Kansas City Current drops third straight game after winning season opener
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- Kansas City Current drop third straight match, losing 2-0 in Portland.
- Olivia Moultrie converted second-half penalty after Ball fouled Sophia Wilson.
- Current endured three road games in a week, losing at Chicago and in Spokane.
The Kansas City Current’s feel-good, come-from-behind home victory to open the 2026 National Women’s Soccer League season feels like ages ago.
It’s been just two weeks. But since then, the Current has dropped three straight matches — including a 2-0 defeat against the Thorns on Saturday afternoon at Providence Park in Portland.
First-year Current head coach Chris Armas rotated his side heavily in KC’s previous loss, a 3-0 setback against Seattle. That didn’t happen in this one. On paper, he put his best possible XI on the field. But instead of igniting a jump-start, they delivered more of the same.
Mental lapses on the defensive end led to both goals. The Current (1-3-0) took just six shots all day, never truly threatening Portland goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold.
In fact, the only shots the Current took in the second half came in the 84th and 85th minutes, after the starters had been subbed off.
The first half was a bit more even. The Current had a couple of shots on target and seemed to be growing into the match as halftime neared. Armas said KC tried to “build into the second half with a few adjustments.”
“But before things got settled down,” he said, “we gave up a penalty and then another goal. ... Maybe it’s preventable, but goals change games.”
U.S. Women’s National Team star Sophia Wilson hit the post twice in the first half and earned a penalty kick for Portland in the second. That made it the fourth successive match — all of them, thus far — in which the Current has trailed this year.
Elizabeth Ball’s poorly played pass out of the back led to a one-on-one with Wilson. The Thorns forward poked the ball through and Ball kicked her leg into Wilson’s path, taking her down inside the box.
On the penalty kick, Olivia Moultrie confidently sent the ball to Lorena’s right as the Current goalkeeper dove the other direction.
The hosts’ second goal came in the 63rd minute. A harmless long ball to Reilynn Turner sailed over the head of KC’s Gabrielle Robinson, and Turner headed it into the Current’s vacant net. Lorena had come out and was well late in meeting Turner at the top of the penalty area.
Such mistakes should be uncommon for this group. Last year’s Current boasted a record-setting and league-best defense, NWSL record for shutouts and 20-point NWSL Shield win.
Of course, the 2026 Current has faced plenty of adversity. The team is only now, during a touch stretch of games on the road, beginning to bring back some of its injured stars.
“We’re trying to build this house in a hurricane, in some way,” Armas said. “We’re trying to build, and the games came fast and furious. It’s difficult.”
He said the struggles his team has faced to start the year aren’t owing to any one thing, but rather a lot of little things added up. One thing is for certain: The Current will be thankful for some home cooking next weekend.
“We’re excited to get back home,” Armas said. “Disappointed not to get any points on the road. We’ll learn from it and we’ll be better for it.”
Up next: The Current, finally done with a grueling three-matches-in-a-week road swing, returns home next weekend. KC plays host to the Gotham FC at 3 p.m. Central Time on Saturday, April 4 at CPKC Stadium.
This story was originally published March 28, 2026 at 5:10 PM.