FC Kansas City will try to maintain momentum against Washington

FC Kansas City didn’t have long to bask in the excitement of handing Portland Thorns FC its first loss of the season.

By the time the Blues landed back in the Midwest on Sunday, they already had to turn their attention to avenging its most recent loss. The Washington Spirit will come to Swope Soccer Village on Saturday for a 6 p.m. match, just two weeks after beating FCKC in Maryland.

That match was one of six this season in which FCKC didn’t score — a 2-0 Spirit win.

But the Blues are also coming off a two-goal performance against Portland, one of the best defensive teams in the National Women’s Soccer League. Shea Groom, a Liberty native, scored both goals off Tiffany McCarty assists in FCKC’s 2-0 victory.

But maintaining that newfound offensive momentum won’t come easily against Washington. The Spirit is one of two teams in the league that have allowed fewer goals than FCKC itself. Washington’s eight goals allowed are the fewest in the NWSL.

“It’s hard to break them down,” FCKC coach Vlatko Andonovski said. “They don’t make mistakes. They play very safe. They’re very conservative when it comes to playing the ball out of the back and make no mistakes in critical areas of the field. So we have to be very creative and take advantage of every little thing.”

And on the defensive side, FCKC will continue to deal with several absences. Center back Becky Sauerbrunn is away on national team duty, as are midfielders Heather O’Reilly and Desiree Scott (who plays for Canada). Rookie defender Alex Arlitt, who has started six games this season, is out until late August with a stress fracture in her foot.

Even with those hits — and with the offensive momentum from last week — Andonovski says the defense is still the strength of the team.

“I feel like every Monday when we come to practice it’s another challenge,” Andonovski said. “But I feel very comfortable with the back line. With all the challenges and things that have happened, we’re still doing well. I feel like we’re one of the best back lines in the league.”

This story was originally published July 16, 2016 at 12:56 PM with the headline "FC Kansas City will try to maintain momentum against Washington."