Match Preview: Kansas City Current host the Houston Dash in first of three straight UKG NWSL Challenge Cup matches

The Kansas City Current return from a week off ready to host the Houston Dash in UKG NWSL Challenge Cup action Saturday, July 22 at 7 p.m. CT. Saturday’s match will broadcast on Paramount+ with Lisa Carlin and Jillian Loyden on the call. Fans can listen to Dave Borchardt and Jillian Carroll Letrinko on KC Current Radio, available on the KC Current App. 

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Kansas City has shown great improvement over the last two months of action with wins in four of the seven matches played across all competitions. The team has secured wins over North Carolina, Chicago, Orlando and Portland while scoring 12 goals and netting at least one goal in each match.  

The Current were last in action July 7 against Racing Louisville. Michelle Cooper got Kansas City on the board early with her second penalty kick score of the season in the eighth minute. Goalkeeper AD Franch recorded seven saves on the night, including her 400th of her illustrious career in the 45th minute of the match. Unfortunately, Louisville was able to sneak two scores in on either side of the halftime break and Kansas City dropped the match 2-1. 

Houston is winless in its last five games and has gone over 400 minutes without scoring a goal. However, while many teams have sent their most prolific scorers to the World Cup, The Dash’s top two goal scorers, Maria Sànchez and Diana Ordóñez are expected to be available for the team Saturday.  

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Kansas City Current defender Izzy Rodriguez – Rodriguez has been an important player for the Current this season. She has appeared in every game in 2023, starting four regular season and all three Challenge Cup matches. She has been a key in playmaking, as her territory spans the length of the pitch. With two goals this season, her energy on the field has been a game-changer and her work on the back line has been just as essential for the Kansas City defense.  

Houston Dash forward Diana Ordóñez – Ordóñez is in her first year with the Dash, but her skills in the league have already earned her a record for the most goals scored for a rookie in one season with 11 in 2022. Even though the Dash have gone into a scoring slump, Ordóñez has been a steady attacker, creating goal-scoring opportunities just shy of putting points on the board. With 26 shots during the season, Ordóñez is due for another goal, and her attacks are a non-stop threat for the back line of any opponent.  

BACK TO THE CHALLENGE CUP
The UKG NWSL Challenge Cup tournament is ramping up with three matches in a row to close out July and kick off August for the Current. The defending Central Division champions, Kansas City reached the semi-finals of the 2022 tournament with a 4-1-1 record, defeating Houston in both head-to-head matchups. To begin this year’s tournament, the Current kept up the streak against the Dash with a 2-0 win in Houston. Now sitting second in the Central Division for the 2023 UKG NWSL Challenge Cup, the Current are presently the highest-placed runner up. This position puts Kansas City in a promising spot for the quarter finals in September, which takes the three group winners as well as the runner up with the highest point total.  

INTERNATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
National spirits are high for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and Kansas City’s own Vlatko Andonovski will coach the U.S. team to a run at their third straight World Cup win. Beyond the U.S., the Kansas City Current have ties spanning the globe with multiple players representing their home countries in the World Cup. Debinha, the Current’s top-scorer and ESPN’s Best Players at the 2023 World Cup 11th-ranked, will face Panama with the Brazilian squad Monday, July 24 at 6 a.m. CT. She was signed to Kansas City as a free agent in 2023 and has quickly become a prominent asset to the Current. From the Denmark national team is new Current defender Stine Ballisager Pedersen, who was signed in early July, and will make her debut for Kansas City after the World Cup. An anchor for the Danish back line, Ballisager and Denmark will go head-to-head with China in Group D’s first matchup on July 22 at 7 a.m. CT.  

COMMUNITY CHAMPION

The Women’s Intersport Network for Kansas City (WIN for KC) was established in 1994 to empower the lives of girls and women through advocating and promoting the lifetime value of sports and fitness, while providing opportunities for participation and leadership development. WIN for KC events and programs include participation and networking opportunities, leadership seminars, and promotions of women’s events. For more information, visit sportkc.org/win-for-kc.

HOMETOWN HERO
Katie Zornes was the recipient of the 2023 Lockton Courage Award at the Win for KC Women’s Sports Awards. She created her list of 22 Hard Things in 2022 to combat depression and get back to doing the things she loves like running & triathlon. Through social media, she has built a community of a quarter million people setting out to do their own hard things. She uses her platform to encourage others and remind them that they are strong, capable, and worthy at any size or age.