The inside story of KC Current forward Michelle Cooper’s breakout & new contract

Forward Michelle Cooper chased down a long, deep pass during last weekend’s KC Current 1-0 victory over Angel City FC at CPKC Stadium.

Before she even touched the ball, she was serenaded with calls of “Cooooooop!”

It’s been that way for Cooper of late. With nearly with every touch or positive action on the pitch, she’s garnered attention and appreciation.

There’s been plenty of both for the National Women’s Soccer League standout this year. And she was rewarded for her hard work this week, when the Current officially announced the finalization of a contract extension that will keep Cooper in Kansas City through the 2028 NWSL season.

She’s a cornerstone player for the Current. And in an interview with The Star, she called it a dream come true.

“You have that dream always,” she said. “But will it actually happen? You don’t know.”

Well, it has happened. She’s enjoying a breakout season this year. But the story of her ascension really began the day she was drafted.

Gone are the general manager and head coach who oversaw her acquisition through the draft as the No. 2 overall selection in 2023. Former coach Matt Potter was fired three games into her rookie year. Then, GM Camille Ashton left the Current midway through last season.

During her rookie year, Cooper played just over 2,000 minutes in all competitions, scoring four goals and providing two assists — solid output for a rookie NWSL forward. But she admitted she never felt all that settled, for a variety of reasons.

“I think not having a coach was really tough,” Cooper said. “I think we didn’t exactly know who we are, who we wanted to be, so we were still figuring that out.”

That was true for Cooper individually, too.

“It was definitely a jump from college, and to switch positions also was a massive learning curve for me,” she said. “But to be able to finally feel settled here after three years, it feels great. Because I could have never felt settled.”

She attributes the positive turn in her career to the arrival of coach Vlatko Andonovski, a former head coach of the United States Women’s National Team. Andonovski was hired as the Current’s next head coach in October 2023.

“When Vlatko came in, I feel like a page turned for me,” Cooper said. “I continued to get better, and he’s really invested in me. And to feel that and show it on the field feels great.”

In each of Cooper’s first two seasons, she had six goal contributions — four goals and two assists in 2023 and three goals and three assists in 2024. Thus far this season, she’s hit four goals and two assists … in 474 minutes.

Cooper currently ranks third in the league for goals per 90 minutes.

Toward the end of the 2024 season, she clearly took a turn and became a more dangerous player. Of her six goal contributions last season, four came in the final 10 games of the year, including the playoffs.

Andonovski’s hire in KC was followed by the addition of a mostly new coaching staff. Freya Coombe is the assistant coach who has worked closest with Cooper in Kansas City.

“I think the biggest change has been in her end product,” Coombe told The Star. “And her knowledge of the game has improved. So she’s making the right runs at the right times now, because I think her reading of the game has matured and improved.”

It didn’t happen overnight. Coombe said at times the team has had to kick players off the field in order to get them to take a rest after training. But that repetition and training leads to confidence and execution during games.

With that comes confidence during matches. And when Cooper plays with confidence, opponents often find themselves on their back foot.

“She’s going forward with such tenacity that it’s very scary for defenders,” Coombe said. “She’s now got that confidence to go one-v-one, and we’ve worked a lot on her one-v-ones, and then her end product.”

Cooper credits Coombe with building up her belief in herself.

“When she first got here, I would constantly question myself, and I would ask her so many questions,” Cooper said.

She recalled Coombe telling her, “You need to stop doubting yourself. We see it in you, you just need to see it in yourself, and trust that and believe it, and just go for it. Because when you start going for it is when it’s going to start happening.”

It’s definitely happening now. And the Current hopes it keeps happening through 2028.

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

This story was originally published June 24, 2025 at 1:04 PM.