Match Preview: Kansas City Current return home to finish off three-game week

KANSAS CITY (May 11, 2024) – The Kansas City Current (5-0-3, 18 points, 1st place) will close out a very busy week in front of the home fans as the club faces the North Carolina Courage (4-4-0, 12 points, 6th place). This Sunday’s match will kick off at 5 p.m. CT with Anna Witte and Jordan Angeli bringing Kansas City fans the action on KMCI, 38 The Spot while Dave Borchardt and Jillian Carroll Letrinko deliver the call on 90.9 The Bridge. The match will also stream on NWSL+ with audio streams in English, Spanish and Portuguese on the KC Current App.

This match is the third in an eight-day span for the Current, having earned a pair of draws at Houston May 5 and at Seattle May 8. Wednesday, against Seattle, the Current earned the first clean sheet of the season. Holding the Reign to just five total shots and only one on target, the Current defense put in one of the most impressive performances of the season so far.

Defender Regan Steigleder made her first start for the club in Wednesday’s match, playing the entire first half and helping to hold the Seattle defense to only three shots in the opening period. Forward Claire Lavogez started her second straight match for Kansas City, recording two shots on the night.

North Carolina enters this match fully rested having not played since Saturday, May 4. The Courage traveled to New Jersey to close out its season series with Gotham FC. Gotham scored in the 11th minute after North Carolina had a giveaway in their own defensive third. The team was unable to find an equalizer down the stretch despite putting five shots on target down the stretch. The Courage have yet to earn a point on the road, losing the last four away from WakeMed Park.

PLAYERS TO WATCH 
Kansas City forward Nichelle Prince – Prince joined the Current in a draft day trade this offseason. She is a seven-year veteran of the NWSL, having played exclusively for Houston since being drafted by the Dash in 2017. She has 12 goals in her NWSL career and is considered to be one of the most explosive outside attackers in the league. Prince could make her Current debut in front of the home crowd Sunday after suffering an injury with Canada during the 2024 Gold Cup.

North Carolina defender Malia Berkely – Berkely was North Carolina’s only selection to the NWSL’s Best XI for March/April and it was well deserved. She played the full 90 minutes in all six of the games for the Courage. She recorded one goal and had a 91% pass completion percentage.

NWSL AWARDS
The Kansas City Current started out the 2024 season as one of the hottest teams in the NWSL. The fast start was recognized this week with three players earning awards for the months of March and April. Forward Bia Zannerato was named the NWSL’s Player of the Month, presented by EA Sports and to the NWSL’s Best XI of the Month, presented by Amazon Prime. Joining her on the Best XI is forward Temwa Chawinga and midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo.

Bia made her Kansas City debut in the historic home opener at CPKC Stadium March 16, scoring the third goal of the first half following a run that turned her defender inside out and left her one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Altogether, Bia had four goals and three assists, which jump started her quest for the 2024 NWSL Golden Boot. Her presence in the middle of the field and seven goal contributions were vital to the Current’s early season success.

Chawinga joins Bia on the NWSL Best XI of the Month with four goals in the season’s opening two months plus an additional three assists. She is the first player from Malawi to score a goal in the NWSL.

Vanessa DiBernardo led the league with four assists throughout March and April. The Illinois native added three goals to her four assists and played 411 minutes. She has seven goal contributions this season through the first six games.

LO’S LASTING IMPRESSION
Midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta has been a vital part of the organization and of the greater Kansas City soccer community since she first came to town in 2016. Going into Sunday’s match she has 9,996 regular season career minutes played and only needs four minutes to reach 10,000 minutes, becoming only the 50th player all-time to reach that mark. On this Kansas City roster, she will become the fourth player to surpass five digits in minutes played following AD Franch, Desiree Scott and Vanessa DiBernardo.

She started her career in New Jersey with Sky Blue in 2015, but found success when she came to the heartland in 2016 with FC Kansas City. Between her two years with FCKC and four years with the Current, LaBonta has earned 7,238 of her minutes playing for the Kansas City fans.

LaBonta returned to Kansas City in 2021 and instantly embedded the club into the Kansas City landscape. At one of the first training sessions, LaBonta created the chant that rings through the city on game days, ‘KC Baby!’ Along with the team’s mantra, LaBonta set the tone for the fun, creative high-paced action that fans have come to love from the Current. Scoring a penalty kick in 2022, LaBonta seemingly limped to the side holding her leg. As the fan concern started to rise, she cracked a huge smile and ‘twerked’ in front of the home crowd, forever earning the name, ‘Celly Queen’.

MOTHER’S DAY 
The Kansas City Current are happy to celebrate Mother’s Day at Sunday’s match. The Current boasts two mothers on the roster, AD Franch and Desiree Scott, plus owners Angie Long, Brittany Mahomes, general manager Camille Ashton and team administrator Janice Bolin. Our KC Current mothers and all mothers attending the match Sunday will receive a carnation.