Carolina Ascent reaching for peak in transition season

SPOKANE ZEPHYR

Hope Hisey, a two-time Gainbridge Super League Goalkeeper of the Year, has joined Carolina Ascent, where she'll compete with Sydney Martinez for the starting position.

Going the opposite direction of MLS’s migration to a fall-to-spring soccer calendar next year, Gainbridge Super League is adopting a spring-to-fall season that matches the NWSL.
Both women’s leagues are designated top tier with first division status by U.S. Soccer. The NWSL is midway through its 14th season.

“For me, this change makes a lot of sense logistically through the women's football landscape,” Charlotte Ascent coach Philip Poole said at Monday’s media day. Poole stressed the change strengthens the North American game leading into the FIFA Women's World Cup next year in Brazil, and towards the 2031 competition, for which the United States is a frontrunner to host.

Like MLS, the GSL is bridging the gap generated by the change with a shorter sprint season of 14 games that include a Players’ Shield regular season trophy and four-team playoff. The Ascent’s season begins Saturday at DC Power. The final regular season game will fall on Nov. 28. The semifinals are Dec. 5 with the championship match on Dec. 12. The league is also back to eight teams after the Spokane Zephyr ceased operations after two seasons.

As to whether the compact schedule heightens urgency, Poole said, “Every game we've ever played matters. These games matter. There's just no margin for error. We can't have a little block of bad performances. You might have one or two, but this is going to be about half condensed in half the time, and a really heightened awareness of how important every touch and every game is.”

Unfinished business

If there’s a theme that carries over for the Ascent from May when Lexington SC won the title, it would be a story of unfinished business. 

Over the first two seasons of the GSL, the Ascent have challenged for, but not achieved, the championship. After dropping three straight matches from Jan. 31-Feb. 14, the Ascent went undefeated, winning 11 of 12 matches, outscoring opponents 20-4 as they headed to Kentucky for the final. 

Playing on the road didn’t faze them. Seven of the 10 wins in that run and three others earlier in the season were away from American Legion Memorial Stadium.

When the Ascent took the lead on a Mia Corbin finish a minute into added time of the first half, the feeling was there for players and fans alike that the Climbers would capture the trophy that eluded them in the GSL’s inaugural season, when they lost in the semifinal against Fort Lauderdale. After claiming the Players’ Shield with the best regular season record in year one, Poole and his players were left wanting when Lexington rebounded with three second-half goals. 

With that end-of-season run, the Ascent fell three points shy (51) of claiming another shield. Both Lexington and Sporting Jacksonville finished ahead of them with 53 points, with Lexington taking the honor, and home playoff advantage, on a superior goal differential.

Smaller roster for a shorter season

“As we go into season three, really excited, and we've had a taste of success in the first two,” Poole said, “the plan is to continue, and we've kept a consistent group. We haven't made wholesale changes because of the shortened season. We feel like consistency is probably the best way to go, and we were very close to winning it all last year.” 

While it could be expanded, the current roster includes just 22 players, and Poole said he’s comfortable with that given the parameters and spacing of games in this sprint season.

Twenty players return from last season. The two additions are impact athletes. Coming to Carolina from Spokane are Hope Hisey, the two-time Goalkeeper of the Year, and first-team all-league defender Reese Tappen. 

“I feel like they're great additions, both on and off the field,” defender Jenna Butler said. “They add a lot of ideas. I know Reese is pretty young, but she doesn't play like she’s young. And with Hope, it’s nice to have different voice in the back sometimes to give you different ideas and hold you accountable in different ways. Both of them are really strong additions to our squad.”

As a free agent, Tappen had options but said that with advice from her parents and her agent, Charlotte was the best choice. She already knew what the Ascent were like as opponents.

“They were a very organized and structured group,” she said. “So, every time we played them, I knew it was going to be a battle. Playing against Mackenzie (George) up front, knowing that there's pace and pressure is coming hard. Very intimidating at times, to be honest.

“I'm super fortunate to be here. The girls have been very welcoming, and it's a good challenge. I always look for a challenge, and I think that will make me a better player on the field and even off the field.”
Hisey will challenge Sydney Martinez for the starting job, while Tappen will challenge to partner with Jenna Butler or Meaghan Nally at centerback as Sydney Studer will miss the entire season recovering from a knee injury.

Responding to a question about who might start in goal, Poole responded, “I say this tongue in cheek. I’m a very selfish coach that wants to win, so whoever gives us the best opportunity to win will get the shirt. There’s no denying what Hope has done over the last two years, and we’re so lucky to have her. But again, watch us from last season and see how influential Sidney Martinez was. It’s such a great situation.”

The returning outside backs are Jill Aguilera, Emily Moxley, and Addisyn Merrick.

Listed in midfield are Shea Groom, Emily Morris, Lily Nabet, Taylor Porter, and B Hylton, who is on national team duty with England’s U-20 women’s team in a preparation camp in Portugal. The Charlotte native is competing for a spot on the Young Lionesses roster for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup that will be held in Poland in September. 

The attack is deep with eight players listed as forwards: Mia Corbin, Ava Cook, Rylee Baisden, Luanna Grabias, Audrey Coleman, Riley Parker, Mackenzie George, and Stella Spitzer. Corbin may be used more in the midfield as she was last season, and others can play there as well.

George feels good as they head into the opener. 

“I don't really think it's any different. It's kind of just like playing the first half of what our full season usually would be,” he said. “I think we are going to be better this year and like this small season because last year we were in a different spot,” she said, noting that there were many more new players to integrate into the team and the time it took to do that. 

“We have the same team, the same structure coming in, and we all know each other really well. We're adding a few good players, and I think we're just starting off ahead of what we were last year. I think we’re gonna start off flying right away; instead of last year, where we were pretty slow in the fall season.”

There will be familiar faces on the other side in Washington. DC has added Tyler Lussi, who earned Player of the Month honors with the Ascent last season, and scored four goals in 13 games for Carolina. Alyssa Walker joined DC for the second half of last season after scoring twice in 10 appearances for the Ascent in the fall.

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