Could Carolina Ascent be on top before the winter break? 

CAROLINA ASCENT

The Carolina Ascent celebrate after Audrey Harding's goal in a 1-0 win against Brooklyn FC to pull into third place in Gainsbridge Super League table.

After an inconsistent start to their second season, the Carolina Ascent are 4-1-1 in their last six games and beginning to look more like the team that captured the inaugural Gainbridge Super League Players’ Shield trophy.

Two straight clean sheet wins feels a lot more like the team that came out of the gate strong in the league’s inaugural campaign, going undefeated in their first 11 matches. That record now belongs to league leaders Lexington SC, who raised the mark by one going into Saturday’s matches.

With two games remaining before winter break, the Ascent, third in the standings (5-3-4, 19 points), can move further up the hill. Only three points behind the leaders, can they top the table before Christmas? It’s possible but not probable.

Carolina is at fifth-place Dallas Trinity on Saturday, while the teams above them – Lexington (5-0-7, 22 points) against DC Power and Sporting JAX (6-3-3, 21 points) versus Fort Lauderdale – are both at home. The match will be streamed live on Peacock at 3:30 p.m.

Dallas (5-5-1, 16 points) have won two straight and had the better of the Ascent last year at 2-2-1 in four games. This is their first meeting this season. A win would maintain third place, with a possible rise depending on the other games.

The truth is that league standings are just vanity at this point. Momentum and positive consistency are far more important over the next two matches. After going undefeated in their first 11 matches last season, the Ascent dropped three consecutive before the break. After a slow start afterward, they won six straight to regain their spot at the top of the table. Consistency now can help build the foundation for the last 14 games in the spring. 

Defense will rule the day in Dallas, which features last season’s Golden Boot winner, Allie Thornton, who scored her third goal of the season in last week’s win over DC.

The Ascent will close the first half at home against DC Power on Dec. 20 in Charlotte. 

Last time out

Last Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Brooklyn FC was significant on both sides of the ball. Defensively, it was only the second shutout of the season for the Ascent, who led the league in clean sheets last season. Through twelve games last year, they had already blanked the opposition six times. 

It’s also the second straight, which is how trends begin. Meagan McClelland and the defense in front of her, which includes all 10 field players when they are out of possession, were very effective in limiting the Brooklyn attack. BFC hit the posts last week in Charlotte but put only one of 11 shots on target. 

Offensively, Mia Corbin’s curling cross along the turf from the right to Audrey Harding on the run at the top of the 6-yard box at the back post was a work of art in dissecting the Brooklyn defense, taking out five defenders and the keeper on a single stroke. 

On the pass, Harding remarked, “Oh, that was very nice. She told me it was my birthday present.” For clarity’s sake, Harding’s birthday was July 14.
The 44th-minute goal was just reward for a superior first half by the Ascent.

At 42:20, Rylee Baisden’s pass back was intercepted at midfield. She and Jill Aguilera, with Taylor Porter in support, immediately converged to win it back, with Emily Morris taking possession. Over the next 42 seconds, from the time Morris collected the ball, seven other players and Morris again would handle it 13 times before it hit the back of the net.

That kind of connection, spacing, and timing is what best defines Carolina when they are clicking, and it was very evident in the first half, but it got a little messy to begin the second 45.

“I feel like the first half, we really came out firing, really connecting as a team, from top to bottom, bottom to top, and I just feel like we had a lot more chances,” Harding said. “The second half, I wish we could have a redo because I don't think it was good enough. But we did show that we can still hold ourselves. I did think it was a bit chaotic to start, but we had some people come in, like B (Hylton), and Lou (Grabias) and Riley (Parker); some really good subs to help kind of calm the game down.” 

The Ascent put 5-of-13 shots on frame, eliciting four saves from Breanna Norris.

“With the first half, we leave some goals on the table, which makes the second half harder,” defender Sydney Studer said, “because 1-0 is a harder lead than three or four. The first half, you're doing so good, you're like, ‘I’ve just got to keep going.’ So, you come in with that 15-minute break, and then they step up their game. We all have to wake up and be ready for it.”

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