New-look Kansas City Current dominate Louisville, earn NWSL Challenge Cup draw on road

Addie McCain’s late goal canceled out Overland Park native Cece Kizer’s first-half strike for the hosts as the Kansas City Current and Racing Louisville played to a 1-1 draw in their NWSL Challenge Cup opener here Friday evening.

“We showed the ability to see out a game on the road against a tough opponent in Racing,” Current coach Matt Potter said. “Obviously they’re playing at home, so to get the positive result, but more importantly the character of the team and the way we went about it, (was) very encouraging.”

The Current dominated most of the action, out-possessing Louisville 56.1% to 33.9% and out-shooting the home team 23-5. The expected-goals stat shows that the margin-of-play gap was even wider, with the Current holding a 2.64-0.52 edge.

For large portions of the match, the final product of all those numbers wasn’t there. The Current hit the post twice in the first half, once on a Kristen Edmonds shot from distance, the other on a close-range try at an awkward height and angle by Victoria Pickett.

KC’s high press kept Louisville pinned in. The hosts rarely ventured out of their own defensive half until they scored the opener.

And that goal came with a Kansas City twist: Blue Valley Northwest High School product Kizer won the ball at midfield and immediately tore upfield. She played it out wide to Jessica McDonald, who returned it perfectly into her path, allowing Kizer to slot it home.

“We were actually really disappointed at halftime to be down,” Potter said. “More so about the way we didn’t make that final pass or didn’t create that real true chance or opportunity in front of goal.”

But the Current battled. They pressed Louisville into a deep defensive line and pushed hard for a winner, peppering the home goal with shot after shot. And Lund and the Louisville backline stood tall until the 78th minute.

That’s when Lynn Williams dispossessed Louisville captain Gemma Bonner and played a ball to Addie McCain. McCain drove right at the Louisville backline and curled a shot low and hard into the back of the net.

McCain nearly scored again minutes later, but Bonner cleared the attempt off the line.

“When I got the ball the defender kept dropping,” McCain said. “I thought for a second if I should play to Lynn, and then the defender kept dropping so I just thought I’d have a go.”

The goal was the first of McCain’s NWSL career.

“It feels so good,” McCain said. “We had so many opportunities that game and we’re happy we tied it, but a little disappointed we didn’t get the win. It was definitely good to get one in there.”

All four of the Current’s rookies played minutes, and Jenna Winebrenner and Alex Loera got their first career starts as the center-back pairing for the night.

“For me, the way they went about handling what I believe is one of the best players in the league in terms of their danger — Jess McDonald — I thought they handled it very, very well for a first-out in the Challenge Cup,” Potter said.

The Current’s next game is next Friday at the Chicago Red Stars. I’ll be their second NWSL Challenge Cup match. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Central.

This story was originally published March 18, 2022 at 9:22 PM with the headline "New-look Kansas City Current dominate Louisville, earn NWSL Challenge Cup draw on road."