Kansas City Current get lapped by Louisville in home opener at Children’s Mercy Park
It was a perfect day for soccer on Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park: sunny, no wind to speak of and a little over 60 degrees.
Unfortunately, the day finished on a less than perfect note for the hosts, as the Kansas City Current lost 3-0 to Racing Louisville FC in their first home game of the year before 6,310 fans in Kansas City, Kan.
Lousiville took the lead in the ninth minute on an own-goal by Kansas City. Louisville forward Jess McDonald drove deep to the Current end line before crossing back to the center of the KC goal. With multiple Louisville attackers in the box, defender Hailie Mace had little choice but to try to block the cross.
Unfortunately for the home side, she redirected the ball past Current goalkeeper Adrianna Franch.
Kansas City played well after the initial goal, creating a number of chances and outshooting the visitors 12-4 in the first half, but the Current couldn’t find the back of the net.
“The enthusiasm and the energy in this stadium, you could feel it,” KC coach Matt Potter said. “Even when we found ourselves goals down, they stayed encouraging the team and you know that spurred us on.”
Racing Louisville came out strong after halftime and doubled the lead in the 60th minute. Louisville’s CeCe Kizer played the ball in to Lauren Milliet, who put it past Franch. The assistant referee waived it off, but the pass had been redirected by a Current defender, slowing it enough for Milliet to remain onside.
The third goal came about five minutes later. Louisville relayed a corner kick to defender and captain Gemma Bonner, who was in the perfect spot to redirect it into the net.
The game’s outcome snapped an unbeaten start in the NWSL Challenge Cup for the Current (2-1-1). They’d opened the season and tournament with a 1-1 tie at Racing Louisville on March 18, then beaten Chicago and Houston on the road.
“I think for us we maybe lacked that one step quick enough, or that one pass quick enough, or that extra yard of space that we could have taken away without the ball,” Potter said. “But those things are going to happen as you journey through a season.”
The Current are now off until April 15, when they play the Houston Dash their second of three straight Challenge Cup matches. Their seven points still tops the NWSL’s Central Division.
“Even though the result didn’t go our way,” Potter said, “we kept taking the game to our opponent all the way to the end.
“So a disappointing result, but we’ll regroup. First and foremost, I would like to applaud the crowd today, it was fantastic.”
This story was originally published April 2, 2022 at 4:45 PM with the headline "Kansas City Current get lapped by Louisville in home opener at Children’s Mercy Park."