Carolina Ascent FC remains unbeaten through eight games and holds first-place spot in league standings
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (October 19, 2024) – Carolina Ascent Football Club cruised to a 2-0 victory over Brooklyn FC on Saturday evening at American Legion Memorial Stadium. Carolina Ascent FC faces Dallas Trinity FC on the road on Friday, October 25 at 8:00 p.m. (ET). The match can be streamed on Peacock.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Carolina Ascent started out on the front foot immediately with a field-flipping chance created by #7 Jill Aguilera whose cross made it to the opposite side of the penalty area for #10 Rylee Baisden, but her shot went directly to the goalkeeper.
The hosts put Brooklyn under heavy pressure to start the game, and it paid off in the 20th minute with a goal by #19 Ashlynn Serepca. A cross by #5 Jaydah Bedoya was blocked into the path of #9 Mia Corbin. She could not collect it, but Brooklyn’s clearance went directly to #14 Taylor Porter. After receiving the ball from Porter, #3 Giovanna DeMarco played it out wide to #2 Josie Studer whose cross hit Serepca perfectly to narrowly slip the ball in the back of the net.
Baisden nearly doubled the lead in the 30th minute as she broke through the defense on a ball from Serepca, but her shot was smothered by the goalkeeper. Serepca had a chance to snag a brace just before half, but her shot curled just to the left of the goal.
Halftime: Carolina Ascent FC 1, Brooklyn FC 0.
Goalkeeper #1 Meagan McClelland opened the second half with a couple of solid catches off corner kicks and headers.
Similar to the matchup on Tuesday, Carolina Ascent had a corner kick attempt saved off the goal line. An in-swinger from Baisden reached the back post for Bruce, and her first shot was saved followed by a blocked shot out of bounds for another corner kick in the 53rd minute. Bedoya struck the ensuing corner kick which was blocked again.
In the 73rd minute, Serepca and J. Studer connected again for Carolina Ascent’s second goal of the night. J. Studer sent a long ball down field, and Serepca beat out a defender to be one-on-one against the goalkeeper. Serepca touched it around #18 Neeku Purcell and slotted it from a tight angle.
Baisden continued battling for another goal, getting a shot off centrally in the 79th minute. It deflected out for another Carolina Ascent corner kick.
Brooklyn had a few off target shots over the crossbar in the final 10 minutes, but did not challenge the Carolina defense.
Fulltime: Carolina Ascent FC 2, Brooklyn FC 0.
NOTABLES:
- #2 Josie Studer made her first professional start. She also earned her first two goal contributions of the season, assisting both of Ashlynn Serepca’s goals.
- #19 Ashlynn Serepca scored her first two goals of the season. She recorded the first brace in Carolina Ascent club history.
- 14-year-old #70 Stella Spitzer made her Carolina Ascent debut. Spitzer is the youngest player in the USL Super League.
QUOTES:
Head Coach Philip Poole
On the offensive production
“It’s shown signs of being there in Lexington and on Tuesday in Brooklyn. Those pieces sometimes take a little time to fall into place. Tonight wasn’t any different than the last couple games, we just happened to put a couple where they needed to go tonight.”
On the defensive execution
“We lost control too many times on Tuesday where we worked hard but forgot away from the things that are successful. Maintaining focus and control.”
#19 Ashlynn Serepca
On scoring her first two goals of the season
“It was so exciting. I thought I was going to cry on the field and that never happens. It definitely meant a lot. I wouldn’t be able to do it without this team. The first goal was a great ball by Josie and something we’ve worked on and practiced all week. I’m so happy for the team and glad I could be there at the right place at the right time.”
On the team’s adjustments from Tuesday’s match at Brooklyn
“Executing in the final third. We get in amazing positions and create a lot of chances, but we’ve been needing to finish those. Overall, patience as a team. We really dug in. Playing the same team twice in the same week is always a quick turnaround, but we came together, found the right spaces, and finished the chances that we got.”
#2 Josie Studer
On continuing to make professional “firsts”
“It’s absolutely unreal. Before the game today, I was in tears thinking about what it means to play in this city with this group of girls. I can’t even express it. It’s an out-of-body experience.”
On the defensive adjustments from Tuesday’s match at Brooklyn
“We know we always have it in us. We were diligent at training. Knowing every little detail and trying to perfect the things that we knew from the last time that we played them led into the performance tonight.”
NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE:
Carolina Ascent FC travels to face Dallas Trinity FC on Friday, October 25 at 8:00 p.m. (ET). The match can be streamed on Peacock.
