Charlotte native B Hylton, 17, was recently called up to England’s national soccer team for women. Hylton made her English debut for the under-19 age group at qualification matches for an upcoming European championship tournament.
She’s part of a promising crop of young talent popping up on Charlotte’s only professional women’s sports team — Carolina Ascent.
In late November, young women wearing England team jackets lined up and got ready to take to the pitch in Poland. Hylton was near the front with her white hair band. She was about to step onto the field to represent her dad’s home country against Turkey.
Hylton has dual American-British citizenship. She recalled how she felt when she heard she’d be part of England’s team.
“It was really awesome. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting it. Because, normally, we get called into a training camp first before going into a round of games,” Hylton said. “But to know that they trusted me, to go straight into a round of games was absolutely spectacular.”
Hylton not only made England’s 20-squad roster. She started in that first game against Turkey — a game they won, 2-1. They also beat Italy and lost to the host nation Poland.
Hylton was the only player from a club outside of England on the roster. Many of her teammates were associated with iconic English clubs including Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea. Hylton met the other players for the first time in London a few days before that first match.
“Two of the captains came over, and gave me a big hug,” Hylton said. “It was a really significant moment for me because they saw me as part of the team already. And I had been there for a minute, max.”
Charlotte’s Carolina Ascent helped Hylton come to England’s attention. The team just wrapped up the fall portion of its inaugural season. The Ascent is part of the new USL Super League that features eight teams — and gives young, talented players like Hylton a chance to compete on a Division I team.
The team trains and plays at American Legion Memorial Stadium, just east of uptown.
Hylton’s talents were apparent to the Ascent's head coach Philip Poole right away.
“B is a very cerebral, very technical, very thoughtful footballer,” Poole said. “It's important for us that we had a deliberate pathway for her. You don't want to give young players too much, too soon. You don't want to put them in situations where they can fail.”
The Ascent’s average age is 26. But Hylton is part of a crop of younger players on academy contracts. The contracts allow the club to add them to their first-team roster while letting players retain their college eligibility. The Ascent’s Stella Spitzer became the youngest player to debut in the league at 14 years old.
“I look at it like a ladder," Poole said. "The first is getting in here. The second thing is gaining the respect of the players around, and then making a game day squad, maybe coming off the bench. And, then, the next step is to make that full debut.”
Hylton's debut for the Ascent was the team's very first game in August. Daily practices and weekly matches with teams across the country keep her busy, so she takes her high school courses online.
A big part of the 17-year-old’s passion for soccer comes from her dad, Andy Hilton. B grew up watching the Premier League, the top tier of English soccer. Her dad was raised near London and has lived in Charlotte for 20 years.
“I love that she is playing for England,” Andy Hylton said. “It’s just such a thrill for me. It’s a thrill for our whole family.”
He’d like his daughter to continue to represent England, but he knows the U.S. could come calling, too.
“This is where I’d love her to stay," said Andy Hylton "But again, the most important thing for me is she’s thriving, and she’s in an environment where they value her as a player and what she brings.”
Hylton says she’s pleased to be part of a city that has shaped her both on and off the pitch and represents the country she’s gotten to know partly through its soccer.
“Growing up in Charlotte, it absolutely made me who I am,” Hylton said. “It’s really cool to be able to represent the city I grew up in, but being able to represent another place which also has a big impact on my life is really, really cool.”
Hylton hopes to get another call to represent England in the next round of qualifying games this spring. Carolina Ascent begins the second half of its season in February.
