It’s a powerhouse NWSL matchup, as first-place KC Current and Orlando Pride meet
It’s the Kansas City Current against the Orlando Pride again.
And it’s first against second again, too.
Friday’s marquee National Women’s Soccer League match is what you dream of — a burgeoning rivalry between two hardworking, complete and competitive teams.
Leagues don’t always get a powerhouse matchup like this, between teams in first and second place. For it to happen in the NWSL for a second year in a row is something fans of both teams should salivate over.
Current forward Haley Hopkins didn’t participate in those matches last year, as she was with the North Carolina Courage. But she attested that this matchup is one people want to watch.
“This matchup is always highly anticipated throughout the year,” Hopkins said. “We always looked forward to watching (from afar) just because it’s two top, winning, championship-caliber teams.”
Two of the three matchups last season went Orlando’s way. Notably, Orlando’s 2-1 win in Kansas City and post-match celebration stoked the fires of the rivalry, which culminated in Orlando’s 3-2 win to eliminate the Current from the NWSL Playoffs.
Friday will be the teams’ first meeting in 2025.
“It’s going to be a good matchup,” Current coach Vlatko Andonovski said. “Two good teams playing each other is always a close game, always an entertaining game. I’m sure the fans will see another good game if they come to the stadium and watch it.”
While both teams were unbeaten entering that first matchup last season, this season’s versions have faltered in recent weeks. The Current picked up a win Sunday after back-to-back losses, and the Pride have just two wins in their last five.
Both teams have dealt with injuries, too. But that hasn’t altered who either of them want to be.
“I think we need to come out as us and not think too much about what they’re doing,” KC defender Elizabeth Ball said. “More so, focus on the things we do well and the things we focus on every day at training. That will give us the result that we want.”
“We treat every game the same no matter who the opponent is,” Hopkins added.
KC may be trending in the right direction after a 4-1 victory over Bay FC on Sunday. The Current looked dominant, similar to the first five games of the season. Andonovski said the game was important to ensure consecutive losses to North Carolina and Seattle didn’t spiral.
Some of that was due to the health and availability of Temwa Chawinga, who played 75 minutes and snagged a goal Sunday. She’d played around 80 minutes combined in the two prior matches.
It’s not a coincidence the Current looked like themselves when Chawinga returned.
“It’s obvious, you see the difference of the setup — not just our setup, but the opponents’ setup when Temwa was not playing,” Andonovski said. “Then Temwa is on the field, and all of a sudden we see different behaviors from the players, different setups from the opponents. And our players are benefiting off that.”
The Current and Pride meet at Inter&Co Stadium at 7 p.m. Central on Friday night. That match can be seen on Prime Video.
Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.