Hat trick! How Kristen Hamilton flipped Saturday’s KC Current match ... in 4 minutes
A brilliant — and historic — performance from Kristen Hamilton propelled the Kansas City Current to a Challenge Cup victory over the Houston Dash on Saturday night.
Hamilton scored twice in first-half stoppage time and added a third goal in the second half to round out the first hat trick in Kansas City Current history.
There have been many times in the 2023 season in which the Current were the more dominant team but failed to come up with a result. On Saturday night, that wasn’t the case.
“We know that this is the team we can be day in and day out,” Hamilton said after the Current’s 3-1 victory.
Hamilton’s hat trick was brilliant on its own, but the build-up play that led to each goal was equally impressive.
And with Hamilton in the right spot at the right time, her finishing was clinical. It was something she worked on during the week.
“We just haven’t really had that final quality, myself included,” Hamilton said. “It was really nice to put some (goals) away today.”
Current interim coach Caroline Sjöblom said the team was hoping to get rookie forward Michelle Cooper in behind the back line the whole night, looking to set up cut-back opportunities and diagonal passes in the final third.
While those opportunities weren’t finding the back of the net early, she was happy the players “trusted the process.”
“As long as we do that, we feel we can win the game,” Sjöblom said.
And that was the ultimate result. But even in a dominant victory, there were a few minutes in which the result was in doubt.
The Current (3-1-0 in Challenge Cup play) fell behind early at Children’s Mercy Park. Madelyn Desiano scored her first career goal with a long-range stunner in the 17th minute. The shot flew past Current goalkeeper AD Franch and kissed off the inside of the post and in to put the Dash up 1-0.
After a long stretch of controlling the ball, the Current finally cashed in. Cooper made an explosive turn and got inside the box before returning the ball toward the penalty spot. Jenna Winebrenner got a slight touch to redirect it to the back post, where Hamilton calmly scored.
Minutes later, still in first-half stoppage time, Cece Kizer’s deft deflection opened up a two-vs.-three counterattack from the Current. Winebrenner carried the ball upfield, and Hamilton waited for the perfect timing to make her run and avoid an offside call.
Again, a cool, calm, collected finish by Hamilton helped the Current get into halftime with a lead. KC led 2-1 at the break.
Sjöblom praised Winebrenner’s effort to assist the second goal, calling the play “high class” after the match.
In the 68th minute, Hamilton finished her hat trick on a similar play to her first goal. This time, it was directly off a pass from Cooper to give the rookie an assist.
Winebrenner’s two assists were the first two of her NWSL career (in any fixture). She did so while playing higher up into the midfield on Saturday, as compared to her more natural center-back role.
“It’s a lot more fun,” Winebrenner said. “I can be a lot more creative, so I’ve really enjoyed it.”
With the win, the Current remain in second in their Challenge Cup group, but they’ve put plenty of distance between themselves and the rest of the field. With nine points and a plus-12 goal differential, they’re likely to finish no worse than second and give themselves a shot at the knockout stage.
Next up in the Challenge Cup is a trip to Chicago next Saturday for a 7 p.m. kickoff with the Red Stars.
