Popular Charlotte Alum Soccer Star Macey Bader Signs With Carolina Ascent FC
Former Charlotte Women’s Soccer player Macey Bader is staying in Charlotte to play professional soccer after signing with Carolina Ascent FC last week.
Bader became the fourth former Charlotte Women’s Soccer player to sign a professional contract and the third in the last calendar year. She joins Martha Thomas (Tottenham Hotspur), Tash Huson (Apollon Ladies F.C.), and Charlotte Harris (AFC Bournemouth) as pros to have played in the Queen City and is the first American player to reach the professional ranks after playing at Charlotte. Harris signed with AFC Bournemouth in February after finishing out her career as a Niner with Bader last fall while Hudson signed last August. Thomas has been in the professional ranks since 2018 and has also had multiple stints playing with the Scottish Women’s National Team.
Carolina Ascent is one of the nine teams in the Gainbridge Super League, which is a USL property and one of two Division I professional women’s soccer leagues in the United States. The league is entering its second season after debuting in August 2024. The team plays all home games in Charlotte at the American Legion Memorial Stadium.
“After my time at Charlotte, this city has truly become home and I’m so excited for the opportunity to represent it at the next level in my first year as a pro,” Bader told Carolina Ascent FC in the club’s announcement of her signing. “This organization set such a high bar in its first year and I can’t wait to come in, put in the work, and help build on that foundation.
Carolina Ascent won the first-ever Players’ Shield in the USL Super League last year after finishing atop the eight-team table with 48 points. The team posted a 13-6-9 record and a +21 goal differential to enter the playoffs as the No. 1 seed, where they eventually fell in the semifinals in extra time. Support for the team was strong as the club also led the league in attendance with an average crowd of 4,032 spectators and a high of 10,553 at the first match of the season. Carolina Ascent averaged nearly 500 more fans than the next closest club and the high-water mark of 10,553 cleared the next-best home attendance by nearly 5,000 fans. The two most-attended matches of the season across the entire league came at American Legion Memorial Stadium and Carolina Ascent was involved in five of the 10 most-attended matches.
Bader was a two-time All-Tournament team selection in her time at Charlotte and was named First Team All-Conference in the American Conference last season after leading the team with five goals. She ended her career in Charlotte with 17 goals and 46 points in 73 matches played while finishing in seventh place in program history with 181 shots taken. A two-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Selection, Bader played in every game except for one in her career in the Queen City and only came off the bench as a substitute in five of her 73 games played, totaling 5,241 minutes on the pitch. Bader also spent time the last two summers playing for the NC Courage USL W League Team (U23 Team), including winning a USLW Championship in 2024 while being named the Finals MVP.
Carolina Ascent FC begins its 2025-26 season on the road at Fort Lauderdale United FC on August 30 against the team that eliminated it from the playoffs last season. Carolina Ascent is then home a week later on September 6 at American Legion Memorial Stadium to face the reigning champs, Tampa Bay Sun FC, in the home opener – the first of 14 contests on the schedule to take place in Uptown. All Gainbridge Super League Matches are streamed live on Peacock.