Kansas City Current’s Sunday comeback attempt falls short against Angel City in L.A.

Down 3-0 at halftime, the Kansas City Current fought their way back into Sunday night’s road match at Angel City FC.

But the comeback bid fell short and the Current’s three-game unbeaten streak came to an end with a 3-2 loss at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.

The Current (2-4-0) started well and seemingly could’ve scored a goal or two before Angel City got on the board. Instead, budding National Women’s Soccer League superstar Alyssa Thompson made it 1-0, and subsequent goals from June Endo and Claire Emslie put Angel City ahead 3-0.

“I think we started the first half really good, according to the game plan,” interim Current head coach Caroline Sjöblom said. “Then they scored on transitions and came out with a lot of energy to end the first half.”

BMO Stadium was sold out with more than 19,000 in attendance, and Sjöblom noted how much the crowd’s energy spurred on Angel City — and even rattled the Current a bit.

“The crowd is amazing. It’s like a pressure down to the pitch,” Sjöblom said. “So Angel City today was like, riding the wave, and got so much energy from the first and second goals.”

Sjöblom’s tactical tinkering nearly brought Kansas City all the way back after intermission. She sent in Izzy Rodriguez and Mimmi Larsson as subs, taking off Addisyn Merrick and Kate Del Fava.

The move put the Current into a traditional back-four system and played a 4-3-3 in the midfield.

“Having the back four was able to give us more width, so we had more numbers forward,” said Current defender Hailie Mace. “In the five-back, it was hard for us to get up the field a little bit.”

Rodriguez’s ability in the attack, even when playing on the backline, is renowned, and she showed why Sunday evening. After a funky deflection, Cece Kizer’s pass found Rodriguez, who unleashed a blazing effort that flew into the top corner of the net.

It was Rodriguez’s first career goal and made it a 3-1 match in the 57th minute.

“I think I just saw the ball coming and thought, ‘Why not?’” Rodriguez said. “We needed to start putting on some attack and bringing some energy, and luckily, I think in practice, some of those have been going in for me.”

Kizer added the Current’s second four minutes later by following the rebound of a shot taken by teammate Debinha.

But a potential late equalizer from Kansas City’s Alexa Spaanstra, who’d also entered the game as a sub, curled just outside the post.

While the Current had posted three straight clean sheets, Sunday night’s 15-minute blip was a tough stretch for a young KC backline that had been playing so well of late. Sjöblom hopes it was a teachable moment.

“When we lose, it’s learning,” the coach said. “For the defenders to be exploited like this, just go home, watch the video, back to the pitch, and try and learn again how to defend against players like Thompson.”

Rodriguez indicated that the Current can learn from how they handled the momentum Angel City built, “Because the momentum started building for them, and we didn’t find a way to put it back in our favor.”

The Current return to action on Mother’s Day, May 14, welcoming Alex Morgan and the San Diego Wave to Children’s Mercy Park for a 5 p.m. kickoff.

This story was originally published May 7, 2023 at 9:37 PM.