Five Observations from Week 2 of the Super League

Ashlyn Puerta and Baylee DeSmit Reminding Us Sporting JAX is a Really Good Team
After a first half that saw Tampa Bay Sun with a 1-0 lead and having the better of play, a thought came: should we be a little concerned about Sporting JAX? The Jacksonville side had lost its last two games of the previous season, and in the season’s opener barely scraped by with a late goal to get a 1-0 win over a Ft. Lauderdale team that had outplayed Sporting most of the match. And the thought lasted, oh, less than two minutes - the amount of time it took for Ashlyn Puerta to be subbed on to start the second half and within her first few touches hit a scorcher from distance past Tampa’s Amanda Beardsley. Mind you, Puerta was coming off the bench and not in the starting lineup due to being sick during the week. We should all look so good after an illness.

After that goal, it was time for Baylee DeSmit to do Baylee DeSmit things. And that is scoring goals. First it was a blast from the 18 in the 60th minute, then a poor clearance and a header in her direction that she coolly slid past Beardsley in the 70th minute. Ever since becoming a starter last season, DeSmit has been scoring goals at a good clip. In the 2025-26 Season, DeSmit scored 12 goals in total, 11 coming in the 20 games she started. So far this season, she has three goals in two games. If you combine the two, you have a player who has 14 goals in 22 starts, just about on pace with what Catherine Barry did for Lexington SC last season.

Bottom line: Sporting JAX will probably be just fine, thankyouverymuch.

Happy 30th, Carolina Ascent!
The Super League is still a pretty new league, so records are going to be set on a regular basis. But only one team can be the first to 30 regular season wins, and it’s altogether fitting and proper that it was Carolina Ascent that earned this milestone win this past weekend. If any team has shown a consistent winning approach in the 2+ seasons the league has existed, it is the Ascent. What a foundation Philip Poole has helped to build in Carolina, one that’s based on winning as the normal state of affairs and that every starting position on the field has to be earned every week. The only thing left is that elusive Super League championship trophy.

DC Power, You Have Unsuspected Depth
In the 68th minute of their match with Brooklyn FC over the weekend, DC Power subbed on Gianna Gourley and Alyssa Walker, their first game action of the fall season. Good news, right? How about even better news for DC fans: their team was already leading 3-0 at the time. The depth of scoring options for DC Power right now keeps on growing. Loza Abera, who struggled in her first season at DC, has found her scoring touch. Emily Colton is a bona fide star as an attacking midfielder. Emma Jaskaniec has come in from Spokane and is already making her presence felt. And how about the rookies? Tatum Thomason has looked dangerous in both starts for her, and Kayla Colbert was causing havoc out on the wing in her first start against Brooklyn FC. Now, don’t for a second get the idea that DC doesn’t need Gourley and Walker after all. If we have been shown anything in the league, it’s that you need scoring depth. And DC Power may have found the depth than can get them into the playoffs..

It’s Been a Tough Start for NaYeong Shin and Brooklyn FC
It sure didn’t look good. Opening game against Lexington SC, and NaYeong Shin had to be helped off the field in the second half after Alyssa Bourgeois had fallen and landed hard on Shin’s lower leg (I know you wanted me to say Shin’s shin, and we can joke about it now, but at the time the injury seemed serious). Thankfully, Shin was able to recover and start against DC Power this past weekend. But it was another troubling second half. In the 61st minute, Shine turned the ball over to Kayla Colbert inside the 18, forcing the defender to foul Colbert from behind and DC was awarded a penalty.

Tyler Lussi converted from the spot, and a 2-0 halftime lead for DC was now a three-goal lead. But Shin’s second half of troubles was not over. As they say, sometimes you look for trouble, and other times trouble finds you. With less than ten minutes in the game, Shin was not able to get her left arm down in time and took a ball off the forearm inside the 18. Penalty kick #2, and DC would convert again en route to a 4-1 win. In two games, Brooklyn FC has given up seven goals, five in the second half of those games. Here’s hoping for better days for NaYeong Shin, Alex Smith and the rest of the Brooklyn squad.

We See You, Reese Tappan
Breaking into Carolina’s starting lineup is hard. Breaking into Carolina’s backline is even harder. Enter Reese Tappan, one the two newcomers to the roster. And what has she done? Started both games on defense. Tappan was a player coveted by Philip Poole, and considering her play with Spokane it’s easy to understand why. One of only five players who played every minute of every game last season, Tappan has got the skills and the stamina. In last weekend’s game against Dallas, Tappan showed her range of abilities. In the first half, it was her long ball pass to Jill Aguilera that led to Carolina’s first goal by Rylee Baisden. Then in the second half, when it was all Dallas all the time pushing the issue, Reese came up big at a crucial moment. Sydney Martinez had just stopped Onyeka Gamero at close range, but the rebound came out to Seven Castain with the keeper far out of her goal. Castain’s shot to a seemingly open net was blocked by Tappan, preserving their one-goal lead which they would add to later.

by John Howard-Fusco

Be sure to listen to the Super Show Season Preview with John HF & Dan Vaughn