CHARLOTTE, NC (February 23, 2025) – Goals were aplenty Sunday afternoon as Carolina Ascent FC and DC Power FC shared the spoils with a 3-3 draw in front of 2,477 supporters at American Legion Memorial Stadium. #25 Sarah Troccoli scored her first goal of the season and #9 Mia Corbin bagged her fifth in the seesaw affair.
After the two teams took some time to feel each other out, it was Carolina Ascent that was inches from starting the scoring. DC Power goalkeeper #1 Morgan Aquino turned the ball over in her own box and #10 Rylee Baisden set up #23 Riley Parker, who struck the inside of the goalpost. The follow-up from #18 Audrey Harding was then saved and held onto by Aquino.
Carolina Ascent dominated possession in the first half, but it was the visitors that found the first goal. DC Power forward #11 Nicole Douglas intercepted #14 Taylor Porter’s pass and was then taken down inside the Carolina Ascent box by center back #20 Jenna Butler. #9 Katie Duong buried the penalty kick to goalkeeper #1 Meagan McClelland’s right to give DC Power a 1-0 lead against the run of play.
Carolina Ascent got right back on the attack, looking for an equalizer. Again, the hosts came within inches of scoring as Baisden’s left-footed volley off Corbin’s cross was desperately cleared off the line by a sliding #29 Madison Wolfbauer.
After continuing to apply pressure, Carolina Ascent tied the game at 1 in the 40th minute. Troccoli fired away from just outside the box and her rising shot trickled through the fingers of Aquino and over the goal line, marking her first goal of the season.
A fabulous opportunity from Harding in first-half stoppage time was blazed over the bar and the teams headed to the break knotted at 1.
It did not take long for DC Power FC to jump back in front after the restart. A failed clearance from #4 Vicky Bruce fell straight to the feet of DC striker #19 Yuuka Kurosaki and Kurosaki made no mistake, firing into the top corner from 20 yards out in the 53rd minute.
Similar to the first half, Carolina Ascent was quick with an answer.
A pass back from Douglas was read and intercepted by Corbin, who sprinted in alone on Aquino and finished home her fifth goal of the season to get the game back to all square.
Relentless to find a third, it was dogged work from Troccoli in the 62nd minute to steal the ball as it was heading out for a DC goal kick. The midfielder drove the end line and her dangerous cross deflected off Aquino, off Wolfbauer, and then back off Aquino into the net, giving Carolina Ascent a 3-2 advantage.
However, it would be DC Power FC who would not exit quietly. A misplay from Porter knocked the ball into the path of DC Power substitute #13 Gianna Gourley. Gourley took the ball in stride and on a hop, finished past McClelland in the 83rd minute to tie the game once again.
Neither team could find a late winner and both teams earn a point in the standings with a 3-3 draw.
QUOTES:
Head Coach Philip Poole on the back-and-forth nature of the game:
“I think it’s fantastic for our group. We’ve never really been challenged too much, or haven’t had the ability to come back from goals twice. So I think there’s massive positives in that.”
Poole on his midfielder Troccoli’s performance:
“Sarah worked really hard in the offseason and she’s come back from a little break, and she’s looked after herself. You see what a good player she is when she’s healthy and injury-free.“
Sarah Troccoli on scoring her first goal:
“Yeah, it was super cool. Finishing chances is something tha we’re really working on. We have a lot of chances each game, so it was super exciting to be involved like that.”
Rylee Baisden on the team’s resiliency:
“I think we showed a bit of heart coming back from a goal in the first half and a goal down in the second half. I think we deserved the three points, but coming away with one is better than none.”
