Here’s the Kansas City Current’s strategy for Saturday’s NWSL women’s soccer draft

The recently concluded National Women’s Soccer League season wasn’t kind to Kansas City’s first-year franchise. The Current finished at the bottom of the standings, with just three wins and a league-low 15 goals scored.

But there were a few highlights along the way, many courtesy of the club’s first crop of draft picks: Victoria Pickett was an NWSL Rookie of the Year finalist, Kiki Pickett was crucial in the trade for world-class midfielder Sam Mewis, and Addie McCain keyed KC’s transitional attack.

That’s not to mention later-round draft picks Alex Loera and Brookelynn Entz — both of whom remained with their college teams in 2021 via an extra year of NCAA eligibility and will join the current next season.

KC’s next big chance to bolster its lineup arrives Saturday afternoon, when the 2022 NWSL Draft kicks off at 1 p.m. Central Time. For the second straight year, the draft will take place virtually on Paramount+. Teams will participate remotely amid ongoing COVID-19 concerns.

The Current hold the the seventh overall pick in Round 1, the fifth pick in the second round (15th overall), and the third and fifth picks in the fourth round (41st and 43rd overall).

So with two first-round picks and five in total, what exactly will the the Current be seeking? Their most glaring need is an out-and-out goalscorer.

Considering the acquisitions of Mariana Larroquette, Kristen Hamilton and Jessica Silva during the 2021 season, and the rise of Darian Jenkins, KC looks set along the front line. But once again, this is a team that scored just 15 goals last season.

“We need to be a team that scores goals,” said Huw Williams, who last month transitioned from head coach to a talent-identification role on the club’s technical staff. “We didn’t score them the last year… we need to bolster our goal-scoring opportunities,”

The Current have yet to announce who their new head coach will be. And Williams was somewhat coy on what KC is targeting in the draft, saying the team will look for the best player available at the time of each pick.

But he did speak highly of a couple of forwards and the Current’s need for a player with “raw power and raw speed” like U.S Women’s National Team and North Carolina forward Lynn Williams. By the time KC picks, one option might be Cameron Tucker, who netted 43 goals and 29 assists in 97 games for BYU, the 2021 College Cup runner-up.

The Current covet a lethal finisher in and around the penalty box.

“She’s your Ian Rush sniffer-like player,’ Williams said, a reference to the legendary Liverpool and Welsh forward. “She’s going to be picking up loose balls and will finish most of those. But she’s going to need a lot of quality service to get the ball there. She’s not the player who’s going to create those chances for herself.”

Virginia forward Diana Ordoñez could fit that profile. She scored an impressive 45 goals in 62 games for the Cavaliers but typically needed her teammates to get the ball to her feet in the box.

Following the trade of Kiki Pickett for Mewis, KC also has a hole at right back. Williams said the club likes its in-house options for that position, in the next breath mentioning Hailie Mace and Mallory Weber as possibilities — but neither is a natural right back.

Midfielder Maddie Nolf also had a short stint at the position near the end of the season but could struggle for speed when the Current move into Children’s Mercy Park for home games in 2022.

South Florida forward Sydny Nasello could provide valuable depth for KC in that regard. Nasello enjoyed a great season on the wing for South Florida in 2021, scoring 11 goals, but she also has the speed and mentality to drop back to an attacking wingback position that would fit KC’s system.

Williams was keen to say that any player Kansas City drafts will have to work her way into the rotation and won’t be guaranteed a spot in the starting lineup.

“Just like Victoria Pickett,” he said. “That was not guaranteed. We thought that she was going to be able to help us, but she had to earn that. And that’ll be the same situation with any player in this draft.”

This story was originally published December 16, 2021 at 10:45 AM with the headline "Here’s the Kansas City Current’s strategy for Saturday’s NWSL women’s soccer draft."