FC Kansas City defeats Seattle Reign with 1-0 win

FC Kansas City forward Amy Rodriguez has not made friends with Seattle Reign FC.

In fact, coach Laura Harvey called her “the biggest pain in her life.”

She did not help her reputation at all scoring the Blues’ lone goal in a 1-0 victory on Thursday night at Swope Park Soccer Village.

“She is quick, she is clever and she plays on the wrong side of the defenders a lot, but gets back on the right side just in time,” Harvey said. “We know this about her and we know her traits, but it is difficult to stop. When she is on form, in my opinion, there are not many better than her.”

Harvey passed on her sentiments in the hallway after the game and Rodriguez relayed the story with a smile.

“I laugh about it,” Rodriguez said. “We’re on good terms, and I’m happy to be that.”

The last time Rodriguez met Seattle, she scored two goals in the National Women’s Soccer League Championship game. FC Kansas City also won that and now has a 6-1-2 record against Seattle.

“I’m sure they don’t like playing us,” Rodriguez said. “We beat them in the final at their home last year and that doesn’t sit well. They had two losses and we had two losses so this was a big game for us. I’m glad we came out with it.”

It was the first victory of the season for the Blues, who improved to 1-2-0 in front of a home crowd of 2,466. It was also the first game on their new pitch at Swope Soccer Village.

“I think the whole event was very good,” coach Vlatko Andonovski said. “I think the field is one of the best, if not the best in the league and I think the players really enjoyed it. The atmosphere was really good around it too.”

The two teams played to a scoreless draw in the first half, but FC Kansas City came out of the break to score quickly.

In the 49th minute, Sarah Hagen threaded the ball through two defenders to a streaking Rodriguez who chipped it over Solo’s head for her first goal of the season.

The two teams finished with an even 10 shots apiece, but the Blues had a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal.

“One thing we were missing in the previous two games was that we left A-Rod on an island by herself, but now she had a friend,” Andonovski said.

The goal was especially important for Rodriguez, who was playing her final game with FC Kansas City before joining the U.S. Women’s National Team for World Cup training. She will be joined by teammates Lauren Holiday, Becky Sauerbrunn and Heather O’Reilly.

“I feel good about leaving the team with a win and hopefully they are going to build and keep it going,” Rodriguez said.

This story was originally published April 23, 2015 at 10:15 PM with the headline "FC Kansas City defeats Seattle Reign with 1-0 win."