Why the KC Current could be a force to be reckoned with (it’s more than the new unis)
The Kansas City Current turned some heads over the weekend with a 6-0 drubbing of the Washington Spirit, the reigning league champs.
Granted, it was a scrimmage, but a scoreline like that puts other teams around the National Women’s Soccer League on notice.
“We expected to go out there and put a performance on and kind of show everything we’ve been working towards this whole time that we’ve been in Florida,” defender Elizabeth Ball said during a Tuesday afternoon news conference in the Gulf Coast city of Bradenton. “I guess what we’ve been doing out here is paying off.”
Saturday was the first chance the Current had to showcase the concepts installed by new head coach Matt Potter against another NWSL opponent. With the work they’ve put in since the start of preseason camp, Potter had to be pleased that he was able to give numerous players some time on the field.
The Current’s six goals were tallied by six different goal-scorers.
“I think we’ve expressed before that (our game model) is to take the game to our opponent,” Potter said. “Obviously the scoreline is indicative of how that went.”
A game model is an overall idea of how a team wants to play. Without it, the finer details of formations and tactical implementations must be tweaked mid-game against a particular opponent. But that was a moot concern against the Spirit.
“I think the nutty professor in my brain has his ideas (about) what he might think is the way forward,” Potter said. “But I think the picture is becoming clearer for me.”
The veteran coach has sought to establish a new culture around a club that went 3-14-7 last season, its first in Kansas City. Now he and his players are trying to forge an identity for how the re-branded franchise intends to play in its upcoming NWSL Challenge Cup matches and regular-season games.
But instilling core values and principles must come first. Otherwise, the finer details, well, they won’t have their most desired impact: winning. And as far as core values go, Potter has made those clear from the start.
“We have felt from day one that the important thing is to represent the people of Kansas City, and be a reflection of their work ethic, and of their city,” he said.
While some of the team’s core players were away on international duty for a little over a week — Victoria Pickett and Desiree Scott with Team Canada, Lynn Williams with the U.S. Women’s National Team — their teammates continued to work and sharpen their rapport.
Potter said that when Pickett, Scott and Williams returned from international duty, they saw how the level of play had risen while they were gone. And with that trio reintegrated into the group, the coach said, the level of play has only increased.
The Current get another chance to solidify Potter’s concepts and ideals (and he gets another opportunity to tinker with various formations) in the club’s next preseason game, on Wednesday against the Orlando Pride at 2 p.m Central Time.
It’s also another chance to turn some heads. And Ball wasn’t shy when asked about the progress the Current — whose motto this preseason is “1% better, every day” — are making.
“I hope everybody is ready,” she said. “We’re about to bring something that I hope the city is ready for.
“We’ve regrouped, we’ve picked up some new pieces, and we’re just focusing on the framework that Matt’s put together, and working together to get to that goal, which is a championship this year. Some people might think that’s a lofty goal. But this group knows what we have and what we’re going to do.”
This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 5:20 PM with the headline "Why the KC Current could be a force to be reckoned with (it’s more than the new unis)."