Kansas City NWSL dropped Wednesday’s match with Orlando, 3-1, at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas.
The Kansas City team scored its first regular season home goal with Mariana Larroquette’s point.
Orlando’s Sydney Leroux scored twice, including shortly after and just before the end of the first half to tie, and again in the second half. Marta Vieira da Silva added another goal in the second half.
Kansas City started the first half with energy in the 8th minute with a play by Lo’eau LaBonta. The veteran midfielder slotted a pass across the box to a running Amy Rodriguez who slipped it into the back of the net, but it was called offside. Minutes later, Larroquette hit a rocket from outside of the box that nearly went into the upper left corner, but skimmed the top bar.
The first half action saw numerous players on both sides needing treatment from their athletic trainers. Combined with the hydration break, the referee saw fit to add 11 minutes to the end of the opening half.
The stoppage time didn’t lack intensity from either team. Off a corner kick, Kansas City’s Jéssica Silva knocked the ball out of the air to Larroquette, who poked it past the Pride’s goalkeeper, Erin McLeod, in the eighth minute of stoppage time.
Moments later, Orlando had an answer of its own when Leroux found the back of the net from a scramble in the box that Kansas City was unable to clear.
Prior to that goal, goalkeeper Abby Smith had continued playing at the MVP level her teammates had referenced earlier in the week.
The second half began quickly for Orlando as it scored a goal within the first three minutes. Leroux struck again for her second goal of the night on a ball from former KC player, Gunny Jónsdóttir. Marta then provided the insurance goal in the 85th minute by firing in a 40-yard moonshot over the head of Smith to seal the victory for Orlando.
Coming down to the wire, Kansas City tried to close the gap late in the game. In the final minutes of the match, midfielder Chloe Logarzo was able to lay off a pass to Gaby Vincent who launched a hard shot toward the net, but it was stopped by McLeod.
After the game, Amy Rodriguez said the team is not going to defeat itself over the loss.
“We can hang our heads a little bit, but at the end of the day we are a new team and still getting to know each other and developing the chemistry,” Rodriguez said. “It takes time, all we can do is keep pushing.”
Kansas City now quickly shifts its focus to the second game in four days at Legends Field as it plays the Washington Spirit on Saturday, June 26. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.