Match Preview: Kansas City Current Resumes Regular Season Action at Utah Royals FC

KANSAS CITY (Oct. 16, 2026) – The Kansas City Current (13-9-5, 5th place, 44 pts.) travels to Sandy, Utah, this weekend for its second-to-last road match of the 2026 NWSL regular season. The Current will take on Utah Royals FC (14-9-4, 4th place, 46 pts.) on Saturday, Oct. 17, at America First Field with kickoff set for 5:30 p.m. CT (4:30 p.m. PT).

The match will broadcast nationally on ION with JP Dellacamera, Jill Loyden and Megan O’Keefe on the call as well as on the World Feed with Jonathan Matthes and McCall Zerboni. The game will simulcast on The Spot - Kansas City 38 with a pregame show, KC Current Matchday, beginning at 4:30 p.m. CT. Jillian Carroll Letrinko and Sarah Gonzalez will be over the air on 90.9 The Bridge, and the game will also be available on the KC Current App in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

MATCH INFO
Who: Kansas City Current at Utah Royals FC
Where: America First Field – Sandy, Utah    
When: Saturday, Oct. 17
Kickoff: 5:30 p.m. CT (4:30 p.m. MT)
TV: ION, World Feed, The Spot - Kansas City 38
Radio: 90.9 The Bridge

Pregame Show: The Spot - Kansas City 38

TEN THINGS TO KNOW

1.  Kansas City has won all five meetings vs. Utah. The Current, who has defeated Bay FC in all six meetings, could join North Carolina (vs. Louisville and Washington) as the only teams in NWSL history to win their first six regular season matches against two different opponents. 

2. The last meeting between the two sides was a 2-1 Kansas City win on March 14 at CPKC Stadium during the season opener. Midfielder Croix Bethune scored her first goal in Current colors in the 57th minute off an assist from defender Kayla Sharples before forward/midfielder Debinha assisted the game-winner 12 minutes later.

3.  Debinha was named the NWSL Player of the Week in Week 24 after her hat trick on Oct. 3 vs. Bay FC. It was her second career regular season hat trick, and first since September 2022 with North Carolina. It was also the fifth hat trick in club history, and fourth in NWSL play.

4. With her three-goal performance in the last match, Debinha officially moved into sole possession of No. 4 all-time with 63 career regular season goals. She extended her own league record for most goals scored in all NWSL competitions to 87.

5. There have been six hat tricks so far during the 2026 NWSL regular season, with the Current owning half of them: forward Temwa Chawinga (Week 7), forward Haley Hopkins (Week 23) and Debinha (Week 24). Kansas City is the first club in NWSL history to record back-to-back hat tricks, thanks to Hopkins (Sept. 26) and Debinha (Oct. 3).

6. Chawinga is currently the most efficient goalscorer in the NWSL with 0.96 goals per 90 minutes. The next closest player is at 0.85. Chawinga ranks fifth in the Golden Boot race with 12 goals and three assists, achieved in 16 matches. Everyone else in the top 10 of the Golden Boot leaderboard has played in 23 or more games. 

7. Debinha has scored eight or more goals in six of her nine seasons; no other player in NWSL history has more than four regular seasons with eight or more goals. Additionally, Chawinga is the third player in league history to score double-digit goals in three consecutive years.

8. Kansas City ranks second in the NWSL with 48 goals, just two behind eighth-place North Carolina (50). Thirty-seven of the Current’s goals have been scored at CPKC Stadium, tied with 2024 for the most goals scored at home in a single regular season in club history.

9. Midfielder Avery Clark recently signed a short-term contract with the club through the end of the year. She is the third Kansas City Current II player to earn a first-team contract along with defender Itala Gemelli and goalkeeper Kaylin Williams-Mosier.

10. Kansas City will host a super‑charged matchday experience — One Current 2026: Bigger Home. Bigger Future. — that will transform CPKC Stadium and Current Landing into the largest gathering of 18,000 Current fans in club history on Sunday, Oct. 25, for the regular season finale. More information can be found HERE.

AVAILABILITY REPORT 

OUT: Alana Cook (SEI-Knee), Clare Gagne (SEI-Head), Mary Long (D-45), Ellie Bravo-Young (Maternity), Elizabeth Ball (Lower Leg), Rocky Rodriguez (Lower Leg)

QUESTIONABLE: None

INTERNATIONAL DUTY: None