Match Preview: Kansas City Current face Seattle Reign in midweek clash

The Kansas City Current (5-0-2, 17 points, 2nd place) continue the busy week with game two of three over the course of eight days as the team travels to the Pacific Northwest to face the Seattle Reign (2-5-0, 6 points, 11th place) tomorrow, May 8 at 9 p.m. CT. The match will stream live on NWSL+. In Kansas City, fans can tune into KMCI, 38 The Spot to see Anna Witte and Jordan Angeli call the action or tune into 90.9 The Bridge as Dave Borchardt and Jillian Carroll Letrinko deliver the action. The KC Current app will feature streams of English and Spanish broadcasts.

Kansas City enters the match after a wild start to the week that saw the team earn a 1-1 draw against the Houston Dash despite a nearly four-hour weather delay Sunday. Forward Temwa Chawinga tallied the score for the Current in the 24th minute, giving her five for the season. Midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo provided the assist on the score. DiBernardo’s helper was the league leading fifth of the season for her and a new club record.

Seattle played Friday night at home against the San Diego Wave. The match opened up with some fireworks as Reign forward Tziarra King was shown a red card in the ninth minute after a VAR review determined she was guilty of violent conduct. San Diego capitalized nearly immediately with a score two minutes later. Despite being down a player and down a goal, the Reign continued to fight and found an equalizer in the 34th minute. The Reign, still down a player, then found the game-winner in the 89th minute.

This is the first match between these teams this season, but there is plenty of familiarity between the head coaches. Vlatko Andonovski and Laura Harvey are the only remaining coaches from the NWSL’s opening season, 2013. Some of the most exciting matches of the early days, including the championship games in 2014 and 2015, pitted these two coaches against each other. Despite being great friends off the field, Andonovski and Harvey love to outwit each other on the field.  

PLAYERS TO WATCH 
Kansas City Current defender Stine Ballisager – Ballisager has made five appearances for the Current this season and made her first start against Angel City at the end of April. The Danish center back has extensive international experience. Entering the NWSL late last season, she is proving to be an important piece to Kansas City’s depth.

Seattle Reign forward Veronica Latsko – Latsko scored the game-winner in the Reign’s last game, something that has become a habit for her. She found herself playing an important role to Seattle’s run to the NWSL Championship in 2023 and has continued that success into the 2024 season.  

ANDONOVSKI vs HARVEY
Vlatko Andonovski and Laura Harvey were original members of the NWSL, the last two head coaches left from the 2013 NWSL class of coaches. Andonovski’s FC Kansas City and Harvey’s Seattle Reign produced some of the more memorable games of the early NWSL. The two met for the NWSL Championship in 2014 and 2015 with Andonovski ending up on top in both matches.

As the seasons went along, Andonovski succeeded Harvey in Seattle after she left in 2017. Not to be outdone, Harvey then went on to coach the Utah Royals, featuring many of the players from Andonovski’s former FCKC roster. Harvey returned to the Reign in 2021 and Andonovski returned to Kansas City in 2024, making this the first matchup between these two historic coaches in the modern era of the NWSL.