Kansas City NWSL scores first home goal of season, but a former KC star lifts Pride
Kansas City NWSL looked like a team reborn against the Orlando Pride Wednesday afternoon in Kansas City, Kansas — in the first half, especially.
But it was a tall order to overcome two goals by Orlando’s Sydney Leroux. The former FC Kansas City standout scored twice at sunny Legends Field as the Pride beat the host team 3-1.
KC coach Huw Williams said the first half was probably one of the team’s best so far, but managing a hard-earned 1-0 lead was another matter. It was just the second time all season the KC club had led, and much like the first time, it surrendered a goal soon after scoring.
“I think we were the better team the first half — I think that we had the game not under control, but in our hands, in the first half,” Williams said. “We did not manage the lead, manage the game, well enough.”
“You try not to let it bug you, but of course we never like getting scored on immediately after we just scored,” KC forward Amy Rodriguez said. “The Orlando goal kind of deflated us, in some aspects.”
KC NWSL launched consistent attacks throughout the first half, a pace that led to the first-year team’s first home goal of the National Women’s Soccer League season. Mariana Larroquette did the honors, assisted by Jéssica Silva, in the seventh minute of a whopping 11 minutes of first-half stoppage time.
KC’s 1-0 lead didn’t last long. Orlando forward Leroux, who played for Kansas City’s previous women’s pro club, took a shot from just inside KC’s box and defender Rachel Corsie stepped in to stop it, but she deflected it, and the ball just slid past goalkeeper Abby Smith in the final minute of first-half added time to even the score.
Leroux hit again shortly after the second half started, notching an excellent strike in the 49th minute to give Orlando a lead it would not relinquish.
Brazilian star Marta recorded a goal of her own in the 85th minute, completing the scoring for the Pride. Marta had just dribbled past the half-field circle when she launched a shot that sailed over Smith’s head.
Orlando (4-0-3) extended its unbeaten streak while Kansas City (0-5-2) will again seek its inaugural victory Saturday at home against the Washington Spirit (2-1-3). Game time is 7:30 p.m.
The 11 minutes of first-half stoppage time, nearly unheard of in pro-level soccer, resulted from numerous players from both teams going down throughout the opening half. It was a physical battle, with nine fouls on Orlando, four on Kansas City.
Williams said he has never been involved in a game with that much added injury time. The constant stoppages in play made maintaining any semblance of momentum, especially after giving up Leroux’s goal just before halftime, that much more elusive.
“Momentum was tough today, only because when we got our first goal — which was obviously a huge high for this team,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve been scoreless in a lot of games, so getting that first-half goal for us, feeling that momentum, was huge for us.”
Players continued to go down in the second half, but fortunately most felled did not sustain serious injury. KC defender Elizabeth Ball did exit at halftime because of an undisclosed injury.
The first half was evenly played. KC appeared to be the more aggressive team and created more chances in the first 56 minutes than it had all season. Rodriguez appeared to have found the net in the ninth minute, but offside was called.
“I think we really brought it today,” she said. “We came out with a lot of energy, a lot of passion.
“We really wanted three points for KC this week and in this game today you could see that in how many times we were getting forward, how many free kicks we were awarded — we were playing tough. Credit to Orlando and their defense, they withheld a lot of our free-kick opportunities.”
The game slowed in the second half, and several players were rotated in for Kansas City. Chloe Logarzo, Michelle Maemone, Darian Jenkins, Mallory Weber and Michelle Vasconcelos all saw minutes after intermission as Silva, Larroquette, Lo’eau LaBonta and Victoria Pickett were taken off.
A bright spot for KC’s offense was the Silva-and-Katie Bowen combination up the right side of the field. KC also found some success on set pieces, creating second chances off rebounds.
Just five KC players have appeared in each game thus far because of injuries or international call-ups. Rodriguez, who is one of them, said as a first-year club she and her still-new teammates know it may take time to create some consistency.
“We know great chemistry comes with experience and time, so we’re going to keep pressing on each and every game,” she said. “We play for a lot of pride in this city and we want to represent KC well, so we’re going to keep on our front foot and we’re going to keep going.”
This story was originally published June 23, 2021 at 3:37 PM with the headline "Kansas City NWSL scores first home goal of season, but a former KC star lifts Pride."