Gainbridge Super League Game of the Month sees second-place Power look for first win against Ascent to close gap to first
The theme for the 2026 Gainbridge Super League Fall Season is Every Match Matters.
As the campaign moves into Week 10, though, the alternate theme could be it’s getting late early.
With six wins and 19 points from its first eight outings, Carolina Ascent FC has built an eight-point lead at the top of the standings, giving the rest of the division a steep hill to climb and little sign the 2024/25 Players’ Shield winners are going to be easing off the gas at any point.
That makes October’s Gainbridge Super League Game of the Month on Friday night between Ascent and second-place DC Power FC a critical one for the remainder of the regular season. After their encounter to start the campaign at Audi Field, it’s also a game you definitely don’t want to miss on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ET on Peacock.
Here’s why we’ve reached this key point of the campaign, and why DC could achieve a club first.
1. Carolina Takes Ascent from Set Piece Situations
If there’s been one situation that’s summed up Carolina Ascent’s dominant performances so far this campaign, it’s been the club’s set pieces. The league-leaders have recorded half of their goals – 8 of 16 – from dead ball situations, including four goals off corner kicks that account for almost half of the nine that have been scored overall from corners this season.
At the center of that are two players – Jill Aguilera and Mia Corbin. The standout duo have each recorded two set piece assists so far this campaign, with a little help from their teammates’ finishing. Corbin’s nine chances created from set pieces this campaign have amounted to a 0.62 Expected Assists mark, while Aguilera’s four chances created from set plays have produced 0.4xA, but the quality of finishing – both on initial and second chances – has made a difference.
A good example comes from Ascent’s most recent victory against Tampa Bay Sun FC. With the game scoreless, Carolina earns a free kick about 35 yards from goal on the left flank. It’s an ideal spot for Corbin to deliver an angled cross into the box, and her delivery finds Jenna Butler near the right edge of the six-yard area for a knock-back header. That picks out Shea Groom, who’s moved into the space anticipating the knock-back, and while her first-time shot is brilliantly saved by the Sun’s Cristina Roque, Aguilera is there on the doorstep anticipating a potential rebound to finish.
The set piece masters do it again ✨ @jill_aguilera finishes the play to put @carolinaascent ahead 1-0 👏 https://t.co/X0tIZyVeqT
— Gainbridge Super League (@GainbridgeSL) October 10, 2026
Carolina’s ability to put pressure on opponents and win advantageous attacking situations has been key. The club’s 37 set piece goals are the most all-time in Super League history, while this season Ascent has won 48 corner kicks in eight outings, the most of any team in the league.
Limiting Ascent’s chances from set pieces will be critical to the Power getting a result on the road.
2. Ascent’s Sydney Martinez Puts Up the Forcefield
Here’s a quick question; between first-placed Carolina Ascent FC and second-placed DC Power FC, which side has the better Expected Goal Differential so far this season?
The answer, you might be surprised to learn, is DC, which has put up a +3.62xGD mark this campaign over its first seven games, with its Expected Goals Against mark of 9.56xGA narrowly ranking second in the league to Tampa Bay Sun FC (9.52xGA).
Carolina, in fact, ranks fourth in the league with its +2.84xGD mark, also trailing defending titleholders Lexington SC (+4.2xGD) and Dallas Trinity FC (+3.04xGD) in that category.
So, how does Carolina have the best goal differential (+10) and rank tied for the fewest goals conceded this season with six? A big reason is goalkeeper Sydney Martinez, who’s retained her spot as the No. 1 despite the summer arrival of the Super League’s all-time leader in saves and shutouts, Hope Hisey to Carolina’s squad.
Martinez, you might recall, wasn’t Ascent’s first-choice goalkeeper when the calendar turned to January, but since getting her chance against Dallas Trinity FC in late February, she’s proven impossible to dislodge from the lineup.
Since January 1, Martinez’s 75 saves rank second only to Fort Lauderdale United’s Haley Craig (78), and have come at a league-best save percentage of 85.1% among regular starters. She’s allowed only 13 goals in 21 games over that span, good for a 0.61 goals-against average, and has posted a minus-11.9 Goals Prevented mark, comfortably the best in the league.
The Power got a measure of this when the sides first met on August 16 when Martinez produced a seven-save shutout and -0.84 Goals Prevented mark in Carolina’s 1-0 win at Audi Field. It can take a lot to get past the Puerto Rico international, and DC’s going to need to be at its best in the final third, even while there should be opportunities to be had.
3. It’s Time for DC Power’s Zero to Go
In terms of head-to-head series in the Gainbridge Super League’s history, the one between Carolina Ascent FC and DC Power FC has been somewhat one-sided.
In fact, Ascent’s seven wins in nine games against the Power are the most in an individual series in the league’s history, with DC yet to claim three points against Ascent.
So, why is there reason for optimism that this time could be different?
First, you can take the above-mentioned Expected Goal Differential margins. The Power have been the best they’ve ever been over the first half of this campaign, building off a good end to the 2025/26 season that almost saw them reach the postseason field.
Second, they gave Ascent a real run for their money when they met at Audi Field in August. On that night, DC outshot the Ascent 23-13 and put up a 2.3xG to 1.88xG differential. It’s a fool’s errand to take single-game Expected Goals margin as a sign of a sea-change, but it stands up in the Power’s overall body of work.
“I think we had promising moments,” said Power newcomer Tatum Thomason after that contest. “We were dangerous in front of the box at times, and talking to players from the other team, they said they don’t like playing us. We play a good style of soccer, and when we do get into those dangerous areas, we just have to finish. I think our possession in the midfield and winning first and second balls are our strengths, and we have great players down the middle.”
Of course, if the Power can’t come through, the flipside of that night’s reaction comes true as well. If DC is looking at an 11-point gap to make up to Ascent instead of a five-point one, it might be a cruise to the Players’ Shield for Carolina the rest of the way.
“We talked about it all week,” said DC Head Coach Omid Namazi. “Every game this sprint season is like a final, because if you lose a couple in a row, all of a sudden, you’re out of it and you’ve got a big hill to climb. That’s why next week is a must-win for us. Every game becomes that important.”
What was true in Week 1 is even truer now.
Every Match Matters.