ve got some good players, and I think it’s gonna be a tough game.”

There will be another two-week break for the team before the next match, which will be on Dec. 6 in Charlotte against Brooklyn FC. They travel to Dallas on Dec. 13 and have their final home match in 2025 on Dece. 20 against DC Power at American Legion Memorial Stadium.

Record busted?

Lexington SC has a chance to equal the Ascent’s single-season unbeaten streak record of 11 matches. Carolina won five and drew six of their first 11 matches in the 2024-25 season. Lexington are currently 5-0-5 heading into Saturday’s match at Tampa Bay.

The league is promoting that the streak is already at 11 games, but that includes a draw in DC’s final match from the previous season for a team that finished in seventh place and did not make the playoffs.

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