Kansas City’s new women’s pro soccer team adds World Cup veteran from Argentina

Kansas City’s newest professional soccer team made its first foray into the transfer market Tuesday morning, with “Kansas City NWSL” confirming the signing of Argentine forward Mariana Larroquette.

Larroquette joins the reborn Kansas City women’s club, which has yet to announce a name for the team, on a two-year deal ahead of the 2021 season. She arrives from Norwegian club Lyn Fotball, becoming the KC team’s first international signing.

“Whether it’s on or off the field, our goal is to bring talented people together to create something special,” KC coach Huw Williams said. “Mariana is a talented player who competes creatively and tenaciously. We are happy to sign Mariana as our team’s first-ever free agent.”

Larroquette, 28, has spent much of her career in Argentina, including a nine-year stint at Argentinian giant River Plate — five with the first team. She spent just one season in Norway before returning to the Americas in Kansas City.

Internationally, Larroquette has represented her home country at the under-20 level at both the 2008 and 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cups as well as at the senior-level 2019 World Cup.

Most noticeably, she was part of the Argentina squad in the 2019 World Cup that tied 3-3 with Scotland after falling behind 3-0. One of her new teammates, Rachel Corsie, featured for that Scotland team.

She’s scored a total of 11 international senior goals in 2014-19.

The addition of Larroquette brings KC’s roster to 23 after Friday’s initial roster announcement.

This story was originally published December 22, 2020 at 9:42 AM.