The Kansas City Current (7-4-5, 3rd place) continued its unbeaten streak with a 1-1 draw against Angel City FC (6-5-4, 7th place) on Friday, Aug. 19, while setting a record for attendance with 10,395.
A penalty kick scored by midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta, her fifth goal of the season, preserved the streak for Kansas City to walk away with a point. LaBonta is now tied for the club record for most goals in a season, alongside forwards Kristen Hamilton and Cece Kizer.
“The risk-reward of the game was that we wanted to set the tempo, we wanted to take the game to them – that’s our identity. I thought we did that really well,” head coach Matt Potter said. “The risk of that is that if you don’t put some of those chances away and you let a good team like Angel City hang around, then at some point in time they’re going to get an opportunity. That’s just the way the game goes.”
Both teams started off with a high pressure, focused attack, with Angel City having the first major chance after an awkward clearance from the KC back line in the fourth minute. Goalkeeper A.D. Franch came up big with a sliding tackle to reclaim the ball and keep the score line level.
Just about 10 minutes later, the Current started peppering shots on the other end of the pitch. Forward Cece Kizer stole the ball away at the near endline and crossed through the box filled with seven Angel City players to find forward Kristen Hamilton, whose shot soared over the bar.
Shortly after, in the 16th minute, defender Alex Loera ran all the way to the Angel City goal line to slide a cross into the box again for Hamilton. Angel City goalkeeper Didi Haracic collected the shot to deny Hamilton a second time.
Angel City found an opportunity in the 27th minute, when forward Jun Endo crossed from a tight angle to try and find Savannah McCaskill on the other side of the box. Current goalkeeper Franch reacted quickly to punch it away at the near post.
The visitors were the first to score in the second half, when defender Aly Riley charged up the left flank and floated a ball in to find Cari Roccaro at the center of the box. Her header sailed over Franch for Angel City to take the lead in the 78th minute.
The Current equalized just four minutes later. While attempting to find space in the box, Angel City defender Paige Nielsen was whistled for a penalty kick after taking down LaBonta from behind. It was then LaBonta who stepped up to the spot to send Haracic the wrong way and bury it in the top right corner. Her fourth penalty goal of the season ties her for most penalty kicks scored with Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave FC, 4 PK goals).
Kansas City’s unbeaten streak continues with 11 results, and the team has not lost when LaBonta has scored this year.
“Our job as a group is to perform in a manner that represents something bigger than ourselves,” Potter said. “That’s ownership, that’s the people that we work with and for in terms of our leadership in the front office, but also the biggest thing is about the community and the fan base. It’s very important to us to play in a manner that makes them want to come, that makes them want to stand up and shout and they certainly did a good job of that tonight.”
The Current had challenged the fans to #ShowUpKC as the club sought to beat the NWSL record for attendance in Kansas City. In the 70th minute of the match, the fans in attendance cheered when it was announced that the record of 7,594 fans, set on June 4, had been beaten and that attendance on Aug. 19 was 10,395.
During halftime, the record-breaking crowd was treated to a media game featuring 45 of Kansas City’s media personalities. Team Heartland, captained by ESPN’s Brenda VanLengen, defeated Team Electric, captained by the Current’s Dave Borchardt in a 1-0 victory.
Tickets for remaining 2022 home matches and 2023 season ticket memberships are available online at KansasCityCurrent.com/tickets.
–
- Story from KC Current