Kansas City Current ride wave of rookie contributions into Saturday’s home opener

The KC Current’s first lineup of the 2022 season, released ahead of the team’s debut in Louisville, Kentucky, two weeks ago, turned some heads. Right away, rookie center backs Alex Loera and Jenna Winebrenner were among the team’s starters.

They held their own against one of the premier attacking forces in the NWSL — Jessica McDonald — on that opening night in Louisville. The following weekend, Current coach Matt Potter doubled down and started the pair again at Chicago. Alongside them in the starting 11 that evening was another rookie, Chardonnay Curran.

And on Wednesday at Houston, Loera was back in the 11 while Elyse Bennett made her first career start in place of veteran Lynn Williams, who was lost for the season with a leg injury. Bennett made her presence known with two assists and a near-goal.

“If you’re good enough, you’re old enough” — that’s been Potter’s refrain when talking about how he views his rookies. And it remains so as the team gets ready to play its Challenge Cup home opener on Saturday against Louisville.

“It’s very encouraging that they believe in us as rookie center backs,” said Winebrenner, a Park Hill High grad. “It’s obviously not common, but everyone around Alex and I have been really encouraging and believe in our ability to hold down that backline.”

“You want to do everything right,” Loera said. “Especially with a new partnership with Jenna and I, it’s very nerve-racking. But it’s also exciting and gives us the confidence that our coach trusts us, our teammates trust us, and we can only learn from here.”

That partnership is certainly developing. It takes time for chemistry to build between backline pairings (especially up the spine of a team). Being good friends off the field has helped the two navigate the nerves of starting their respective pro careers by being thrown into the fire.

They credit their preseason program with helping to develop their rapport.

“It helped to be in Florida (in preseason) for the off-the-field thing,” Winebrenner said. “Just being able to hang out and connect on a personal basis is something that’s really important to my game.”

Loera said their friendship off the field has helped them communicate better during games.

“We have that trust in each other,” Loera said. “We’re still learning each other’s tendencies. Obviously, we don’t know all of them yet ... but we are on our way.”

Loera enjoyed a strong high school/youth career as a defensive midfielder, developing in the mold of a traditional “number six.” In college at Santa Clara, she transitioned to the backline, a move that helps her appreciate Winebrenner’s strengths.

“She’s a little more offensive-minded than I’ve always played,” Winebrenner, a product of Notre Dame, said of Loera. “I’m always thinking what could go wrong, whereas Alex is like, ‘Oh! Let’s get forward.’ I think we definitely balance each other out in that situation.”

Growing up in Kansas City, Winebrenner once watched her brother play a high school game on the field at Children’s Mercy Park. She remembers going to Sporting KC games with her family at the stadium in Kansas City, Kan.

And now, she and the KC Current’s other young players compete for a team that calls CMP home while their own stadium is being built on the KCMO waterfront.

“He (her brother) is kind of upset with me because he’s like, ‘I was supposed to be the only one that got to play on that field!’” Winebrenner said with a laugh. “So come Saturday, I’ll be playing on this field.”

This story was originally published March 31, 2022 at 1:38 PM with the headline "Kansas City Current ride wave of rookie contributions into Saturday’s home opener."