FC Kansas City looking to end regular season with a win over Sky Blue FC

Although FC Kansas City has already locked up a playoff berth for the third straight year, there is plenty left to play for in its final game of the regular season.

The Blues will travel to Yurcak Field in Piscataway, NJ, to take on Sky Blue FC at 6 p.m. Wednesday riding a five-game unbeaten streak with a final chance to move up in the standings.

FC Kansas City is currently in fourth in the National Women’s Soccer League standings, but a victory could bump them up to third. If FC Kansas City finishes third, it could visit the Washington Spirit or Chicago Red Stars in the semifinals. If the Blues remain fourth, they will face the Seattle Reign FC on the road in a rematch of the 2014 NWSL championship game.

The Blues are coming off a 0-0 tie with the Washington Spirit, the team’s fourth consecutive shutout. They tied a league record shared by FC Kansas City and Sky Blue FC.

FC Kansas City has allowed just 18 goals in 19 games, leading the NWSL. Goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart, who has eight clean sheets, is leading the league for the third straight year. The team has 10 overall.

“Scorewise, it obviously was not what we were looking for, but I have to say that was a good 0-0 game,” Blues coach Vlatko Andonovski said. “I was proud of the girls that they never stopped and never slowed down at any point. In fact, we kept pressing, kept attacking, kept creating opportunities.”

Going scoreless was out of character for the Blues, who had outscored opponents 10-0 in their previous three shutouts. It was only the third time this season that FC Kansas City had not scored, and it was its second scoreless draw.

FC Kansas City’s scoring has been well-balanced as 12 different players have scored so far this season. Amy Rodriguez and Shea Groom, who returned on Thursday after missing six games because of a metatarsal fracture in her right foot, lead the team with four goals each. Liz Bogus, Sarah Hagen and Erika Tymrak each have three.

This story was originally published September 1, 2015 at 6:06 PM with the headline "FC Kansas City looking to end regular season with a win over Sky Blue FC."