Carolina Ascent, Charlotte’s new women’s soccer team, is set to open its inaugural USL Super League season at home on Saturday night with a game at American Legion Memorial Stadium against DC Power FC. The Ascent, led by , has spent the last few months putting together a roster that it feels can compete in the new women’s soccer league from the first game. Only eight of the Ascent’s 26 players are from the Carolinas, although some also have local ties to college or professional teams.
That group of players will represent Charlotte’s first professional women’s sports team since the WNBA’s Charlotte Sting folded in 2007. “There’s a massive void of inspirational sports assets for young girls to aspire to,” Chief Operating Officer Tim Schuldt told The Charlotte Observer at in July. “This fills a massive void in Charlotte, in many other cities, and that’s what we really hope to be, is a catalyst for young girls to aspire to stay home.
” The team has trained together over the course of the summer in preparation for its inaugural season and drew , 1-1, in an exhibition game on Aug. 5. Jill Aguilera, a Puerto Rican international who made 36 appearances for the NWSL’s Chicago Red Stars over the past two seasons, scored the Ascent’s only goal of the game.
USL SUPER LEAGUE FORMAT The Ascent will play 14 matches between August and December — one at home and one away against the seven other teams in the league, before a brief winter break. Another 14 games w.