Goal scored by #9 Mia Corbin (76′).
Carolina Ascent FC and Lexington SC shared points following a 1-1 draw on Sunday afternoon at American Legion Memorial Stadium. #9 Mia Corbin scored her first professional goal in the United States.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Carolina Ascent FC goalkeeper #1 Meagan McClelland was called into action early to collect a couple of saves. Back and forth went the possession until the 26th minute when a slotted pass from the midfield found #19 Ashlynn Serepca inside the box. She took one touch, then ripped a shot, but it was saved by the Lexington keeper.
Lexington SC came back the other way in the 30th minute. A long ball over the top sent #2 Kailey Utley on the counter attack. McClelland came out to cut down the angle, forcing Utley’s shot just wide enough to knock off the far post.
Halftime: Carolina Ascent FC 0 – 0 Lexington SC
Lexington SC was first on the board scoring off a corner kick in the 47th minute. #22 Sydney Shepherd headed the service down. The ball deflected off a Carolina Ascent defender and snuck into the side net.
In the 63rd minute, Carolina Ascent came knocking on the attack. #15 Kathrynn Gonzalez found space in the midfield. She went forward on the dribble and took a strike from distance. Her shot just missed high and wide.
Carolina Ascent tied the match in the 76th minute. It was #7 Jill Aguilera who took on a couple Lexington SC defenders on her way down the left wing. She cut a cross back to the top of the box where #9 Mia Corbin was awaiting the chance. She took one touch to settle and then buried it in the upper left corner of the net.
Final Score: Carolina Ascent FC 1 – 1 Lexington SC
NOTABLES:
- #9 Mia Corbin scored her first professional goal in the U.S.
- #1 Meagan McClelland recorded 3 saves on the day
- Carolina Ascent remains undefeated in USL Super League play
QUOTES:
Head Coach, Philip Poole
On overall thoughts of the match:
“I think it was a resilient performance in the end. 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.”
On the preparation to face new opponents early in the season:
“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, but we’re going to have the same next week against Brooklyn. I look at it differently. I spoke to the team before the game, which is, 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.”
Midfielder, Mia Corbin
On the response from the team after going down a goal:
“Honestly, we kept the same mentality. 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.”
On her first goal for Carolina Ascent FC:
“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. 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.”
NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE: Carolina Ascent FC is set to go on their first road trip next week facing Brooklyn FC on Saturday, August 31 at 7:30 pm at Maimonides Park. All USL Super League games can be live streamed on Peacock.
