Nine games in, KC NWSL was still seeking its first win. It didn’t arrive vs. Houston

Sometimes, all it takes in sports is a lucky break. A favorable call in your team’s direction or a fortunate bounce can be the difference between a slump and a springboard to success.

Through Kansas City NWSL’s first nine games in franchise history, luck has barely glanced KC’s way.

Just a week after Kansas City fell to the Orlando Pride on a questionable goal decision, it once again found itself on the wrong end of a fine-margin referee decision Sunday in a 1-0 loss to the Houston Dash at Legends Field.

“Every game seems to be within a goal or so and everybody seems beating each other,” KC coach Huw Williams said. “So yeah, breaks are big for anybody. We certainly need some right now.”

Vying for a franchise-first win on the ninth attempt, Kansas City looked to have broken the deadlock 25 minutes into the game via the head of Mariana Larroquette. Latching onto the end of a deep free kick from Katie Bowen, Larroquette headed the ball over Houston goalkeeper Jane Campbell and into an open net.

Pent-up frustration was released in a scream of celebration from Bowen at the halfway line as the rest of KC surrounded Larroquette. The home crowd roared so loud the stadium announcer could barely be heard, shouting just as excitedly about the game opener.

But completely unabashed, Campbell picked the ball out of her net, placed it down on the six-yard box, and passed it out to a defender. The frantic celebrations around the stadium turned into muttered confusion and then angered shouting as fans began to realize that the assistant referee had flagged for an offside.

With no VAR in the National Women’s Soccer League, the call stood and Kansas City could do no more about it.

Despite the chalked-off goal, Kansas City continued to pressure Houston, a team with which it’s become familiar over the last couple of months. Kansas City has played Houston three times in its first nine games, losing the first contest 3-1 and tying the second 2-2.

The home side created chance after chance against Houston, culminating in a golden chance for defender Rachel Corsie 12-yards out from goal. Forward captain Amy Rodriguez laid the ball off for Corsie but the Scot didn’t connect cleanly with her shot and failed to force a tough save from Campbell.

“I had a great chance of my own and that’s sort of the small margins at the top level of the game,” Corsie said. “If you don’t take your chances you get punished.”

Just a minute later, Houston went down the other end of the field and grabbed the only goal of the game through a centerback of their own. Rising highest in the box off a corner, Kathleen Naughton made a solid connection on a header right in the middle of the box and into the back of the net in the 79th minute.

Naughton found space in the box after escaping Darian Jenkins, who was assigned with guarding her and took responsibility after the game for the goal. But the headed goal continues a worrying trend for KC — both of Houston’s goals in the 2-2 tie came from headers and Orlando’s goal last week was via a corner kick.

“Obviously we just try to mark individual players, but there’s an expectation for everyone to take responsibility in those instances and I think there are a few people who feel disappointed,” Corsie said.

As was the case with the Orlando game, Kansas City scrambled for a goal in the final minutes of the game. Just minutes after Houston’s goal winger Darian Jenkins fired over a shot after receiving a cross-field pass that mirrored Kansas City’s opener against Houston on May 23.

Corsie also had a header from a cross that was saved by Campbell and a header from substitute Allie Hess moments later glanced just wide of the post.

Unable to find an equalizer, Kansas City suffered a second-straight 1-0 loss that could have been a different scoreline if a break or two went its way. The club enters the international break bottom of the standings with two points from five games.

“We have a couple of weeks to get better,” Williams said. “We’ve got a couple of weeks to right the ship here and find ways to win games instead of finding ways to lose games.”

This story was originally published June 6, 2021 at 4:10 PM with the headline "Nine games in, KC NWSL was still seeking its first win. It didn’t arrive vs. Houston."