Sporting Jax Women are 6-4-4 at Hodges Stadium during its inaugural season in the Gainbridge Super League. Sporting Jax was winless in its first four home matches, but has since earned 20 out of 30 possible points at home. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today
Published on May 20, 2026 at 4:27 pm
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Sporting Jax Women may have other opportunities to lift trophies, but few clubs forget the euphoria of earning their first.
That feeling is what the Sporting Jax Women will chase on Sunday afternoon. Sporting Jax Women will host the Carolina Ascent in the Gainbridge Super League Playoffs at Hodges Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m.
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“This is an amazing opportunity, and we have the privilege of continuing to play — and, obviously, some other teams don’t get that,” Sporting Jax forward Paige Kenton says. “There’s a lot of excitement, but also a strong focus on what we need to do better and how to fix the outcome that we had in the last game.”
Eyes on the prize
Carolina defeated Sporting Jax 3-1 in the regular season finale May 16.
Despite the loss, Sporting Jax could have maintained the top spot in the nine-team league, had Lexington SC failed to beat the Tampa Bay Sun on May 16.
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Instead, Lexington won 1-0 after referee Alejo Calume was deceived by McKenzie Weinert’s 88th minute dive outside the penalty area. Lexington won the game, the Players’ Shield and home-field advantage for the semifinal and final.
Sporting Jax head coach Stacey Balaam says the squad has an opportunity for a quick remedy to their frustration.
“We’re going to have a chip on our shoulder,” Balaam says. “I think just the manner in which we lost the league and, how we lost that game at the weekend — I mean, we don’t like to lose any game — but this was a growing moment for us. So, I think, we’ve got to come out with some intensity this week and be willing to grow and hold ourselves accountable.”
Sporting’s regular season finale was the first time since August that it scored first but lost the game.
For most of the 28-game season, scoring has not been an issue. Sporting Jax led the league with 54 goals. Kenton scored 10 goals and provided seven assists in her first professional season. Ashlyn Puerta was named the league’s Golden Playmaker after producing 12 goals and seven assists as a 19-year-old creative fulcrum.
Kenton, Puerta and attacker Baylee DeSmit are all first-year professionals. This weekend, Sporting Jax may start as many as seven first-year pros.
Unlocking opportunity
Kenton says the expansion of opportunities for women in sports to the point where cities like Jacksonville have multiple pro teams is not something she takes for granted.
“I love to see it. It’s not something that I really, honestly, thought would happen in my lifetime,” the 24-year-old Kenton says. “When I was younger, these opportunities weren’t around. … I think the way the city has invested in women’s sports is huge and just really shows where we’re going.”
Over the last five years, the number of professional women’s soccer teams in the United States has grown from 10 to 25.
Doors may have been opened. Sporting Jax players and coaches know it’s up to them to stride through them. Jacksonville’s first fully professional women’s professional sports team is two wins away from a title in its inaugural season. Their path will not be easy.
Carolina is unbeaten in its last 11 matches. Carolina also failed to win at Hodges Stadium in both of its trips here during the regular season.
The Sporting Jax Women were winless in their first four matches at Hodges Stadium. Since then, they are 6-2-2 in the River City, a run that includes a 1-0 win over Carolina in January.
Defender Sophia Bowman does not assume past performance is a barometer for a playoff pressure cooker.
“As a group, we know that in the past we’ve come through hard things,” Bowman says. “When we come together, work our hardest and play as a team, I think we’re really unstoppable.”
