KC Current beats Corinthians in Teal Rising Cup thanks to well-placed header
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- Avery Clark scored an 82nd-minute header to lift KC Current into the final.
- Haley Hopkins opened scoring; Jaqueline Almeida equalized for Corinthians.
- KC Current will face Palmeiras Sunday at 6 p.m. CT in the Teal Rising Cup final.
With the score deadlocked at 1, just 10 minutes remaining in Thursday evening’s Teal Rising Cup match between the KC Current and Corinthians, an unlikely hero emerged.
Meet KC Current II striker Avery Clark.
Rostered by the Current for the Teal Rising Cup soccer showcase at CPKC Stadium, the 21-year-old striker knocked in a header in the 82nd minute as the game-winner.
“I just started balling, crying,” Clark said during a post-match interview on the field. “My story is a little bit different than others. I’ve gone through a lot. It’s not traditional. It just shows that you have to believe in yourself and just keep pushing, and you can do whatever you want to do.”
Clark’s heroics send the Current on to Sunday’s Teal Rising Cup championship game with a 2-1 victory over Corinthians, who are the giants of Brazil and reigning South American Champions.
“I give Corinthians credit that they never gave up, and they pushed,” said Current head coach Chris Armas. “I also give our team credit. Because when we concede, once again this team responds. And we score a great goal.”
The look on Clark’s face was one of pure shock. Then tears flowed as she was embraced by her teammates.
Haley Hopkins put the Current on top in the first half. KC’s Croix Bethune picked off a Corinthians player who was trying to pass the ball out of the back. She then dished the ball out wide to Debinha.
Her cross found Hopkins, who played more as a central striker in the game. Hopkins’ first touch was to gain control of the ball, and her second was a perfect half-volley into the corner of the goal.
It looked like the Current would coast to victory until Jaqueline Almeida leveled things up for Corinthians — a team from Brazil — in the 75th minute. Her right-footed shot had the placement and power to get past Marissa Jordan, who was making her KC Current debut in goal.
But that just set the stage for Clark’s moment of magic. Izzy Rodriguez made one of her patented overlapping runs down the left-hand side of the field and then played a perfect cross into the middle.
Clark timed her run to perfection and met the ball at the right time. Her thunderous header smacked off the underside of the crossbar and settled into the net.
Not only was the goal scorer a surprise, but really any response at that point of the match would’ve been surprising. While Corinthians was missing some of its best players on international duty (like the Current), three of the more attacking players on the field at the time for KC were Current II players.
On the field with rookies Kolo Suliafu, Kelsey Branson, and Laney Rouse, were Itala Gemelli, Taliana Kaufusi, and Clark.
Armas called back to his introductory press conference, where he discussed the importance of developing young talent at the Current.
“We’ve had a number of examples in the first few months here,” Armas said, “and tonight was no different.
“We love playing the young players,” he added. “They also understand [the] intensity and energy and the way we play, and they showed that tonight. They all came in and did a nice job.”
In the Teal Rising Cup’s earlier match, Palmeiras defeated Club América 1-0 to advance to Sunday’s title game. Palmeiras defender Poliana headed in a second-half goal for the winner.
Up next: The Current meets Palmeiras in the Teal Rising Cup’s Championship game on Sunday at 6 p.m. Central Time at CPKC Stadium. The third-place game, between Corinthians and América, kicks off beforehand, at 3 p.m.
Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.
This story was originally published April 9, 2026 at 10:28 PM.