FC Kansas City Blues prepared for tough schedule

Even without an East Coast road trip, FC Kansas City’s season-ending stretch of five games in 14 days is daunting.

However, the Blues can take some solace in the fact that they have done it before.

From April 30 to May 3, the Blues played an exhausting eight games in four weeks, with road trips to Houston, New York, Seattle and Boston, and escaped with a 4-2-2 record. Now they travel to the Maryland SoccerPlex, where they will face the Washington Spirit at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the second of their five games.

“When we did our nine-game stretch, we had some ups and downs,” Amy Rodriguez said. “I think we’re better prepared, and the coaching staff is well aware of resting players to make sure we are hitting our stride when we need to.”

With the playoffs fast approaching, FC Kansas City is ranked second in the National Women’s Soccer League with 37 points and an 11-5-4 record. The Blues trail Seattle Reign FC, which has already secured its spot in the four-team postseason with 46 points.

The Spirit are in fourth place with 28 points and an 8-8-4 record. The two teams have split the season series so far, having each won a game at home. Most recently, FC Kansas City won 2-1 on May 25 with a pair of goals from Rodriguez.

FC Kansas City is coming off a 2-1 victory on Sunday against Sky Blue FC with goals from Rodriguez and fellow U.S. Women’s National Team member Lauren Holiday. Rodriguez’s goal moved her into a second-place tie with 11 goals this season. Holiday collected the assist on that goal which helped her into a tie for first with six assists.

The Spirit, who are coming off a week-long break, played third-place Portland Thorns FC to a 1-1 draw on July 23.

This story was originally published July 29, 2014 at 8:27 PM with the headline "FC Kansas City Blues prepared for tough schedule."