The Kansas City Current face the Houston Dash in the team’s 2022 regular season home opener at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 8, at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.
The match is the first of 12 regular season matches to be played at the Current’s home venue for the 2022 season.
This will be the seventh time Kansas City will play against the Houston Dash in all competitions. Although Houston won the first match in April of 2021, the Current have earned points in four of the past five meetings (3-1-1). Taylor Leach, Lo’eau LaBonta and Kristen Hamilton each have two Current goals against the Dash.
Kansas City already has two wins against Houston in this season’s Challenge Cup and outscored the Dash 5-1 combined. Leach scored the team’s fastest goal ever on March 30 (1:32 into the match), leading the way to a 3-0 road win. In the next match, midfielder Victoria Pickett scored the game-winner in the 80th minute, putting Kansas City atop the Challenge Cup Central Division standings.
Kansas City Current defender Taylor Leach – Leach is always a force on the back line for the Current but has seemed to find her offensive prowess when playing against the Dash. She has two NWSL career goals, both scored against the Dash. In 2021, with time winding down in the match, she sailed over her defender and headed a shot to the near post for the equalizer. This season, she recorded the fastest goal in team history and NWSL Challenge Cup history when she scored 1:32 into the match.
Houston Dash forward Rachel Daly – Daly is a seven-year veteran of the league, having been drafted 6th overall by the Dash in 2016. Houston’s captain has scored a club-record 33 goals and nine assists for the Dash.
The match will stream on Paramount+.
Tickets are available at KansasCityCurrent.com/tickets.
Current Forward Kristen Hamilton and Courage goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland had differing reactions to Hamilton’s second-half goal in their Challenge Cup semi-final match. The Courage won the game 2-1. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
by Brian Turrel
It was a soggy, disappointing Wednesday evening for Kansas City Current fans at Children’s Mercy Park. Under gray, dripping skies, the home team bowed out of the Challenge Cup pre-season tournament on a 2-1 loss to the North Carolina Courage.
The run of play favored the visitors almost from the start, and the Courage made it pay off in the 19th minute when Jenna Winebrenner was whistled for a handball in the penalty area. Midfielder Debinha put the penalty shot up the middle under the crossbar, nullifying A.D. Franch’s dive to the left.
The Courage doubled its advantage in the 36th minute when Kerolin Nicoli’s dribble caught the defense wrong-footed. Nicoli delivered a well-placed cross to Diana Ordoñez to shoot home from near the back post.
Kansas City created some momentum in the later stages of the first half, generating a series of corner kicks. The Current created some chaos in front of goal, and Alex Loera’s shot was deflected narrowly wide in the 39th minute.
The offense wasn’t able to find another clean shot, and North Carolina’s defense cleared the danger. A 42nd minute lunging save by Franch to stop a Nicoli sizzler from the left side kept the deficit at 2-0 at the break.
Current coach Matt Potter substituted freely through the second half to keep fresh legs on the field. Halftime substitute Lo’eau LaBonta brought some energy by finding lanes to push the ball up the left and center of the field.
Potter praised his team’s second-half response to the first-half deficit.
“I credit the team and the players for putting themselves in the position to score goals,” said the coach, “and we certainly did that in the second half. I felt we were the aggressor from start to finish.”
Kristen Hamilton got the home crowd back in a believing mood, scoring her fifth goal of the tournament in the 79th minute. Kristen Edmonds sent a free kick into the box, and Addie McCain won a header to put the ball at the feet of Hamilton in front of the goal.
Franch made another big save at the end of regulation to keep hope alive through stoppage, but the Courage kept the advantage and will move on to the Challenge Cup final against the Washington Spirit on May 7.
The Current are out of the tournament, but the regular season continues apace, with the home opener this Sunday against the Houston Dash, kicking off at 4 p.m. at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.
Forward Addie McCain won a ball in the air that earned her an assist on Hamilton’s goal. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Kristen Hamilton’s second half goal got the crowd fired back up. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta and Courage defender Merritt Matthias connected with the ball. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Midfielder Hailie Mace blocked a clearance from Courage defender Merritt Matthias. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Midfielder Victoria Pickett tried to connect on a first half corner kick. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Forward Elyse Bennett fought for an opportunity up the right sideline. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Defender Alex Loera headed the ball in front of the North Carolina goal. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Forward Kristen Hamilton had a near-miss on a second chance on goal. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Midfielder Chardonnay Curran looked for an opportunity in the closing minutes of the game. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
KC Current is scheduled to play a semifinal match in the Challenge Cup at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 4, at Children’s Mercy Park, Kansas City, Kansas.
The Current will face the North Carolina Courage. The match will be broadcast on Paramount+.
In just the second year of play for the club, the Kansas City Current will hold its first-ever appearance in the playoffs. The team won the Challenge Cup Central Division with a 4-1-1 record, one of only two teams in the NWSL with four wins. The North Carolina Courage finished at the top of the Eastern Division with a 3-0-3 record.
This will be the first time these two sides meet in 2022, but the teams have a familiarity with each other. Four players on Kansas City’s roster once called North Carolina home.
Forward Kristen Hamilton and defender Hailie Mace were acquired by Kansas City in a trade midway through the 2021 season while midfielder Sam Mewis and forward Lynn Williams were acquired in two separate trades this offseason.
For North Carolina, the roster also features four players with Kansas City ties. Former KC first round draft choice Kiki Pickett was sent to the Courage as part of the trade for Mewis, while goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland returned to North Carolina in the Williams trade. Forward Brittany Ratcliffe spent the 2021 preseason in Kansas City before signing with the Courage for the regular season and former KC defender Katie Bowen joined the Courage this offseason.
The Current and Courage met up three times last season, with two of the matches ending in 0-0 draws. The Courage produced the only win between the two Aug. 21. The last match was played in Kansas City on Sept. 5, 2021. Midfielder Desiree Scott became only the second Canadian player to earn her 100th NWSL appearance and goalkeeper A.D. Franch earned her first clean sheet for Kansas City.
With a Current win May 4, the team could advance to the NWSL Challenge Cup Final May 7. The higher seeded semifinal winner will be the host for the match.
For ticket information, see https://www.kansascitycurrent.com/tickets.
