Cheat Sheet: Ascent Enter Playoffs on an 11-Match Unbeaten Streak as Charlotte FC End a 6-Match Winless Streak
Ascent will play playoff semifinal in Jacksonville; Independence upset Pittsburgh Riverhounds; Courage win 4-0 in front of sellout crowd; Charlotte FC beat injury-riddled Toronto squad; and more!
Your Soccer Sheet Cheat Sheet
With Saturday night’s 3-1 victory over Sporting JAX, Carolina Ascent FC end the regular season undefeated in 11 matches (winning 10). #3 Carolina will head to #2 Jacksonville on Sunday, May 24 at 5:00 PM for the USL Super League Playoff Semifinal.
More on what this means for the Ascent in our In Depth feature below.
The North Carolina Courage (3-3-3, 12 pts) found goals from four different players to defeat the Chicago Stars (2-8-0, 6 pts) 4-0 in front of a sellout crowd of 10,023 at WakeMed Soccer Park. Evelyn Ijeh and Ashley Sanchez both scored, assisting one another’s goals.
The Courage are now above the playoff line in 8th place with a game in hand, and take on 15th place Racing Louisville FC (2-6-1, 7 pts) in Kentucky on Saturday, May 23.
Charlotte FC (5-6-3, 18 pts) defeat Toronto FC (3-5-5, 14 pts) 3-1 for their first MLS home win since Easter. Charlotte, now 7th place in the East, will host the 3rd place New England Revolution (8-4-1, 25 pts) on Saturday, May 23 for the Crown’s final MLS fixture before the World Cup break.
Charlotte FC center back Morrison Agyemang was named to the MLS Team of the Matchday for his contributions; with his first MLS goal, Charlotte’s David Schnegg made the Team of the Matchday bench.
The Charlotte Independence made moves in the USL Cup, upsetting USL Championship side Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 1-1, (4-2) in a penalty shootout on Friday, May 15 at Memorial Stadium. The Independence converted all of their penalty kicks, and goalkeeper Matt Levy had two huge saves.
The Independence are now in 2nd place in Group 6 with 5 points, 1 point behind Charleston Battery. Their next Cup fixture is at home on June 24 against Greenville Triumph SC.
Carolina Core FC (1-5-4-1, 8 pts) got their first regulation win of the season at home, defeating Chicago Fire II 2-1. The Foxes travel to Tennessee to take on 7th place Chattanooga FC (5-4-1-0, 16 pts) on Sunday, May 24
Due to scheduling conflicts, Crown Legacy FC (7-1-3-2, 26 pts) ended up playing last place Inter Miami CF II (0-7-3-1, 4 pts) on Monday, May 18 in Florida. Charlotte FC rookie Rodolfo Aloko had a first half brace less than 48 hours after playing against 25 minutes against Toronto FC in Charlotte.
In Depth: Ascent’s Win against Sporting JAX Means Déjà Vu all over Again
Carolina Ascent FC (15-7-6, 51 pts) won their final match of the regular season 3-1 on Saturday night, and in the process denied Sporting Club Jacksonville (16-7-5, 53 pts) the USL Super League Players’ Shield, awarded to the team with the best regular season record.
Sporting JAX came into the final weekend of Super League play atop the table, but an insurgent Lexington SC (14-3-11, 53 pts) defeated Tampa Bay Sun 1-0 and tied Jacksonville on points right before the Ascent and Jacksonville took the pitch at American Legion Memorial Stadium.
A win or draw would have been enough to earn Jacksonville the title, and the visitors got off to an early 0-1 lead, but the Ascent came to play despite being assured a 3rd place finish thanks to Lexington’s win. Carolina scored three goals — including a Jill Aguilera Olimpico — and stunned a team that was expecting to go home with their first trophy.
When asked about the Olimpico — an unassisted goal made from corner kick — Aguilera told reporters that a goal is a goal.
“We work a lot on set pieces, and we’re very good at them. Other teams know they have to account for our dangerous players in the box, and if we can create confusion or distract defenders, we’ll take advantage of that. I didn’t necessarily mean to score directly from it, but a goal’s a goal and I’ll take it.”
Other goal scorers for the Ascent included Tyler Lussi with her fourth goal of the season and Shea Groom with her first for the Ascent.
After tying on points, Lexington would be crowned regular season champions thanks to their superior goal difference, 26 to Jacksonville’s 22. In the playoff semifinals, Lexington will host 4th place Dallas Trinity, while #2 Jacksonville will host #3 Carolina.
“We gave them a lot of chances and they capitalized on them,” said Jacksonville head coach Stacey Balaam. “For the next one, we need to tighten up in the back and limit their ability to get through the line. I think that’s how we can make the next game different.”
The “next one” will be on Sunday, May 24 at 5:00 PM in Jacksonville. Should the Ascent win their second match against Sporting JAX in 8 days, they’ll either travel to Lexington or host Dallas the next weekend for the playoff final.
Soccer Sheet asked Groom about turning around and facing Jacksonville again this weekend.
“I think we match up well with them,” said Groom. “Honestly, I still don’t think we’ve played our best soccer yet, which is exciting because there’s still room to improve. There were moments tonight where we could’ve been cleaner, and we’ll look to sharpen those up before the next match.”
Saturday night was likely Carolina Ascent FC’s final home match this season, so the club’s matchday staff put on a show for the 6,566 fans in attendance. Mascots from across the Carolinas came to celebrate the Ascent’s newest addition — Sassy the Sasquatch — as multiple “Carolina Reapers” joined her at halftime. The Ascent’s T-Shirt cannon launched volleys into the stands, and fireworks ended the night.
Still, none of the spectacle was as exciting as the match on the field. This was one of the most exciting Ascent matches to date, as Carolina came back from an early deficit to play a showcase match for their talent.
“I’m really proud of the organization tonight because, even though I don’t get involved much with what goes on before the game or at halftime, I could feel the energy in the stadium,” said Carolina Ascent head coach Philip Poole. “There was excitement, noise, and a really fun atmosphere. It was a strong finish to the season, and we ended with more points than we had last year when we won it.”
Over the course of the season, Ascent captain Jill Aguilera scored 4 goals, had 3 assists, and was second overall in the league in chances created with 50. Soccer Sheet asked Aguilera what it meant to lead the team over the course of the campaign.
“I may be wearing the [captain’s] armband, but everyone out there is a leader,” said Aguilera. “I guess my job is to be the main person to hold the ref accountable … I truly don’t think my job and role as a leader has changed much throughout this season.”