After heartbreak in first season, Carolina Ascent has larger ambitions
Carolina Ascent head coach Philip Poole will readily admit at least one flaw: He rarely stops when a stoplight turns from green to yellow.
But the morning after Carolina Ascent FC’s 2-1 loss to Fort Lauderdale United in the USL Super League semifinals, in which the Ascent conceded a controversial goal in the 120th minute, he stopped when a light turned yellow.
More than two months later, with the Ascent on the cusp of a new season, he’s glad he did.
Poole has been a part of World Cup and Olympic losses, but this one felt different. And he still felt that sadness while sitting at the light in Charlotte the next morning — until he noticed a family crossing the street.
A mother, two daughters and their dog, all decked out in Ascent gear — the dog even had an Ascent bandana on — made their way from corner to corner. Poole took it as a sign.
“I look at that and go, I feel like crap right now, never in my career have I felt this low,” Poole said. “But it gives me optimism for the future. It says we’re on the right track.”
Poole shared this same optimism during the Ascent’s media day Wednesday, which followed a self-described successful inaugural season. Despite the bitter ending, the Ascent led the league in goals scored (45), and won the regular-season title. Poole was also named the league’s coach of the year.
Now, Poole is expecting more of that same success heading into the team’s second season — and then some.
New faces for the Ascent
Ascent coaches and players better understand what they want to accomplish this season, but they also recognize there are a lot of newcomers
The team lost 11 of its inaugural players, and brought in nine replacements.
“I’ve got the greatest job in the world,” Poole said. “I think I work in a great city for a great organization, but those couple of days of letting 11 inaugural players go, three or four of which are from this city, the fabric of what we do is very difficult.”
Poole and his staff have turned to the “heavyweight” players — the veterans who are the foundation of the Ascent. Midfielder Taylor Porter is one of them.
While Porter believes a team has to mesh on the field, she thinks that connection often starts with becoming close off of it.
“It’s always hard,” Porter said. “I’ve been on both sides of it, being a new player in a new group, but I would say this is the first time being kind of a leader as a captain, and having new players come in. (I’m) always just making sure that everyone is kind of a part of making everybody feel good together.”
As the captain, Porter has been organizing relaxing team events. Almost the entire team lives in team housing, which is close together.
Porter makes sure players are going on coffee runs together. Sometimes they will go to markets in the area. She’ll have her teammates over to watch shows. Most recently, they’ve been watching “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” but before that, it was “Love Island” nights.
“Overall, the girls have been great coming in seamlessly and coming out of their shell,” Porter said. “So, it’s been good, and I’m really proud about how we’ve adapted.”
Keeping the Ascent’s identity
While many things have changed from last season to this year, one thing is consistent: the Ascent’s identity.
“It’s us,” Poole said. “It’s our way. We’re going to stick to it.”
Although Poole thinks his team can be more pragmatic in certain areas, he wants to build on last season’s momentum. He knows the Ascent is hard to beat. He knows his team can score goals. He also recognizes the Ascent conceded the fewest number of goals last year.
Nothing needs to be changed; some things just need to be tighter.
“We have to make sure that we understand we’ve set the bar fairly high in the league,” Poole said, “And we want to push that further.”
Porter thinks the Ascent found success by being a team that never sat back and waited. She compares them more to a “well-oiled machine.”
“We’re very structured,” forward Rylee Baisden said. “I think that’s a word we use a lot. I think that’s how we play. We have freedom, but within our structure.”
They work best in the high press, making opponents “feel flustered” on the ball. Porter never wants rivals to feel settled or in any sort of rhythm.
“That’ll always be our identity,” Porter said, “And we all love that.”
Growing women’s sports in Charlotte
Poole knows what his team is doing goes beyond just winning games.
He wants to grow women’s sports in the area.
“I look at it as part of the sports ecosystem in this town,” Poole said. “The fact it’s the only female team of any kind in this town, let alone being a soccer team, for me it’s just massively exciting.”
The head coach said he takes a little satisfaction that the Ascent brought something to the table in its first year. He knows the franchise could have done more, but he’s ready to continue to develop the sports culture in Charlotte as the Ascent continues to grow.
Baisden loves seeing young boys and girls at the games. Porter can’t help but think about the 10,000 people that came to the Ascent’s first game. She said it shows there should have been a professional women’s soccer team in Charlotte sooner.
“Having so many young kids come to these games, it just shows that they want someone to look up to,” Porter said. “We’re happy to inspire kids to be able to do whatever they want, whether that’s soccer or anything.”
The Ascent welcome this added responsibility. The team also recognizes it proved it belonged in year one, and now have to show it wasn’t just a coincidence. Poole and his players are ready to do so.
This story was originally published August 13, 2025 at 2:07 PM.
