Record set for women’s soccer attendance as Current play to 1-1 draw

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.

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Angel City visits KC Current tonight

In a match that could mark the highest-attended NWSL soccer match in the history of Kansas City, the Kansas City Current (7-4-4, 25 pts, T-2nd place) will play host to Angel City (6-5-3, 21 pts, 7th place) at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19, at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

Friday night’s game will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network.

Kansas City brings a 10-match unbeaten streak into Friday’s match after picking up yet another road win Saturday against the North Carolina Courage. The Current had to rally from a one-goal deficit on three separate occasions, but forward Claire Lavogez’s first NWSL assist equalized the score, then her first goal helped put the team over the top in the 4-3 win.

Lavogez first tapped a ball in the penalty box that forward Cece Kizer slid in for the game-tying goal in the 60th minute, then she gave Kansas City the lead for good with a strike from distance in the 79th minute.

Angel City, meanwhile, kept its playoff hopes alive with a 1-0 home win over the Chicago Red Stars Aug. 14. Angel City limited Chicago to just nine shots in the contest, while Savannah McCaskill nodded in the game’s lone goal in the 48th minute. Angel City enters Friday’s match just two points behind sixth-place Chicago and three points behind fifth-place OL Reign.

Unbeaten streak

The Current’s 10-match unbeaten streak hasn’t just catapulted the team right into the mix of the NWSL playoff race, it also has placed the squad firmly in the NWSL history books.

With Kansas City’s win Saturday, it became just the sixth team in NWSL history to go on a double-digit unbeaten streak. The Current have some ways to go to match the league’s longest unbeaten streak, set in 2014 by OL Reign (16 matches unbeaten), but the second and third-longest unbeaten streaks in NWSL history are 12 and 11 matches.

Excluding the Current and the Portland Thorns, who are on an active 11-match unbeaten streak, every team in NWSL history that has gone on an unbeaten streak of 10 games or more has made the NWSL Playoffs. Two of those teams, the 2018 North Carolina Courage and the 2014 OL Reign, made an appearance in the NWSL Championship.

While there is still plenty of soccer left to be played in the 2022 regular season, history favors the Current as they continue to push for a playoff spot.

Record for goals

On June 18, Current forward Kristen Hamilton secured a franchise record for goals in a season with a first-half goal against the Chicago Red Stars. While she stood alone at the time atop the team and franchise goal scoring charts, another Current attacker quickly matched Hamilton’s total.

That attacker was Kizer, who notched her fifth goal of the 2022 regular season in Saturday’s victory. All her goals this season have come during the club’s unbeaten streak after making her Current debut June 11. Kizer has also scored in clutch situations, as each of Kizer’s five goals have been either game-tying or go-ahead finishes. Kizer and Hamilton enter Friday’s match tied for the team lead in goals after Hamilton also scored in the win over North Carolina.

Right behind Kizer and Hamilton is midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta, who scored her fourth goal of the 2022 campaign against the Courage. LaBonta’s goal scoring run is arguably the most impressive of Kansas City’s leading scorers after having entered the 2022 season with just five goals in her previous six NWSL seasons. LaBonta, Hamilton and Kizer have combined for nearly two-thirds of Kansas City’s goals in the 2022 regular season.

Player of the week

Kansas City Current forward Claire Lavogez was voted the Budweiser National Women’s Soccer League Player of the Week, as announced by the league. Signed by the Current on July 20, this is Lavogez’s first Player of the Week award.

Lavogez started the second half for Kansas City in North Carolina last Saturday with the team tied 2-2. Making only her second appearance with the club, Lavogez was an integral part of the team’s attack throughout the half.

Falling behind 3-2, Kansas City picked up the attack in the 60th minute. As midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta carried the ball down the right side of the field, Lavogez cut to the near post, dragging defenders with her. LaBonta’s cross deflected off Lavogez and right to a wide-open Cece Kizer who easily put home the equalizer.

Then the French international capped off the night in the 79th minute. Defender Elizabeth Ball stole the ball from the Courage attack and found Lavogez in the center circle. After receiving the pass from Ball she went straight down the middle of the field towards goal, pulling up about 30 yards from the end line to launch a powerful shot over the arms of the Courage goalkeeper and to the upper left corner of the goal, securing the win and NWSL-best fourth road victory of the season.

#ShowUpKC

The Current encourages fans from across the region to #ShowUpKC for the team’s match against Angel City FC Friday. The team looks to break the all-time Kansas City attendance record and fill the seats with over 10,000 fans. Visit www.kansascitycurrent.com/tickets for more information on single-match tickets.

Players to watch

Kansas City Current midfielder Desiree Scott — Scott has not missed a beat since returning from the Concacaf W Championship with Canada, starting and playing at least 74 minutes in her first three matches back from international duty. That includes back-to-back 90-minute appearances in Kansas City’s last two matches, the first of which held special significance. In the 60th minute of Kansas City’s 2-1 win over San Diego Wave FC, Scott became just the second Canadian player and 29th player in league history to surpass 10,000 NWSL minutes played. In Saturday’s match against the Courage, Scott recorded a NWSL single-game season-high ten tackles. She’s had another solid individual year in 2022, with 16 clearances and 15 interceptions while winning 56.8% of her tackles.

Angel City FC goalkeeper Didi Haracic — Haracic is enjoying one of the best statistical seasons of her lengthy NWSL career in 2022. The Round Hill, Virginia, native earned her career-high fourth shutout of the 2022 season with a three-save performance against Chicago last weekend. One of Haracic’s shutouts this season came against Kansas City May 25. Haracic has 39 saves so far this season, which ranks eighth in the NWSL, and has one penalty kick save.

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KC Current achieve come-from-behind victory, 4-3

In a thrilling seven-goal affair, the Kansas City Current (7-4-4, 25 pts, T-2nd place) took down the North Carolina Courage (2-6-4, 10 pts, 12th place) 4-3 on Saturday night in Cary, North Carolina, to extend the team’s franchise-best unbeaten streak to 10 matches.

Forward Claire Lavogez provided the game-winning goal with a strike from distance in the 79th minute to complete the comeback after the Current trailed by one goal on three separate occasions.

“Really proud of the group and how we stayed together and hung in there throughout the game in a very, very challenging environment,” head coach Matt Potter said. “North Carolina – their pedigree speaks for itself. To go on and win the game, we’re delighted, and we’re very proud right now.”

Saturday night’s match was an end-to-end affair from the opening kickoff. In what would become a theme throughout the contest, North Carolina opened the scoring in the 17th minute.

Rookie forward Diana Ordoñez notched the opening goal across after pouncing on a second-chance opportunity at the back post, her eighth goal of the season.

The Current did not wait long to equalize, tying the match in spectacular fashion in the 20th minute.

Following a corner kick and impressive bicycle kick by defender Elizabeth Ball to keep the play alive, forward Kristen Hamilton knocked in a driven shot on target from midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta. The goal marked Hamilton’s fifth of the season, which temporarily placed her as the team’s top goal scorer.

After North Carolina retook the lead in the 36th minute with a breakaway goal from midfielder Debinha, LaBonta leveled the match on the stroke of halftime with her first goal from the run-of-play in the 2022 regular season.

Forward Cece Kizer played a dangerous ball across the penalty box and, after a deflection, LaBonta ran onto the ball and smashed it into the net. LaBonta’s fourth goal of the season brought the match to 2-2 heading into the locker room.

Current goalkeeper A.D. Franch helped keep North Carolina’s offense at bay as the second half began with multiple key stops, but the Courage broke through on a set piece goal from Kaleigh Kurtz in the 56th minute. Kurtz’s headed goal struck both the post and crossbar before sneaking behind Franch.

Now down 3-2 with just over 30 minutes remaining, Kansas City went to work and completely took over the match.

In the 70th minute, midfielder Desiree Scott lifted a perfect ball down the line to LaBonta, who rolled in a dangerous cross to the penalty spot. Lavogez slid onto the ball but couldn’t quite connect, then Kizer slotted the ball home.

Lavogez was credited with the assist on Kizer’s goal, which marked her first NWSL assist. Kizer’s goal tied her with Hamilton for the team lead and club record five goals.

Minutes later, Lavogez completed the comeback with a moment of individual brilliance. Ball made an interception at midfield and pushed the ball ahead to Lavogez, who drove at North Carolina’s defense before launching the ball from over 30 yards away. Her shot sailed perfectly over Courage goalkeeper Casey Murphy and into the top corner for her first NWSL goal. Kansas City held on from there to earn the 4-3 win.

Saturday’s win marked Kansas City’s fourth consecutive road victory, which extends the NWSL’s longest road winning streak in the 2022 season.

The Current became the first team since 2019 to win four road matches in a row. Additionally, the team now sits tied in a franchise-best second place in points in the NWSL standings ahead of a crucial home match against Angel City FC on Friday, Aug. 19, at Children’s Mercy Park.

The team is encouraging fans from across the region to #ShowUpKC for the Angel City match as the team looks to break an all-time Kansas City attendance record and fill the stands with over 10,000 fans.

Tickets for remaining 2022 home matches and 2023 season ticket membership renewals are available online at KansasCityCurrent.com/tickets.

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