Just over three months since they squared off for the league crown, the teams reunite in Kentucky on Friday night
As Addie McCain and McKenzie Weinert stood arm-in-arm with their teammates on the sideline, now observers after having done their part with a goal apiece for Lexington SC in the Gainbridge Super League Final on May 30, a loud chant of “L-S-C” ringing around the sellout crowd as time ticked away to the final whistle, the emotion was one they’d been waiting for all season.
“The atmosphere. I think the fans were really incredible,” said McCain recently. “They showed up. I think it was really, really cool to be at home for that moment.”
One of the major additions to Lexington’s squad the prior offseason, McCain had delivered the late dagger in extra time as the side claimed a 3-1 victory against Carolina Ascent FC before a sellout crowd of 7,715 at Lexington SC Stadium.
Going from the basement in the standings the prior season to becoming the first team to do the double, claiming both the Players’ Shield and Gainbridge Super League Final in dramatic fashion, the campaign provided a landmark for McCain, Weinert and their teammates as they wrote themselves into the league’s history book.
“To be at home, to have the fans and those people behind you really, really made it special,” said McCain. “I think obviously we had a very special group, and I think we wrote a lot of history. To be able to cap it off with a win was super special. And to have all those fans there, I think made it even more special.”
Mixed Emotions
For every winner in a Final, of course, there’s the team on the other side of the result.
For Carolina captain Jill Aguilera, the emotion of the night were mixed, with pride at the performance the side had produced to come that far and disappointment it had ended in the manner it did.
“It’s just a tough way to end the season,” said Aguilera. “Thinking of what I could have done better or different that may have changed the outcome. Just thinking about that, but also not allowing myself to think too much into that, because that could be kind of negative for you know going forward for this next season.”
At the halftime break, things were headed Ascent’s way. Coming into the Final on a seven-game winning streak that included a win at home against Lexington, Carolina took the lead late in the first half. Mia Corbin’s finish lifted the visitors, but wasn’t going to make them complacent – Lexington’s comeback win early in February wouldn’t permit that – as focus shifted to what the side needed to do to close out the result.
“It was just, keep that momentum going and building off that,” said Aguilera. “I didn’t really think of it being like, ‘we’re up one-zero, this is our night.’ It was just kind of like, ‘OK, we keep going and we keep grinding it out.’
“We know that Lexington is a good team and that they’re not going to just stand by and let us score more goals. We knew that they were going to come back at us hard and we just needed to push back and continue to do what we wanted to do and be successful.”
Ascent’s hopes were dashed by the hosts, with Weinert playing a key role. The left-sided forward crashed home at the far post to put home Catherine Barry’s cross from the right side of the box to level with 18 minutes to go, rewarding the side’s second-half pressure.
“Obviously, it was a great moment, one of my favorite goals in my career, probably my favorite,” said Weinert. “But at the end of the day, I don’t care who it was. The fact that we were just fighting and trying to win this game in front of our home crowd, I don’t know. But it was a great moment.”
After Regan Steigleder’s header six minutes into extra time put the hosts ahead, McCain’s finish moments before the break cemented that advantage. As they watched from the sideline, substituted off after playing their part, the message delivered by assistant coach Nate Walzer resonated.
“We were all looking around at the stadium,” said Weinert. “Everyone was cheering, and Nate – one of our assistant coaches – came over and he’s like, ‘Enjoy this moment,’ and then just clapped at the crowd. That moment really stood out to me, and then we did a circle around the field, high fiving all the fans. That was also a pretty special moment.”
With friends and family surrounding them, Ascent’s players remained on the field for it all, not only to take in the scene, but to pay their respect to their adversary.
“I think for us it was more out of respect, you know?” said Aguilera “They had won the championship, and I think it would have been disrespectful for us to just leave. … Obviously, we would never want to go through that again. But us watching [the trophy ceremony] wouldn’t have changed our mindset on that. We knew right away that we didn’t want to feel like that again.”
Turning The Page
On Friday night, Lexington and Carolina will reunite for the first time since this past May, squaring off in the Gainbridge Super League Game of the Month (7:30 p.m. ET | Peacock).
It’s a chance for Lexington to make a statement once again before its home fans, and for Carolina to both gain a modicum of revenge in addition to adding to the strong start it has made to the new campaign with three wins in four outings.
For Aguilera, the undercurrent of May’s showdown is likely to be present as Ascent heads back to the Bluegrass state.
“I think overall we just want to win games no matter who we’re playing against,” said Aguilera. “But I think it’d be naïve of me to say that we don’t care about the fact that we lost in the final, we get to play them again, and that there isn’t something extra going into this game.
“I think our mentality has always been pretty strong going into any game, and maybe there will be a little bit more going into that game as we step into that environment again.”
At the same time, there is a sense of renewal for both squads this fall. While the core of both sides has returned – Lexington’s lineup for its opening game of the 2026 Fall season featured eight players who started in May’s Final, while Carolina’s featured nine players who either started or appeared in the game – there is the sense that both sides are moving forward.
While they’re the defending titleholders, McCain and Weinert believe that as much as that provided incentive for their opponents, there’s also plenty the side still has to prove as it evolves and tries to expand its identity under Head Coach Kosuke Kimura.
“I think although we brought back a lot of familiar faces, it’s a new year,” said McCain. “It’s a different team, and I think what we try to talk about often is this team really hasn’t accomplished anything yet. So, although our goals are still the same, it’s kind of rebuilding to get back to where we want to be.”
Due to the nature of the Fall campaign, there’s also the importance of gaining points quickly. With Lexington having already sat through a pair of bye weeks, earning a result for both sides is imperative with every game carrying more importance in the 14-game regular season.
“Every single point matters,” said Aguilera. “Not that it wouldn’t in a previous season, but I think it’s just amplified in this sprint season.”
Mutual Respect, In-House Camaraderie
As much experience as both sides are returning, the potential for another classic is at hand. During the 2025/26 regular season, the contests were hard-fought as both sides took one-goal victories with their third encounter ending all square. Even in the Final, it took extra time to decide a winner after the contest ended level after 90 minutes.
The quality in both squads and on their respective coaching staffs has developed a level of mutual respect between the squads, both of which expect to be contending for the postseason in November.
“I think Carolina is a scrappy team,” said Weinert. “[Carolina Head Coach Philip Poole] coaches them well. They have great players on their team. Credit to them, it’s a battle, and those types of games are fun to play in. You want to beat them, they want to beat you, and as a player, those are kind of the games that you can thrive in.”
“[Lexington’s] a well-organized team and they have good players that can manipulate different spaces and have different threats,” added Aguilera. “I think they’re a strong team that knows how to move the ball well and does what they can to manipulate different teams and finish the ball well.”
The foundations for the club’s successes go beyond the field, though. As seen in the opening episode of Ascending, a documentary series following Carolina through the Fall Season, the camaraderie that stretches beyond the pitch for Ascent can also be found within the Girls in Green, infusing both sides with a mentality that lifts the collective higher.
“I think we get along so well, and our friendships off the field, I think, have definitely translated to our success on the field,” said Aguilera. “I think we all genuinely make an effort to be around each other off the field, and we enjoy spending time together. And it just makes our chemistry and our connectedness on the field even more apparent.”
As they meet on Friday night, while there might not be a trophy at stake, the fight to be in position to contend at the end of the campaign should make Lexington and Carolina’s latest showdown one to watch.
“It’ll be a fun game,” said McCain. “I mean, they have every reason to feel like they really want to beat us, and I think we do too. This team hasn’t proven anything yet, so we still feel like we have a lot to prove.”