Carolina makes a statement, pulls clear of the pack; Fort Lauderdale ends challenging week on high note
Carolina Ascent FC burnished its Players’ Shield credentials in the marquee contest of Week 9 in the Gainbridge Super League on Saturday night, but there was also another major surprise as the battle for the other three playoff places remained tightly fought.
Here are three things we took away from the weekend’s action
1. Carolina Ascent Takes Revenge, Starts to Pull Clear
After the manner in which Tampa Bay Sun FC had challenged Lexington SC in its prior outing, there was a sense of anticipation as to whether the Sun could repeat its feat of taking victory against Super League leader Carolina Ascent going into their second meeting of the regular season on Saturday night.
Carolina made sure that wouldn’t be the case as it began the game of the front foot and then used its quality off set pieces to take a decisive 3-0 victory at Suncoast Credit Union Field to move eight points clear at the top of the standings. Ascent held only 42.7% of possession in the contest but dictated the terms of where the game was going to be played with its front-foot defense resulting in twice as many final third entries (92-46) and 32 touches in the attacking penalty area.
When the opening two goals arrived shortly before halftime, the first from Jill Aguilera as she cleaned up a second opportunity after a good initial save by Tampa Bay’s Cristina Roque to deny Shea Groom’s effort, the second by Rylee Baisden off an excellent delivery by Mia Corbin, there was little question as to the direction of the result. For the Sun, there’s still a clear path to reach the postseason, but some lessons learned about what it’ll take to challenge there.
“I think coming into tonight’s match we weren’t even focused on the loss,” said Corbin. “Tonight was an opportunity to show everyone we’re here to compete. We’re not worried about the last game or last season. Every game at a time, we want to win and we’re going to do it together. I think we’re all more than pleased with our performance tonight and it’s just a statement that our hard work is paying off.”
2. Fort Lauderdale Springs Surprise After Midweek Changes
With the decision to make a coaching change on Tuesday, seeing the departure of Tyrone Mears and appointment of Paul Jennison for his second stint as interim Head Coach, Fort Lauderdale United entered its clash with defending Super League titleholder Lexington SC in need of a reset.
Thanks to a pair of excellent finishes by Sh’nia Gordon, and some stellar defensive work by goalkeeper Haley Craig and her back line, the hosts sprang won of the bigger surprises of the season so far with a 2-1 win at Amerant Bank Field on Sunday night to break a five-game losing streak and end the week on a positive note. Gordon’s two finishes highlighted her quality as the club’s best attacking threat this campaign, picking the right corner with a finish from the top-left edge of the penalty area for her first before calmly finishing a breakaway chance to double the lead early in the second half.
Fort Lauderdale had to hold on from there as Craig produced a seven-save performance and her teammates notched six blocked shots, including five in the final 15 minutes, but Lexington was unable to deliver an equalizer after Hannah White’s 86th-minute finish gave the visitors a glimmer of hope. There will be a question of whether this sort of result is replicable given similar overall numbers – LSC outshot their hosts 23-8 and carried much more of the game – but this at least gave Fort Lauderdale something to build some confidence from.
3. Dallas Trinity Misses Out on Turning Pressure into Points
With Sporting Club Jacksonville and DC Power FC’s clash on Friday night postponed due to incoming inclement weather to the Jacksonville region, there was a chance for Dallas Trinity FC to jump into second place in the Super League standings on Saturday as it faced Brooklyn FC for the second time this season.
Overall, Dallas was almost as dominant as when it had claimed victory at the Cotton Bowl when the sides met in early September, but Trinity’s finishing let it down as the sides settled for a 1-1 draw at Maimonides Park. While Seven Castain’s late equalizer earned the visitors a point, Jasmine Hamid’s penalty kick off the right post – having sent the goalkeeper the wrong way – was a moment the visitors would have wanted back, but there were other opportunities earlier in the game that fell to both Hamid and Castain that could have changed the tenor of the overall contest.
“I thought the fight, determination and grit throughout the game were great,” said Trinity Head Coach Lee Nguyen. “We controlled it for the most part. Unfortunately, we gave up a goal off our own transition. But I thought the fight from the girls all game was great, and then to be able to come back and get the point was good.”