Twice is nice: KC NWSL records second straight victory, beating Louisville 2-1 in KCK

If there were any questioning Kansas City NWSL’s intentions after Wednesday night’s opening goal against Racing Louisville at Legends Field, there was certainly zero doubt after the second one.

A reasonable sense of caution remained after a conspicuous own-goal kicked off the scoring for KC. After all, KC had dropped three games from leading positions this season.

That changed when KC’s Kristen Hamilton pounced on a blistering counterattack to double the lead. And that second KC goal, 23 minutes after the first, helped the home team cruise to a 2-1 National Women’s Soccer League victory.

“It’s nice to give the fans something to continue to cheer about,” Hamilton said. “Just to have some home-field advantage, it feels like we kind of started to establish that so it was nice.”

Overland Park native Cece Kizer halved the deficit for Louisville midway through the second half, but that was all the visitors could muster.

The win marked Kansas City’s second in its brief franchise history, and second in a row. Both wins have come at home.

Unlike the first victory, a 1-0 win over the OL Reign in which KC scored late and held on, Wednesday’s win over Louisville was the result of a purposeful style of play.

A suffocating style of play.

On paper, Louisville’s 61% possession might suggest the visitors dominated. But much of that time was spent pinned deep, passing the ball around its own half.

Any attempt to play the ball on the ground was met with stiff resistance from KC before the halfway line. From there, Louisville would either be forced back toward its goal or give away the ball entirely.

And a turnover into the feet of KC midfielder Victoria Pickett deep in Louisville’s half led to the hosts’ opening goal. Pouncing on the ball 30 yards out, Pickett charged down the throat of Louisville’s defense before releasing possession to Hamilton to the right of the box.

Hamilton returned a low cross across the face of the goal back to Pickett, and Louisville defender Erin Simon mis-kicked it into her own team’s net.

“We knew that their centerbacks liked to pass the ball back and forth between each other,” Hamilton said. “It was just a matter of time until we could kind of step up and take advantage of one of those.”

The press began with midfielder Addie McCain, who started at the top point of KC’s midfield diamond. KC has switched to a 4-4-2 diamond in recent games and relies on McCain to wait for certain cues that tell her, and then the rest of the team, to pressure the opposition.

“Our goal is to kind of get them to play in spots that we want them to play in and we wait and then we go all together,” McCain said. “And so it’s kind of like timing it at the right moments as a group and not going separately.”

Louisville’s only other alternative was trying to fire the ball over the top of Kansas City’s midfield and land it behind the defense. But that tactic led to numerous turnovers ... and KC’s second goal of the game.

Winning a ball that had gone over her head, outside back Kiki Pickett laid it off to Elizabeth Ball. In the span of two passes, the ball traveled from Ball to forward Hailie Mace and into the open space behind Louisville’s defense.

Hamilton ran onto the pass as Louisville goalkeeper Michelle Betos backtracked before calmly slotting home the game-winner in the 40th minute.

“I just saw her backtracking, so for me, it was just pass it into the corner,” Hamilton said. “She was in the middle of the goal so I knew I had the whole near post wide open, she was just kind of in retreat mode and safety mode.”

The goal was Hamilton’s first for KC in her 100th NWSL appearance.

Louisville’s Kizer brought one back just after the hour mark, eliciting raucous applause from family and friends who’d set up in a small section of the stands.

It was one of the few solid chances that Louisville created. A late red card to another of Racing’s KC natives, Sinclaire Miramontez, condemned the visitors to playing with just 10 on the field for the remainder of the game.

This story was originally published August 25, 2021 at 9:31 PM with the headline "Twice is nice: KC NWSL records second straight victory, beating Louisville 2-1 in KCK."