Carolina Ascent FC aims to continue sizzling form

CAROLINA ASCENT

Carolina Ascent FC midfieldr Lily Nabet's first professional goal lifted the Climbers to a 2-1 win last week at Tampa Bay Sun.

Carolina Ascent FC is on a roll.

The Climbers, who will put their six-match unbeaten streak on the line Saturday against Lexington SC at Memorial Stadium, have been gaining points on the Gainbridge Super League’s top tier. A win against Lexington (10-2-10, 40 points) would pull Ascent (10-7-6, 36 points) to within a point of second place in the standings, which Sporting JAX leads with 44 markers (13-4-5).

“I think we continue to carry this momentum by continuing to focus on us and what we are good at,” defender Addisyn Merrick said. (In last week’s 2-1 win against Tampa Bay Sun) we were able to continue to show the fight and togetherness we have for each other. It takes all of us to win each game and I think it’s just been showing more each day we take the field.” 

Carolina, which beat Tampa Bay on January addition Lily Nabet’s first professional goal, has shown sharp form over the last six matches. The Climbers, who have five wins and a draw against Ft. Lauderdale United during that stretch, are an improved side compared to the team that started the season 3-3-4 over their first 10 games. 

“Lily has been a great signing,” Ascent coach Philip Poole said of the midfielder, who previously played with NWSL side Angel City FC. “She contributes on and off the pitch. She comes in every day with a ton of energy, and you can see that in the way that she plays. Sometimes she can be underrated in terms of how good of a footballer she is, but she covers every blade of grass, she’s a winner, she’s a competitor, and she’s a great teammate.”

Also key to their recent success is defense, with two goals conceded with four clean sheets. Goalkeeper Meagan McClelland, whose 37 saves is fifth-most in GSL, has 18 saves during that span.
Lexington is a step up in class for Carolina. The Climbers lost their most recent head-to-head match 2-1 on Feb. 7 and are 2-1-3 in the all-time series. Lexington has GSL’s best attack with 40 goals and best scoring differential at plus-19 as well as an unbeaten road record at 5-0-6.

Carolina, on the other hand, is 4-5-3 at home and has scored 29 goals while conceding 25 for a differential of plus-4. Jill Aguilera leads the league in chances created with 46, while Audrey Coleman, whose five assists is tied for fourth in GSL, is sixth in chances created with 30.  

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