USL Super League Week Two: Corbin Scores, Orkus Saves
USL Super League Week Two: Corbin Scores, Orkus Saves
Every team gets a point in the Super League's second weekend as the Carolina Ascent draw Lexington SC 1-1 at home, and DC Power FC takes the Tampa Bay Sun for a 0-0 roller coaster ride in Florida.
Due to issues with Brooklyn FC’s pitch, the Carolina Ascent FC’s Saturday, August 31 match in New York was cancelled. The game will be rescheduled to a later date; Brooklyn FC’s inaugural home opener will now be September 25 at 7:00 PM against Dallas Trinity.
There are no other USL Super League matches this weekend, so we held this week’s Super League Update until today to fill the void. The league returns this Friday when Carolina Ascent hosts Fort Lauderdale United FC at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte.
Carolina Ascent FC (1-0-1, 4 points) defended their position atop the USL Super League table on Sunday, August 25, with forward Mia Corbin finding the equalizer late in the second half after Sydney Shepard put Lexington Sporting Club (0-0-1, 1 point) ahead shortly after halftime with the club’s first-ever goal.
Corbin told Soccer Sheet finding the way back to even was all about the team keeping their confidence and positivity.
“Honestly, we kept the same mentality,” said Corbin. “We’re going to work together to get back. There was still a lot of game left and we were confident in ourselves that we were going to get the goal back. So we weren’t phased at all and it was a good challenge for us in the end so nothing but positivity.”
Meanwhile, in Florida, the final 20 minutes of Tampa Bay Sun FC’s (0-0-2, 2 points) August 24 match against DC Power FC (0-1-1, 1 point) was some of the most exciting soccer we’ve seen all year - and a showcase for the talents of Tampa Bay goalkeeper Ashley Orkus. Both sides had clean sheets in the 0-0 draw thanks to a controversial offsides call that reversed a Tampa Bay Goal, and Orkus, whose heroics included saving Power striker Jorian Baucom’s penalty kick.
Ascent draw Lexington, Remaining Atop the Table and Unbeaten at Home
Lexington’s Madison Parsons made the match a tough one for Carolina in the first half, with two scoring opportunities that immediately challenged Ascent goalkeeper Meagan McClelland - and that was before the the first minute was up. Parsons was too aggressive on the second chance, striking McClelland late and earning a yellow card for the hit, but continued to attack throughout the half.
Parsons credited her multiple first half opportunities to her team’s intensity.
“Just high pressing them, not letting them have time to face up and play those balls out, high intensity from our defending, winning that ball back as soon as we lose it is key to our success.” said Parsons in a halftime interview. “I have something to prove out here and I’m going hard on every ball, trying to get that ball in the back of the net.”
Lexington’s high press frustrated the Ascent early, and the away side dominated the first 25 minutes of the match. Ascent midfielder Ashlynn Serepca eventually found an opportunity in the 26th minute, launching a ball that forced a save by Lexington goalkeeper Bridgette Skiba.
Soon after, Kailey Utley scared the Ascent in the 30th minute with a shot that got past McClelland and bounced off the far post. Parsons gave excellent service, starting the pass as Utley was still in Lexington’s half of the field, and finding her so far ahead on her run that McClelland was forced into a one on one with Lexington’s forward.
McClelland ended the match with three saves.
Ascent Coach Philip Poole recognized Carolina struggled at the beginning of the match against a brand-new opponent that they hadn’t seen play before.
“It’s very difficult going in blind against teams. You have that initial 20-25 minutes to figure out, what are they doing, what are we doing, where do we need to be better? I’d like to get to the point when we’re starting a little bit quicker and not taking that 20-25 minutes to figure things out,” said Poole in a post-match press conference. “Until we’re really happy with where we’re at, it doesn’t really matter what anyone else is doing. We’re going to keep moving forward, we’re going to keep improving as it goes.”
To begin the second half, Ascent midfielder Jill Aguilera came in for Sarah Troccoli, and the substitution would prove important later on in the half as
In the 47th minute, Lexington earned a free kick, which they converted into a corner kick taken by Madison Perez. The cross into the box met a jumping Sydney Shepherd, and her soft header slowly made its way to the far corner of the net, beating every Ascent player as it casually made its way into the back of the net.
In the 60th minute, Ascent defender Renée Guion earned a free kick on the left side of the pitch, starting a good run of offensive chances for Carolina. She took the kick herself, finding Audrey Harding in the box.
Harding barely missed the header, but minutes later launched a shot from midfield that missed slightly high and right.
For most of the match, the Ascent struggled to get the ball to their striker and forwards in scoring position. The breakthrough for Carolina finally came in the 76th minute, as Aguilera beat multiple Lexington players on the left wing and found Mia Corbin wide open at the top of the box. Corbin’s shot easily got past Skiba’s gloves, and the Ascent equalized.
“We worked the ball to the side and then we worked it back. Like we do in practice, we’ve been working on completing passes in the final third, and we were able to get it back in the middle,” said Corbin in a post-match press conference. “In the end, just putting it in the back of the net, which was the goal for today. It feels amazing. I’m just happy to be here, to be in the Carolinas and on this team. I’m happy to get the first one out of the way and hopefully more to come.”
The Ascent looked like the better team for the rest of the second half, challenging Lexington consistently until the final whistle.
“I think it was a resilient performance in the end,” said Poole. “There some things we need to work on, but it was really good to see our team have enough about them to come back and to work through some difficulties. All in all it’s a good place to be on a Sunday evening at the top of the table. That’s the business we’re in.”
The Ascent were scheduled to play their first away match against Brooklyn tonight in New York, but the match was cancelled due to issues with Brooklyn’s pitch. Their next match is Friday, September 6 at 7:30 PM against Fort Lauderdale United FC (0-0-1, 1 point).
Meanwhile, Lexington will host Tampa Bay for their home opener at 4:00 PM ET on Sunday, September 8. The weekend will be the first time all eight inaugural USL Super League teams play in the same match week, as Brooklyn FC travels to Washington State for the team’s inaugural match against Spokane Zephyr FC (0-0-1, 1 point), and DC Power spends another week on the road as they travel to the Cotton Bowl to face Dallas Trinity (0-0-1, 1 point).
Ashley Orkus and Morgan Aquino Both Keep Clean Sheets in Tampa
DC Power goalkeeper Morgan Aquino had five saves against strong opposition in Tampa Bay, and the only shot she missed was called offsides in the team’s 0-0 draw against Tampa Bay Sun FC. Despite the best efforts of Tampa Bay’s Riley Parker, Ashley Clark, and Carlee Giamonna, Aquino kept the home team scoreless and helped her team earn its first point of the season.
With her single save against Carolina Ascent FC, she’s now second in the league with six saves, and tied with Carolina’s McClelland and Tampa Bay’s Orkus with one clean sheet apiece.
Orkus, meanwhile, faced seven shots on target from DC Power in addition to the seven she faced from Dallas Trinity the week before, making her far and away the league leader with 13 saves. She’s arguably had more work to do than any single player in the league after two matches, and the final 20 minutes of Tampa Bay’s draw against DC Power wouldn’t look that different from a curated Orkus highlight reel.
Orkus found a worthy opponent in Baucom, the current league leader in shots with seven in two matches. Baucom earned her professional stripes at MSV Duisburg in Germany, then came home to the U.S. to play for NWSL squads Racing Louisville and North Carolina Courage before another stint abroad. She most recently played for Hibernian F.C. in Scotland before returning to the U.S. a second time to join the DC Power.
She led the Power’s attack in the second half as DC regularly beat Tampa Bay’s back line, but Tampa Bay was largely successful at shutting down Baucom.
Then, late in the second half of the match, the critical moment came.
In the 87th minute, Orkus was called into action when DC midfielder Katrina Guillou broke through an uncoordinated Tampa Bay defense and created a one-on-one opportunity. Orkus was either late to the ball or committed a professional foul to deny the goal scoring opportunity, and the official immediately pointed to the spot for a penalty kick.
It was never in doubt who would take the shot. Baucom stepped up to the ball, and sent it on the ground halfway between Orkus and the left post. Orkus dived in the right direction - her right, Baucom’s left - and got her gloves on the ball. The ball stayed in play, heading towards the left corner until Tampa Bay defender Talia Staude cleared it away.
The penalty kick save would prove decisive as the Sun and Power went on to split the points on a rainy Saturday night in Florida.
Week Two Observations
While Baucom is yet to score a goal, I’d still put my money on her in the USL Super League golden boot race. No other player has scored more than one goal so far.
Yet again, a team’s first goal was from a defender. After Vicky Bruce opened the Ascent’s account, Hannah Davison scored for Dallas Trinity, and Brooke Hendrix came up big for the Tampa Bay Sun in week one, Lexington Defender Sydney Shepherd scored the go-ahead goal for her squad. (Fort Lauderdale’s Addie McCain and Spokane Zephyr FC’s Emina Ekic, both midfielders, scored the other “first goals,” while the DC Power are yet to score, and Brooklyn FC is yet to play).
Soccer Sheet reached out to the Ascent, Brooklyn, and the USL Super League for additional comment on Brooklyn’s pitch, but we were referred to the league’s original statement:
During installation of the soccer turf at Maimonides Park, the League and Brooklyn FC identified deficiencies that have rendered the field surface unplayable. The health and safety of our players, staff, and fans is our top priority and this decision reflects our commitment to their well-being. The match will be rescheduled for a later date.
That’s it for week two! Special thanks to guest photographer Jorge Torres for his amazing work at the Ascent’s second match.
We’ll see you at American Legion Memorial Stadium on Friday!
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