Leading by one just before halftime, Tormenta defender Briana Eads found the ball at her feet on her side of midfield. She lofted a ball towards the Carolina Ascent goal where Tormenta’s Alice Bussey was able to get in the vision of the Ascent goalkeeper.

The ball would bounce in front of Bussey and then bound over both her and the goalkeeper to extend the Tormenta lead to two. Eads’ goal would end up being the difference as Tormenta would concede one score in the second half but hold on for a pivotal 3-2 win and earn three points as they continue their push to the playoffs.

“I stood there for a second with my hands on my head because I was like ‘there’s no way that just happened,’” Eads said. “I wanted until the ball rolled into the back of the net and then I celebrated. It was pretty crazy but it was a good feeling.”

With the win, Tormenta (3-1-1) moves into third place in the South Atlantic division of USLW with 10 points, averaging 2.0 points per match. 

Tormenta jumped out to an early 1-0 lead following a corner kick in which the ball was knocked around the box before the ball found its way to Bussey who touched it past the Ascent goalkeeper for the lead.

“It was a bit of a scramble in front of the box,” Bussey said. “It was a classic striker's goal. I was there and managed to tap it in.” 

Just four minutes later, Carolina (3-2, 9 points) looked to tie it up as they were able to get to the end line and cut a pass back to the penalty spot, but Tormenta goalkeeper Jenna Moran was able to parry the shot away to keep Tormenta ahead.

That lead would hold up until the 29th minute when the Ascent had a similar situation. Moran was able to save the initial shot, but a Carolina attacker was able to touch the rebound into the net to tie the score at one.

In the 43rd minute, Tormenta’s Biziorek would read the Carolina pass and intercept it in the Tormenta attacking third. She would find Courtney Chochol open behind the Carolina defense and Chochol’s shot in the top right of the goal put South Georgia back on top. 

Eads’ goal just before halftime would extend the lead to 3-1.

Carolina would get one back midway through the second half but the Tormenta defense was able to shut down the Ascent for the remainder of the game for the 3-2 win.

“A good early goal sets the tone a little bit and then two goals right before halftime helps in terms of game management,” said Tormenta Head Coach Jim Robbins. 

The three goals Tormenta scored is one more than Carolina had allowed in their four previous games combined.

 “With our roster, anybody can score at any moment in time for us,” Robbins said. “It’s nice to get a goal from Alice early and then Piper intercepts a nice pass, she played well for us defensively the whole game, but she intercepts a pass at the top of the box and feeds Courtney for a great finish,” he said.

“We’re not a team that anyone can key on one or two players because if you do somebody else is going to score and is a huge plus for us as a program,” he said.

That diversity and roster flexibility will be helpful as Tormenta’s next game will be a rematch with Carolina on their home field in Charlotte. 

“I think we played super well together. We found the passes and worked on what we needed to and we’ll be ready going in to this week when we play them again,” said Moran, who served as captain for Sunday’s match. 

Moran credited the defensive lineup with playing a solid game, communicating well as a team as they continue to improve. Both she and Robbins expect a tough matchup again next week when they meet again.

“These are two teams who match up almost identically with each other,” Robbins said. “They play the same way we play in terms of system and style of play. They have the same movements and patterns in the attacking phase that we do.”

“I honestly think that we can shut them out and that’s going to be our goal and our mindset going into next weekend’s game,” he said. “Can we defend a little bit better, a little bit cleaner so that we don’t give them any looks at goal? I think we’ll get ours, it’s just a matter of minimizing theirs,” he said. 

Tormenta and the Ascent will play in North Carolina on June 8 before Tormenta returns home on June 11 for a match against South Carolina United.