CHARLOTTE, NC (September 5, 2026) – Carolina Ascent used a three-goal first half to propel them to a 3-0 victory over Fort Lauderdale United FC on Saturday night.
The Ascent grabbed their first home win of the season in emphatic fashion, scoring three times in the match’s 40 minutes by way of Jill Aguilera, Mia Corbin, and Audrey Coleman. Sydney Martinez made six saves en route to her second clean sheet of the young campaign.
The Ascent responded exactly how they would have hoped following last week’s disappointing result, opening the scoring just ten minutes in. Pushing forward from her left back spot as she so often does, Aguilera opened her 2026 account. Jenna Butler expertly picked out the defender over the top, and Aguilera calmly touched the ball past an onrushing Haley Craig before finishing into the vacant net.
Martinez made a pair of strong stops immediately following the goal to keep the momentum going, denying Kiara Locklear and a Kelsey Oyler free kick.
Carolina doubled the advantage after a bizarre mistake from Fort Lauderdale. Miscommunication between Craig and Ella Simpson led to the defender accidentally handling the ball within the box as the visitors situated for a goal kick, giving the Ascent a penalty kick. Corbin stepped up and buried from the spot for her second of the season.
Locklear looked to hit back immediately again as she was slipped in alone on Martinez, but she was dragged her attempt inches by the post.
The first half onslaught continued in the 38th minute. Already on a goal, Corbin played distributor, playing a gorgeous through ball to Coleman, who timed her run to perfection. The winger took a touch, picked her spot, and buried into the corner for her second goal of the campaign.
Locklear continued to be the most dangerous threat for Fort Lauderdale and her pace was evident. She scampered onto a ball past the Carolina defense in the 40th minute, but Martinez held her near post well and denied the striker with a strong left hand.
Not tested often in the second half, Martinez came up with her fifth save in the 72nd minute. Sh’nia Gordon found space down the left flank and floated into the box, but Martinez shut down the angle to keep the shutout alive.
The Ascent saw the game out to snag all three points and grab their first victory on home turf of the season. Next up – a championship rematch at Lexington on Saturday. Join the watch party at Blinder’s!
POST-GAME SOUND
Head Coach Philip Poole on the win:
“This match could have been 6-6. I’m glad we scored three goals in the first half. There were moments in attacking transition where we’ve got to be much better. We scored three, and we could have assisted three for them. So, for me, the game was too wide open.
“I’m glad we scored when we did. A little bit fortunate with the penalty, but all in all, I think we could have scored another two or three in the second half. So I’m quite happy with the performance, but there are parts of it where we’ve got to tighten up.”
Poole on tightening things up going into Lexington:
”Last week was our best performance of the season. We were most dominant in possession, most dominant in terms of progression, and we lost. Tonight was a choppy performance, and we won 3-0. So it’s funny. I’m not happy with this performance, but I’ll take the three points.”
Mia Corbin on her evolving roles on the pitch:
“I’m just enjoying playing with my team, working hard and getting the results on the field…Roles are always changing, so I’m just trying to change with them and take advantage of it.”
Jill Aguilera on the win:
“With this game, we got the 3-0 win, but we certainly didn’t play as well as we played last weekend, despite obviously getting a completely different result. So there are always things that we need to work on.”
