Kansas City Current’s unbeaten streak continues, while NWSL history was made Saturday
The Kansas City Current are still unbeaten thanks to a 1-0 victory in Sandy, Utah, on Saturday night.
The win pushes the Current back into second place in the NWSL with 25 points. They have 7 wins, 0 losses, 4 draws and are just two points behind the Orlando Pride. The Current have the best goal differential in the league.
The match was delayed for 40 minutes due to a storm moving through the Salt Lake City area. But once it got underway, it seemed like one-way traffic toward the Utah goal.
Temwa Chawinga could’ve had a first-half hat-trick with three golden chances. One went off the post. Another was saved by Utah goalkeeper Mandy Haught. Another was headed over the goal by a scrambling Utah defender trying to cover an empty net.
Then came some bad news: Current defender Gabrielle Robinson went to the ground without contact in the 22nd minute. She appeared in severe pain and was subbed off.
Even so, the turning point of the match was coming.
The Current broke the deadlock and made some history — totaling their 15th different goalscorer this season. (The previous NWSL record was 14.)
Elizabeth Ball scored just her second career goal, stretching to get on the end of a header from Claire Hutton. Ball immediately ran to the sideline and celebrated with a hobbling Robinson.
The Current easily could’ve added to their lead. They took a total of 24 shots, putting eight on target. Utah’s Haught made seven saves, but the Current did her a favor, failing to hit the target with several prime chances.
Debinha, in fact, twice missed the net from point-blank range.
The Current again faced a large amount of stoppage time and were under fire, leading 1-0, but they closed out the match and took all three points — unlike the last match, which featured a tying goal in the 103rd minute.
The Current now have the next couple of weeks off for international play. They resume NWSL play on Sunday, June 9, hosting the Seattle Reign for a 5 p.m. kickoff.
Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.
