Kansas City Current beats North Carolina Courage 1-0. KC remains undefeated so far
Nine matches into the National Women’s Soccer League’s 2024 season, the Kansas City Current has yet to lose.
Debinha’s first goal of the year propelled the Current to its sixth victory, a 1-0 Mother’s Day decision over the North Carolina Courage at CPKC Stadium.
With a record of 6-0-3, the Current are in first place by virtue of goal difference. KC currently has the same record as the Orlando Pride.
A 1-0 win stands in stark contrast to some of the wild scorelines with which the Current finished earlier in the season. But coach Vlatko Andonovski values a 1-0 victory even more.
“5-2 is great,” he said. “4-2, 5-3, they’re all great wins. But 1-0 just strengthens the character (and) the mentality of the team and prepares them for tough matches.”
The Current players were coming off a wild week of travel, but you wouldn’t have known it by their performance Sunday evening. They showed energy and matched their opponents’ physical style of play. Of course, the Courage weren’t coming off a midweek match.
“You couldn’t tell,” Andonovski said. “I would say that we were more intense, we were more aggressive than them. I thought we looked faster than them.”
Current team captain Lo LaBonta — who surpassed the 10,000-minutes mark for her career early in Sunday’s game — credited the home environment.
“Especially on the kickoff, the ‘KC Baby’ chant sends chills,” LaBonta said. “It gives us energy, and I wanna give kudos to (the fans), as well. The fans and crowd and this stadium helped us for sure get through that game.”
Debinha, making her first start since the Current’s March 16 season (and stadium) opener, scored the only goal Kansas City needed in the second half.
After a nifty passing sequence between KC teammates Claire Hutton and Temwa Chawinga, Chawinga found herself with space in the box. Courage goalkeeper Casey Murphy saved Chawinga’s shot, but Debinha was there at the back post.
She mopped up the loose ball and tapped it into an empty net.
“I’m so happy to be back,” Debinha said after the match. “I was so proud of the team, everything they put out there … all the battles. It was so good to be back with them and win the three points.”
The victory closed out a brutal nine-day run for the Current. After a weather-delayed match in Houston, KC players and staff missed flights to Seattle for a Wednesday night match. Trying to rebook the flights was a mess until club owners Chris and Angie Long arranged a league-approved charter.
The NWSL allows teams to take charter flights only under specific circumstances. The Current was fined last season for breaking the league’s charter flight policy.
Andonovski thanked the Longs during his post-game comments, saying something like that — owners of a club stepping in with such help — might not have happened in recent years.
“I’ve been in this league, and I know how things were handled way back,” said Andonovski, whose previous women’s pro team in KC, FC Kansas City, played home games at a local high school.
LaBonta likened the number of things that had (or could’ve) gone wrong for the Current over the last week and a half to a CVS receipt: “They just keep going,” she said with a laugh.
Challenges and all, KC remained unbeaten and recorded two shutouts during that nine-day span. Andonovski said it’s a testament to his team’s character, attitude and professionalism.
LaBonta said she’s seen her teammates buy in — and how that buy-in has manifested itself on the field.
“I’m beyond proud to be a part of this organization,” she said. “But this group of players, our staff, everybody is bought in for each other. You can feel the support and I think it shows out there.”
KC remains home Saturday for a late local kickoff at 8:30 p.m. against Racing Louisville FC.
Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.
This story was originally published May 12, 2024 at 7:05 PM.