Carolina Ascent look to deliver presence before break

CAROLINA ASCENT

Audrey Harding celebrates after scoring for Carolina Ascent against Brooklyn FC in a 1-0 win on Dec. 6, 2025. The Ascent, who are third in the Gainbridge Super League, play DC Power Dec. 20 at American Legion Memorial Stadium.

With one match before the Gainbridge Super League closes shop for a month, the Carolina Ascent need to channel their naughty side against DC Power. 

The bottom line is that the Ascent have rarely put together the comprehensively complete games that marked their breakout season last year. The best gift they can give themselves is a dominant win that combines offensive lethality and defensive solidity. 

They’ve scored four more goals (19) at this point (13 games) than last season but also conceded twice as many (18). They were good but not great in a nascent league where every team was still sorting out their identity and chemistry. The Ascent were ahead of the curve, going undefeated in their first 11 games. But their while they didn’t lose, their inability to close out other games kept them from running away from the pack.

That’s a lesson being learned this year as league leaders Lexington SC has gone 13 matches without a loss to start the season but have drawn – literally – themselves back to the herd with eight ties, including their last three matches, among five wins. At most, they could have just a four-point lead at the break.

In truth, they also had five wins in the first half (5-3-6) last year but have one more loss so far. While they are scoring more, they have not been as adept at taking chances.

Over the course of the 2024-25 season, they led the league in goals (46) and shots (368) but more importantly shot conversion rate (17%). They are creating more shots (184) this season and have outshot the opponent in all but one match so far but are scoring at a far lower rate (13%), just sixth in the nine-team league. Their accuracy rate of shots on target last year was 49% but just 40% so far this season, 

Defensively, the Ascent have given up 18 goals in 13 games. They conceded 26 in 29 games all of last season on 92 shots.

While they lost 1-0 on the road at Dallas last weekend, they did achieve their first two clean sheets of the season against the Power (1-0) on Nov. 21 and Brooklyn on Dec. 6. 

A win against DC on Saturday at Memorial Stadium will keep them third at worst. A win could also level them on points with Sporting JAX if they surprisingly fall to one-win Tampa Bay. A loss, however, would allow wins by Fort Lauderdale and/or Dallas to vault those clubs over Carolina, dropping the Ascent as low as fifth. That would make for what feels like a much longer winter break before play resumes on Jan. 31.
Third is where the Ascent stood at the end of the fall session last year, so it could be worse. After a 2-2-1 start to the spring half last year, the Ascent came together in the way that only the best teams ever reach.

Over a six-game winning run, they outscored the opposition 21-2 with four clean sheets. Only a 21-day break in the schedule before their next match could dull that blade but it did.
To see that level of excellence again is far easier said than done, especially in this second season where there have been significant changes in the roster and every team in the league, save for Tampa Bay, is stronger than last year.

But that’s what would make a big win on Saturday such a wonderful gift to both the Ascent and their fans.

Comments