Category: Sports

Monarchs drop fifth straight

by Gabriel Lopez, Monarchs

Sioux City, Iowa— The woes continue for the Kansas City Monarchs (46-29) as they were defeated 8-4 by the Sioux City Explorers (34-40) on Monday.

The Monarchs have now lost five straight games and are 1-6 in the month of August.

The Explorers scored right away in the first inning. After Danny Amaral worked a walk, Blake Tiberi hit a single to left field. Amaral stole third base and was brought in on an RBI-single from Danry Vasquez. Sebastian Zawada followed up Vasquez’s at-bat with a sacrifice fly to left field to bring in Tiberi and give Sioux City an early 2-0 lead.

After a scoreless top half from Kansas City, Chase Harris hit a solo home run in the bottom of the second to extend Sioux City’s lead, 3-0.

The Explorers tacked on a few more runs in the third inning. After Vasquez singled to third base, Zawada roped a double to left field to score Vasquez. Gabe Snyder brought another run home on a single to left field. After three innings of baseball, Sioux City led 5-0 over Kansas City.

The Monarchs responded in the top of the fourth when Casey Gillaspie and Gio Brusa hammered back-to-back bombs. The home run for Brusa marked his first long ball as a Monarch.

Kansas City’s offense didn’t stop there. In the top of the fifth, Darnell Sweeney brought in Jacob Robson with a ground ball to shortstop. Gillaspie followed up Sweeney’s at-bat with an RBI-single to right field to bring the Monarchs within one, as they trailed 4-5.

Sioux City continued to extend its lead in the bottom of the fifth. Zack Kone led off the inning with a double to left field. A few batters later, Zawada doubled to center field to score Kone. Snyder hit an RBI-single to center to score Zawada and give the Explorers a 7-4 lead.

The Explorers added one more run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Shane Podsednik singled to right field. He quickly scored after an error made by shortstop Kevin Santa to make it an 8-4 ballgame for Sioux City.

Relief pitcher Max Kuhns was lights out for the Explorers. He was unhittable, as he struck eight Monarchs in three innings while allowing zero hits.

Thomas McIlraith entered in the top of the ninth to replace Kuhns. He struck out the side to end the game as Sioux City took the first game of the three-game series.

The Monarchs will face the Explorers at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 9, in an away game. The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:35 p.m. and the video stream airing on aa baseball.tv.

Tickets to Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com.

KC Current wins 2-1 on the road

The Kansas City Current (6-4-4, 22pts, 5th place) extended its franchise-best unbeaten streak to nine matches with a 2-1 road victory over the San Diego Wave (7-4-4, 25pts, 2nd place) on Sunday afternoon.

Forward Cece Kizer and defender Hailie Mace’s first-half goals proved enough for the Current to secure the win, which marked the expansion Wave’s first home loss in club history.

“We had a really great week of practice where the quality was there to support the energy and endeavor and I thought that was reflected in the way we went about that first half,” said head coach Matt Potter. “So, very positive the goals were a reflection of that.”

Kansas City applied pressure to San Diego from the opening kickoff. Midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta forced an early save from Wave goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan in the 8th minute on a one-on-one opportunity following a San Diego turnover, a harbinger of what was to come in the opening 45 minutes.

The Current opened the scoring in the 27th minute after forward Kristen Hamilton launched a counterattack with a long through ball. Kizer ran onto the pass, weaved past a Wave defender and fired a shot past Sheridan to give Kansas City a 1-0 lead.

The goal marked Kizer’s fourth goal as a member of the Current, all of which have come during the team’s nine-match unbeaten streak, and her second go-ahead goal this season.

Potter’s squad continued applying pressure on San Diego’s back line and it paid off in the 39th minute. Following another Wave turnover, Mace dribbled right into a group of San Diego defenders and fired a rocket from the top of the penalty box. The Ventura, California, native and July Best XI of the Month honoree’s curling shot sailed perfectly into the top corner to double the Current’s lead.

The Current’s 2-0 lead stood heading into halftime as a stout Kansas City defense didn’t allow a shot on target in the first half.

Another Current player reached a significant individual milestone in the early stages of the second half. Team captain and midfielder Desiree Scott surpassed 10,000 NWSL minutes played in the 60th minute. Scott became just the second Canadian player and 29th player in league history to reach the milestone.

“You can really see a togetherness and a belief in the partnerships that are building, the connections on the field,” said team captain Scott. “You know, people are working for one another and we’re just becoming more of a team. And you can see on the right side of the pitch, you can see people understanding each other’s roles a bit more and who they are as individuals. That connection coming together all across the pitch as we build through this season has been incredible to see. It’s great to come back in with the quad and continue this unbeaten record.”

Minutes later, the Current nearly extended its lead. Substitute forward Elyse Bennett continued her recent game-changing run of form by winning a penalty kick in the 67th minute.

LaBonta stepped up to take the spot kick and fired her shot to Sheridan’s right, but the goalkeeper dove to deny the effort and break LaBonta’s streak of three consecutive penalty kicks made in 2022.

However, Kansas City remained in control of the match after the momentum swing and continued to stifle San Diego’s offense. The Wave’s lone goal came from forward Amirah Ali in the 88th minute, which marked the team’s only shot on target in Sunday’s match. The Current weathered a late Wave push to see out a 2-1 win, which marked the team’s third consecutive road victory after entering the 2022 regular season without a road win in franchise history.

Kansas City remains on the road next weekend, taking on the North Carolina Courage at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at WakeMed Soccer Park.

The team’s next home match is on Friday, Aug. 19, against Angel City FC, and the Current is encouraging fans from across the region to #ShowUpKC as the team looks to break an all-time Kansas City attendance record and fill the seats with over 10,000 fans.

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

  • Story from KC Current

Cougars continue to haunt Monarchs

by Jaxson Webb, Monarchs

Geneva, Illinois — The Kane County Cougars (39-36) completed a come-from-behind victory and a series sweep against the Kansas City Monarchs (46-28) after a heroic eighth inning at home Sunday.

The Kansas City Monarchs placed the ball in right-handed pitcher Matt Hartman’s hands for his 11th start of the season on Sunday afternoon after the two-hour rain delay.

Despite having to wait the extra time until first pitch, Hartman stayed prepared for his start. The Westmont College graduate had more success this time around against the Cougars than his previous start on Aug. 2. The starter for Kansas City cruised through the first five frames against Kane County, allowing just six runners to reach base throughout his first five innings.

The Monarchs struck first in the top of the third inning, scoring one run off of a throw to second base to catch Jacob Robson stealing. Mallex Smith raced home on the throw to second from third base to start the scoring for the afternoon (1-0).

Kansas City struck again in the fifth inning with two runs. Robson laced a double that scored Kevin Santa and the newly acquired Gio Brusa (3-0).

Kane County knew it was time to strike as they answered in the bottom half of the fifth with two runs of their own. They finally cracked Hartman with an Alexis Pantoja two-RBI single (3-2). The single from Pantoja was one of just three hits that Hartman allowed all afternoon.

The Monarchs stretched their lead to two in exciting fashion in the eighth inning with a big city bomb from Matt Adams, his 22nd of the season (4-2).

The hometown Cougars kept clawing though and really turned the tide of the game after their biggest offensive inning in the bottom of the eighth. The scoring in the inning was started by a Sherman Johnson solo home run (4-3). Luke Mangieri then clubbed a huge triple that scored former Monarch, Nick Franklin to tie the game at four apiece. A single from Galli Cribbs Jr. allowed the Cougars to leap back in front of Kansas City on the next at-bat (5-4) off Jeremy Rhoades.

Kansas City loaded the bases after the first two batters struck out in the last call for the Monarchs. Jacob Robson collected his third hit of the afternoon to start the rally, Darnell Sweeney singled five pitches later, and Adams worked a five-pitch walk. Every bag a Monarch with the highly feared David Thompson stepping up to the plate. A hit by Thompson could have crushed the Cougars, but Ryan Tapani for Kane County got the out and completed the sweep against the Monarchs (5-4).

The Monarchs will begin a three-game away series against the Sioux City Explorers at 7:05 p.m. Monday, Aug. 8.

The game can be heard on the Monarchs Broadcast Network with the pre-game beginning at 6:35 p.m. and the video stream airing on aabaseball.tv.

Tickets to Monarchs games can be purchased by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting monarchsbaseball.com.