Earlier this year, Carolina Ascent FC’s second season ended in Lexington after a 3-1 loss in extra time.
On Friday, September 11, a patient Carolina side got their revenge after 88 scoreless minutes, with Carolina Ascent FC (4-1-0, 12 Points) winning 0-1 over Lexington SC (1-2-0, 3 Points).
In the 87th minute, it looked like the Ascent’s Mackenzie George had finally broken through. George barreled down the right side of the pitch, and sent a pass inside the box to Ava Cook. Cook was tackled by Lexington’s Katie Murray, but the ball came back to George for a second chance right outside the goal box. George passed again, this time to teammate Riley Parker, but Lexington center back Allison Pantuso slipped in and stopped the play at the cost of an Ascent corner kick.
Emily Morris took the corner, sending it past the Lexington goal to the corner of the goal box. The Ascent’s Jenna Butler was there, sending the ball to the ground and then bouncing past Lexington goalkeeper Ryan Campbell.
Cook had another chance at goal during stoppage time, but the Butler header was the decisive strike.
“It’s another tough, hard-fought road win, and that’s it,” said Carolina Ascent head coach Philip Poole. “I mean, it wasn’t easy. We knew that [Lexington] were a good side, and we knew we’d have to work hard to get the result. I’m proud of the players that we did.”
The goal was Butler’s first of the season, making her the sixth member of the team to score in five matches. The assist was the first for Morris, making her the sixth player with an assist.
With the win, and a Jacksonville loss on Sunday, the Ascent are back atop the USL Super League table as Lexington fall to sixth, albeit with two matches in hand.
Poole, however, is taking the 9 remaining fixtures one match at a time.
“We continue to push forward,” said Poole. “All of our opponents are so unique and offer different challenges. We have to make sure that we are ready for all the different challenges.”
The Ascent will host eighth place Brooklyn FC (1-4-0, 3 Points) on Saturday, September 19 at 7:00 PM at American Legion Memorial Stadium. Tickets start at $18.00.
Ascent’s Hylton Advances in U-20 World Cup
Carolina Ascent academy product B Hylton will have the chance to earn another cap with the Young Lionesses in the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland.
The England U-20 Women’s National Team finished second in their group and qualified for the Round of 16. They face Nigeria in the first of the knockout rounds on Thursday, September 17 at 9 AM ET.
The Young Lionesses went into their final group game with Brazil on Friday with four points and in second place in Group B, and went up 1-0 in the first half before Brazil took all three points with a penalty equalizer and a stoppage time winner.
In their first two matches, England drew 1-1 with Canada and secured a 5-1 victory over Tanzania. Brazil topped the group with nine points.
Hylton played 157 minutes of the group stage fixtures, with one start and two appearances from the bench.
North Carolina Courage midfielder Erica Meg Parkinson and forward Lauryn Thompson were also named to England’s squad for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, but Parkinson was recalled to the Courage due to multiple injuries facing the club. Thompson withdrew from the competition due to an ankle injury.
United States U-20s Advance on 4 Points
The U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team got off to a rough start in group play, but got the win when they needed it most.
After falling to Italy 2-1 in their tournament opener and drawing 2-2 against Japan despite holding leads in both matches, the U.S. needed a big result against New Zealand in their final match of group play.
They won 9-0 against the Junior Football Ferns, and the four points and +8 goal differential was enough to send the Stars and Stripes into the knockout rounds as one of the four best third-place teams.
The U.S. will face Brazil in the Round of 16 on Wednesday, September 16, at 9 AM ET.
Like the Young Lionesses there are many U.S. U-20 players with North Carolina connections: defender Aven Alvarez is from New Hill (Wake County), was an NC Courage academy product, and plays for UNC; defender Hope Munson and forward Sealey Strawn also play for UNC; and midfielder Linda Ullmark played for the Tar Heels before going pro.
Strawn scored her first-ever goal for the U-20s against New Zealand.