Match Preview: Kansas City Current kicks off holiday weekend with home rivalry match against Houston Dash

The Kansas City Current (2-6-0, 6pts.) remain at home for the second of three straight home matches. The club looks to get back on the right side of the standings against the Houston Dash (2-3-3. 9pts.) Friday May 26 at 7 p.m. CT. The match will broadcast on Paramount+ with Josh Eastern and Jordan Angeli. Fans can also listen live on KC Current Radio with Nick Vasos and Jillian Carroll Letrinko available on the KC Current App.

The Current comes into the match after a busy week that saw the team play three games in seven days, with the last of the three at home against Racing Louisville Sunday, May 20. A defensive mistake early in the match led to the first goal for Louisville, then 15 minutes later Racing found the net again for a 2-0 lead. Although the score was not in the Current’s favor, there were some bright spots. Most importantly, forward Kristen Hamilton made her 2023 debut, coming on as a sub in the 81st minute. A valuable part of the club’s run to the 2022 NWSL Championship match, Hamilton provides an offensive spark and valuable leadership on the field.

Houston also played at home last weekend, facing the San Diego Wave. Like Kansas City, the Dash gave up on early lead on a defensive miscue. Despite outshooting their opponent, Houston was unable to prevent the Wave finding the net two more times in the second half. Similarly to the Current, the Dash welcomed back one of their star players from injury, Diana Ordóñez. The veteran forward came into the match in the 56th minute and nearly got her team on the board shortly after, but her shot went wide of the target as the Houston ended up losing by a 3-0 scoreline.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Kansas City Current goalkeeper Cassie Miller – Miller joined the Current in preseason of 2022 after leading the Chicago Red Stars to the NWSL Championship game in 2021. She made two starts in each of the regular season and Challenge Cup for Kansas City, recording two shutouts. So far in 2023 she has four regular season starts with a pair of clean sheets and only five goals allowed. Her career 1.095 Goals Against Average ranks 6th all time in the NWSL.

Houston Dash forward Ebony Salmon – Salmon joined the Dash midway through the 2022 campaign via trade from Racing Louisville. She had nine goals for Houston in 13 appearances last season and already has a goal and an assist in only eight games so far this season.

SERIES DOMINANCE
Since joining the league in 2021, Kansas City has faced the Houston Dash 10 times across all competitions, more than any other team in the league. The first three matches heavily favored the Dash, with Kansas City losing twice and fighting to a draw once. Then on October 13, 2021 the tide turned decidedly in Kansas City’s favor. With a 3-0 victory that night, the Current started a streak that has seen the club outscore the Dash 14-6 while earning six wins and only suffering one defeat. Highlighting that streak are a 2-1 victory at home that clinched the club’s first berth in the 2022 Challenge Cup semifinals, a 2-1 victory in the 2022 NWSL Quarterfinals, won in the final minutes by defender Kate Del Fava in front of a record setting crowd in Houston and a 2-0 UKG NWSL Challenge Cup victory earlier this season, the first for interim head coach Caroline Sjöblom.

STARS ALIGNED
In 2022, Diana Ordóñez and Debinha were the top goalscorers for the North Carolina Courage. Both players found new teams in the offseason - Ordóñez in a NWSL Draft day trade with the Houston Dash, and Debinha in a blockbuster free agency signing at the KC Current. Both teams hope to bolster their offensive firepower with the new signings - and while Debinha leads the Current in the regular season with five goals, Ordóñez is still working to find her place in the Dash game plan, only scoring once so far in league play.

COMMUNITY CHAMPION
Friday’s Community Champion of the Match is MINDDRIVE, a local organization creating programming to explore, inspire, and expand possibilities through equitable access to support, education, collaboration and mentoring so all students recognize, believe in and pursue their greatest potential. MINDDRIVE offers in-school and after school programs in engineering, digital content design, robotics and eSports.

HOMETOWN HERO
In honor of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Friday’s Hometown Hero is Jackie Nguyen, owner of Cafe Cà Phê, a Vietnamese coffeeshop based in Columbus Park. Nguyen has used her platform as a local business owner to create a unique gathering space for the Asian American community in Kansas City. She is also involved with the AAPIconic Festival, held for the second time this year, which celebrates the rich history of Asian American and Pacific Islander culture through food and entertainment.