CHARLOTTE, NC (August 29, 2026) – Carolina Ascent dropped their first match of the 2026 Season Saturday night, losing to Tampa Bay Sun 2-1 in the club’s home opener.
Tampa found twine first via a Shea Connors first half penalty kick, but Carolina struck back in the second half by way of Reese Tappan’s first goal for the club. Minutes later, Sydny Nasello scored the game-winner, slotting past Sydney Martinez to give the Sun all three points away from home. The loss is Carolina’s first at home since February 14, 2025 against Spokane Zephyr FC.
The visitors had the first scoring opportunity of the match through Jordan Zade. After scoring last week, Zade looked to stay in form, as she cut inside and fired a left-footed strike that sizzled just over the crossbar two minutes in.
Just as Carolina had begun to turn the tide in their favor, Tampa Bay earned themselves a penalty in the 23rd minute. The Sun hit on transition and Erika Zschuppe picked up the ball just inside the area before Mia Corbin took her down from behind. Forward Shea Connors buried into the bottom corner to put the Ascent behind for the first time this season.
Looking for a goal back before the half, Carolina came close in the 34th minute. After Jill Aguilera played a set piece to the back post, Jenna Butler headed back across goal to Shea Groom, but the midfielder slightly overran it, not able to put much on it and allowing Cristina Roque to get across to make the save.
While the Ascent won the possession and shot battles in the first frame, Tampa took their advantage to the break.
Hoping to set the tone quickly for the second half, Groom fired just wide five minutes into the second half after Rylee Baisden sacrificed the body flicking her header into Groom’s path.
Shortly after, Carolina’s best chances of the night to that point were denied by Roque. After Groom was blocked by the Tampa defense, the ball fell kindly to Lily Nabet, who had eyes for the bottom corner. Roque made an excellent diving save before stopping Baisden at her near post.
The continued pressure finally led to an equalizer in the 68th minute. Aguilera grabbed her second assist in as many games as her corner perfectly found the head of Tappan. The defender rose high to head home for her first goal in Carolina colors and firing up the near 6,000 supporters in American Legion Memorial Stadium.
However, the lead did not last long. Back came the Sun with Darya Rajaee setting up Sydny Nasello, who one-timed on frame and snuck it into the bottom corner to retake the lead in the 75th minute.
Two minutes later, Nasello came looking for more. The shifty winger cut inside and fired an off-balance effort that beat the goalkeeper but was denied by the crossbar.
Carolina pushed to tie it back up, but couldn’t find another equalizer, dropping their first match of the campaign.
Carolina Ascent returns home to American Legion Memorial Stadium next weekend for a Saturday date with Fort Lauderdale United on Salute to Service Night. Tickets are available here.
POST-GAME QUOTES
Head Coach Philip Poole on the result:
“Really disappointed about the result. Fans come out, great atmosphere in the stadium, great energy in the stadium, and I felt like at times the performance matched it. But the uncharacteristic thing for us is we’ve sold out on being hard to beat. We’ve sold out on making teams work for every goal, and tonight we conceded two terrible goals. Got beaten in transition, conceded the penalty, and then that second goal — it’s a mess. And that’s on us.”
Poole on Tappan’s impact through three games:
“Reese has been great since she’s come in. We knew that. We knew she was going to be a competitor. She’s better than I thought she would be, which is a compliment. Reese has come in and shown why she’s an All-League-type player, and she’s fit in well and hit the ground running.”
Reese Tappan on her goal:
“Every set piece, every minute matters. And so whenever we get a set piece, we take it like it’s a good opportunity to score. We’ve been really hammering those at practice. We’ve had a few — as Philip would say, I should have had a hat trick at practice — so today I knew I needed to step in and make some contact on it.”
Shea Groom on the team facing their first adversity of the season:
“Those road ones come in handy in this kind of a scenario. I feel like even at halftime, we felt okay. Like, down one, it still felt like it should have been tied and, you know, we felt we were going to find a goal. I think the second one is tough, and we all felt it. It hits you in the mouth.”
