KC NWSL loses festive first game, but Brittany, Patrick and scores of fans had a blast

From afar, the Monday night scene could’ve been any other soccer game at Children’s Mercy Park. The fans were loud, the lights were bright and a Kansas City team was featuring center stage on the field.

But inside the stadium, things were a shade different.

Instead of the Sporting Blue typically seen in Sporting Kansas City’s home stadium, shirts and scarves of teal dominated the stands.

For the first time since September 2017, National Women’s Soccer League competition returned to Kansas City, as KC NWSL played host to the Houston Dash in the first home game in franchise history.

The game held an air of symbolism, too. The last NWSL game played in Kansas City resulted in a 1-1 tie between Houston and the now-defunct FC Kansas City.

On this night, playing before a reduced-capacity sellout crowd at Children’s Mercy Park that included part-owner Brittany Matthews and Chiefs quarterback/fiance Patrick Mahomes, KC fell 3-1 to Houston.

“Good to be playing at home. Fantastic crowd that supported us all the way to the end and urging us to get back into the game,” KC coach Huw Williams said. “Wasn’t to be today, bitterly disappointed. Players worked hard, certainly battled to the end, but Dash was a better team today.”

The game was played at CMP because of ongoing construction at Field of Legends, KC NWSL’s nearby home field. The usual Sporting blue wave inside The Cauldron, the SKC supporters group typically seated in the stadium’s north stand, was replaced by the teal and white of KC NWSL’s supporter’s group, The Blue Crew.

Before the match, fans were abuzz.

“I’m hoping that it’s big,” Blue Crew member Patrick Brown of Kansas City said of the atmosphere. “Hoping that the Blue Crew get in here and we start making some noise.”

There was certainly plenty of that. When Houston’s Kristie Mewis punched in the opening goal in the 25th minute, home fans responded by chanting “Let’s go KC!”

Less than 20 minutes later, on the stroke of halftime, the stadium erupted in a chorus of boos as KC defender Rachel Corsie was deemed to have fouled Houston’s Rachel Daly in the penalty box.

Daly slotted in the ensuing penalty kick to give Houston a 2-0 lead at the break.

But even as Mewis scored her second of the game in the 71st minute, the crowd continued to chant its support, an ever-present drum beating on.

When Michele Vasconcelos netted a 77th-minute consolation goal for Kansas City, fans cheered. When fireworks shot out from the roof, they roared.

On the scoresheet, the result wasn’t a pretty one for Kansas City. But from a run-of-play point of view, the scoreline was perhaps a little harsh to the home team.

For the first time in 2021, Kansas City looked more confident and composed in midfield in the first half of a game. KC held the ball with more purpose and attacked with more regularity, so when Mewis cut the ball back at 20 yards and fired a shot through a crowd of players, off the post and into the back of the net, there was almost a sense of shock in the stands.

The chance for Mewis came following a weak clearance from KC defender Kate Del Fava but there was not much KC goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart could do about the shot.

“We definitely don’t want to give up goals like that, and I think unfortunately a lot of the goals came off of turnovers and kind of just miscommunications on our end,” Barnhart said. “We definitely know we have a lot to improve on, and it starts from the goalkeeper all the way up the field.”

That shock turned to anger when Daly’s penalty in the 44th minute followed a slight nudge in the back from Corsie that sent Daly sprawling to the ground. The English midfielder certainly had a right to go to the ground, but had the interaction happened anywhere else on the field, play might have gone on.

Mewis’ second goal resulted when Houston’s Nichelle Prince burned KC substitute Michelle Maemone on the wing and squared the ball to Mewis. The play was Houston’s slickest of the game and quietened fans momentarily.

Prince caused issues for KC all night. She had the better of left back Sydney Miramontez in the first half, causing the defender to pick up a yellow card, and continued to give Maemone a headache in the second half.

“(Prince) was a tough matchup, but I think it’s a tough matchup for most teams,” Williams said. “Just a very good player who’s dangerous, especially on transition play.”

Vasconceles’ goal six minutes later got them back on their feet. A slicing through ball from Lo LaBonta found the feet of substitute Vasconcelos, who ran through and fired one with power past Houston goalie Jane Campbell.

The loss was a tough one for KC in a game that, from a pure playing perspective, was probably their best to date.

“We’ve been working on getting behind the defense this week,” Vasconcelos said. “So when Lo received it in that pocket, I knew where she was looking and she played me a perfect ball.”

KC fans remained hopeful until the final whistle, brimming with excitement that an NWSL team was back in Kansas City.

“It’s great,” said Blue Crew member Dustin Martin of Ottawa, Kan., a former FCKC season ticket-holder. “Because it truly capitalizes Kansas City as the soccer capital of the U.S.”

This story was originally published April 26, 2021 at 10:13 PM with the headline "KC NWSL loses festive first game, but Brittany, Patrick and scores of fans had a blast."