After a major changing of the guard, what comes next for KC’s women’s pro-soccer club?

Just 11 days ago, Amy Rodriguez pulled on the captain’s armband and lined up at the spearhead of Kansas City NWSL’s offense against the OL Reign.

Now, with the North Carolina Courage coming to town for a Friday night game, KC fans will probably never see Rodriguez suit up for their team again ... not that they won’t see her again soon (they will — more on that shortly).

KC NWSL traded Rodriguez, along with $60,000 in allocation money, to the Courage Thursday in exchange for three players.

“It was a tough decision, clearly, an emotional decision in some ways,” Kansas City coach Huw Williams said.

And a decision neither Williams nor the KC front office expected to be making this season. That is, until the Courage approached in recent weeks, inquiring about her availability via trade.

KC listened and ultimately received forward Kristen Hamilton, goalkeeper Katelyn Rowland and midfielder Hailie Mace in exchange.

“The decision was very difficult for us, but (at the) same time, we’re also very excited about the players that we were able to acquire,” Williams said.

Williams discussed the trade with Rodriguez beforehand but remained quiet about the details of that conversation. He also told the team as a group ahead of the announcement.

“The conversations went well,” Williams said. “We’re professional athletes over here. They understand the environment that they’re in. It’s not always something that they want, or not want, but I think everybody here is more focused on going forward now.”

But where exactly does this leave Williams’ KC club? Rodriguez has been a key piece since 2014, winning two NWSL championships with the organization in its former iteration, FC Kansas City, before moving with the team to Utah and then back to KC in 2020.

On the leadership front, Williams sees this as an opportunity for other players to vie for the captain’s armband. The armband will most likely go to defender Rachel Corsie, whom Williams mentioned by name on Thursday. Corsie was promoted to captain within the team about three weeks ago.

Williams also mentioned Hamilton, who has made over 90 appearances in the NWSL. She had a stellar 2019 season, scoring nine goals and earning NWSL Second XI honors.

Club officials hope the trade strikes a delicate balance between trying to win now and building for future seasons.

Hamilton, 29, and Rowland, 27, offer league experience and a combined six NWSL championships. Williams hopes they’ll bring energy and will to win to a team stuck at rock-bottom of the NWSL standings: no wins in 10 tries.

“What unbelievable success (North Carolina) has had, and these players have had within that club,” Williams said. “We want some of that; we want that to be infectious. We want them to come in here and help us get to where we want to get to.”

The trade creates a minor roster dilemma for Kansas City. The club was one player under the 28-player league limit before the trade. But with one player heading out and three coming in, KC is now one over the limit.

The short-term solution has been to place defender Taylor Leach on the 45-day injury list. Leach is recovering from a broken foot that she suffered in late June. But once Leach returns, KC will have to drop a player from its full roster by either releasing someone or demoting one to a practice squad/international replacement position.

The solution to that problem could come from the team’s goalkeeping corps. With the addition of Rowland, KC now has four keepers: Rowland, Abby Smith, Nicole Barnhart and Carly Nelson.

All three newcomers practiced with KC Thursday. Williams called the session “very positive,” and, “lively and energetic.” And yes, the trio will be available for KC NWSL Friday night against their former team, though Williams declined to say if any of them might get a starting nod.

“We will consider all aspects of it,” he said, “and make the decision based on what’s right for them, and right for the team, as well.”

This story was originally published July 22, 2021 at 5:33 PM with the headline "After a major changing of the guard, what comes next for KC’s women’s pro-soccer club?."