The last time Carolina Ascent FC (3-1-0, 9 Points) played Fort Lauderdale United FC (1-2-0, 3 Points), they won 0-3 on the road with a clean sheet after scoring three goals in the second half.
History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes. For last night’s 3-0 win at home, they got to work immediately, scoring all three goals in the first 45 minutes.
“I’m glad we scored when we did,” said Carolina Ascent head coach Philip Poole. “All in all, I think we could have scored another two or three in the second half. So I’m quite happy with the performance, but there are parts of it where we’ve got to tighten up.”
With the win, the Ascent improved to second place in the Super League Table with 10 matches left to play in the short season.
USL Super League Week 4
Carolina Ascent FC vs. Fort Lauderdale United FC
September 5, 2026
American Legion Memorial Stadium
Final Score
Carolina 3 - 0 Fort Lauderdale
Carolina Ascent Goals
Jill Aguilera - 10’ (Assist: Butler)
Mia Corbin - 30’ (P)
Audrey Coleman - 38’ (Assist: Corbin)
The environment was more challenging than normal for the Ascent as only 1,727 fans were in attendance, likely due to both the holiday weekend and the Charlotte FC match scheduled at the same time (by comparison, 5,907 fans attended last week when Charlotte FC were away).
Even with the small crowd, the Ascent got on the board early with a textbook route one goal.
In the 10th minute, Ascent goalkeeper Sydney Martinez started the play by passing the ball to Jenna Butler in the Ascent’s third. Butler had space and all the time in the world, and launched the long ball to Carolina captain Jill Aguilera at the top of Fort Lauderdale’s penalty box. Fort Lauderdale goalkeeper Haley Craig came off her line to try and stop Aguilera, but the captain got a high left boot on the ball, sending a volley into the visitors’ net with one touch.
Despite the scoreline, Fort Lauderdale had a strong attack, and would end the night with more shots than Carolina (12 to 9) and more shots on target (6 to 4).
“With this game, we got the 3-0 win, but we certainly didn’t play as well as we played last weekend,” said Aguilera. “So there are always things that we need to work on.”
The Ascent’s next goal came from a perplexing penalty. In the 29th minute the Ascent were on a good run, attacking Fort Lauderdale’s final third continuously. Tappan, who scored the lone goal for the Ascent in the home opener, sent a long ball across the field to Aguilera, who couldn’t control it, and it was eventually stopped by Craig’s boot at the goal line.
Here’s where it gets interesting: Craig never picks up the ball as she passes it with her foot to Fort Lauderdale center back Ella Simpson. Simpson presumably thinks the ball is dead, and uses her hand to set it up for a goal kick; however, there was no whistle to blow the ball dead, and thanks to Craig’s foot the ball never left play.
That was more than enough for referee Kevin Broadley to blow his whistle and point to the spot. The Ascent’s Mia Corbin would take the penalty and easily slot it in for her 6th goal in three seasons against Fort Lauderdale.
Corbin would further demonstrate her versatility by earning an assist before the half was over. A bad pass from Fort Lauderdale ended up on Corbin’s boot, who found Audrey Coleman through significant traffic.
“I’m just enjoying playing with my team, working hard and getting the results on the field,” said Corbin. “Roles are always changing, so I’m just trying to change with them and take advantage of it.”
Aguilera credited the team’s training and process in a halftime interview.
“All throughout training this entire season and preseason we’ve just been working on finishing our opportunities, and I think we’ve been really dedicated in that,” said Aguilera.
Ten Matches Left
The Ascent were looking for a strong result in their second home match of the short season after a disappointing 2-1 loss to Tampa Bay Sun FC in their home opener. With only 14 matches in the short season, every game matters - and it’s one of the reasons Poole was disappointed with the chaotic, basketball-style play from his side against Fort Lauderdale.
“This match could have been 6-6,” said Poole. “There were moments in attacking transition where we’ve got to be much better. We scored three, and we could have assisted three for them. So, for me, the game was too wide open.”
While it seems like the season just started, Decision Day is only 10 matches away on November 28. The Ascent are well-positioned for a third consecutive playoff appearance, currently sitting in second place with 9 points and the best goal differential in the league (+5). Based on previous results, Soccer Sheet estimates 25 points will be enough for a playoff berth, which puts the Ascent 16 points (5 wins and a draw) away.
”Last week was our best performance of the season,” said Poole. “We were most dominant in possession, most dominant in terms of progression, and we lost. Tonight was a choppy performance, and we won 3-0. So it’s funny. I’m not happy with this performance, but I’ll take the three points.”
The Ascent travel to Kentucky on Friday, September 11 for a rematch of the 2026 USL Super League Final against Lexington SC (1-1-0, 3 Points). The Ascent lost that match 3-1 in extra time, but they may be better prepared for the fixture this month as Lexington will have only played two matches before the rematch.
Hylton Features for England U-20s
England’s Women’s U-20 team played their first match of the U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland on Saturday, September 5, earning a 1-1 draw against Canada.
While Canada’s Annabelle Chukwu broke the deadlock with a goal early in the second half, England’s attack sharpened once the Carolina Ascent’s B Hylton came on in the 77th minute. Hylton earned a corner for her side, and after applying continuous pressure on the Canadian side, England’s Rachel Maltby drew a foul in the penalty box.
Maltby would take and convert the penalty, scoring the equalizer in the 89th minute.
The Young Lionesses face Tanzania — who lost 4-1 to Brazil in their first match — on Tuesday.
