Carolina Ascent Return to Playoff Position
After a challenging start and a loan that was cut short, the Ascent are finding their footing.
After a rough start that saw Carolina Ascent FC scratch the bottom of the table for the first time in the club’s young history, things are looking up for Charlotte’s USL Super League squad.
Thanks to a brace from forward Rylee Baisden, the Ascent (3-2-4, 13 points) picked up three points against Spokane Zephyr FC (3-3-5, 14 points), winning 1-2 in Washington State Thursday night. For the Ascent, that’s good enough for 3rd place in the Super League; though Spokane still holds the 2nd place spot, Carolina has two games in hand.
The Ascent were the better team in both halves, with a season-high 18 shots on the night, but both of Baisden’s goals came in the second half, with assists from Audrey Harding and Mackenzie George.
Baisden now has 3 goals on the season, while Harding has 4 assists and George has 2. With tonight’s result, both Harding and George have 5 total goal contributions.
“We controlled the game in possession and also out of possession. I think that we pressed well and we also recovered the ball really well,” head coach Philip Poole said after the match. “The press and the organization of our shape was a big part of a dominant performance…I think we were really good defensively and as a result, we got a lot of opportunities in transition on the attack.”
However, the Ascent were denied their first clean sheet of the year thanks to a late penalty. The Ascent’s Sydney Studer fouled Spokane’s Tori Zierenberg in the box, and Ally Cook easily converted the penalty for her 4th goal and 5th goal contribution of the season.
Zierenberg’s goal, of course, was the winner in the first meeting between the two teams this season.
”We learned some things about ourselves tonight and we’re looking forward to using this game to get better in the future,” Zierenberg said.
Carolina goalkeeper Meagan McClelland was impenetrable in open play, however, with two saves on the night.
“I thought it was a very dominant performance from Carolina Ascent tonight,” said Poole. “I think it felt comfortable, until obviously late in the game. Spokane changed formations, asked some questions of us, and the penalty made the last 10 minutes a little bit nervy, but those are some of the situations that we’ve got to continue to improve on.”
In addition to being above the playoff line for the first time this season, the win puts the Ascent on a 4-match unbeaten streak.
“It was good for us to stand up and get it done in the end,” said Poole.
The Ascent play at home for the first time in over a month on November 8, when they’ll host Fort Lauderdale United FC in a rematch of last season’s playoff semifinal. Human and dog ticks are on sale for Pups at the Pitch night, with a 7:00 PM kickoff on Saturday.