Three KC Current soccer players summoned for stint with U.S. Women’s National Team

Success at the club level in U.S. soccer can lead to opportunities with the national team.

That’s the case this week for three standout members of the Kansas City Current women’s pro soccer club.

Players Alana Cook, Michelle Cooper and Claire Hutton have been called up to the U.S. Women’s National Team for friendly matches against Brazil in April.

Cooper and Hutton were also called up during the last two international windows. It’s the first time Cook has been tapped for national team duty since the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

“All three very much deserve that,” Current coach Vlatko Andonovski said. “We’ve talked about Michelle and Claire (and) how they’ve progressed over the year and how they still have so much room to grow.”

Hutton and Cooper both appeared multiple times during the USWNT’s run through the She Believes Cup in February. Cooper scored in her second cap (appearance), netting the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Australia.

Cook was a fixture with the national team through the 2023 World Cup (one goal in 29 appearances). After the 2023 World Cup and a downturn in form, however, she fell out of the national team picture for a while.

“She was just not being herself on the field,” said Andonovski, the former USWNT coach.

The Current acquired Cook from Seattle in a trade last July during the NWSL Summer Cup and Women’s Cup matches that were played during the Olympic Break. Cook was not a part of that U.S. roster.

“I’m glad she was able to come at a time where we could actually focus on her development and her individual game, more than just team play,” Andonovski said. “We spent a lot of time working on different things, and she bounced back quickly.

“Even right off the bat in the first few games, you could tell we had a different player than (how she’d played) in the previous months.”

The Current surrendered 22 goals in 16 matches to start the 2024 season. That was before Cook’s arrival. In the 14 NWSL games since (including playoffs and games in 2025), the Current has conceded 13 goals.

KC has conceded more than two just three times, with seven clean sheets.

“She is one of the main reasons why we solidified the back line,” Andonovski said of Cook. “And our defense — even in the first two games (this year) — you can see how she started to impose herself to the opponent’s forwards and making a mark.”

Facing the Current trio will be KC teammate Lorena, who will join Brazil roster for the friendlies. Lorena has made five saves in her first two games with the Current while also keeping a clean sheet. Her spectacular save in the first half of the team’s 2-0 win over Washington on Saturday was recently voted the NWSL’s Save of the Week.

Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.

This story was originally published March 26, 2025 at 11:01 AM.