Match Report: Kansas City Current Opens 2026 with Come-From-Behind 2-1 Victory Over Utah Royals

KANSAS CITY (March 14, 2026) — The Kansas City Current (1-0-0, 3 pts., 1st place) won its third consecutive home opener at CPKC Stadium on Saturday afternoon, using a second-half comeback to best the Utah Royals (0-1-0, 0 pts., 14th place), 2-1. After Utah opened the scoring in the first half, midfielder Croix Bethune capped her club debut with a goal in the 57th minute to level the contest. Twelve minutes later, midfielder Ally Sentnor put the Current ahead with a dazzling individual effort. 

Bethune and Sentnor’s first goals in Current colors gave Kansas City a lead it would not relinquish, and the Current opened 2026 in winning fashion behind another sellout crowd at CPKC Stadium.

Saturday’s contest marked head coach Chris Armas’ National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) regular season debut. In addition to Bethune, forward Penelope Hocking made her club debut as a second-half substitute in the 61st minute and forward Gianna Paul made her first professional appearance in the 88th minute. Additionally, forward Michelle Cooper returned to the pitch after being activated from the season ending injury (SEI) list on Friday.

"Opening days are so exciting. It's easy to see that and it's easy to feel the energy of what opening day means to our fans, and that was clear,” said Armas. “This is never as easy as you want it to be, but on these days, you also learn a lot about who you are. And this is a different KC Current team, the 2026 version. Today we learned that we still are a really gritty team. We've got really good attackers and we have depth. Going down a goal and coming back was a really good sign for this team. That's going to be a way we'll have to win games. I'm so proud of the team and it’s a good first start to the season."

Kansas City’s first threatening moment came in the eighth minute when Bethune and defender Izzy Rodriguez combined on a give-and-go that culminated with Rodriguez fizzing a low ball across the penalty area that ultimately went over the endline for a corner kick. The game’s first shot on target came in the 28th minute from Utah forward Cloé Lacasse whose shot from distance was snared comfortable by Kansas City goalkeeper Lorena. One minute later, Scott fired a low effort on target for the Current’s first goal-bound shot of the contest.

Utah closed the first half on the front foot and opened the scoring minutes in the 35th minute. Lacasse curled the ball into a crowded penalty area, and defender Tatum Milazzo latched onto the cross and poked it past Lorena. Utah’s one-goal lead held as the halftime whistle sounded.

The Current came out of the break pressing and found the equalizer shortly into the second half. Kansas City’s first goal of the 2026 campaign came following a corner kick in the 57th minute. As Utah attempted to clear its lines, defender Gabrielle Robinson lofted a ball back into the attacking third from near midfield. Robinson’s forward lob met fellow defender Kayla Sharples at the top of the penalty and, with a deft flick, Sharples steered the ball between two Utah defenders to an unmarked Bethune, who took a touch into space and curled the ball past Utah goalkeeper Mia Justus.

The goal marked Bethune’s first for the club — on her club debut — and her eighth career regular season goal. The assist was the second of Sharples’ regular season career.

Energized by Bethune’s equalizer, the Current continued looking for a go-ahead goal and a moment of brilliance from Sentnor put the Current ahead for good in the 69th minute. Debinha started the move by racing towards the penalty area and slid a pass to Sentnor, who drove into the 18-yard box as multiple Royals defenders converged on the ball. Sentnor deked forward, then angled back towards the penalty spot to evade the first wave of Utah defenders. She split two more incoming defenders at the penalty spot, recentered herself with a touch towards goal, then fired a shot past Justus into the lower left corner.

The strike gave the Current a 2-1 advantage and marked Sentnor’s inaugural goal for the club, as well as the 26th career regular season assist of Debinha’s career. Sentnor’s goal stood as a game-winner, her first for the Current and third of her NWSL career. 

Kansas City saw the match out from there to take home a 2-1 victory, improving the Current’s record to 3-0-0 in season-opening matches at CPKC Stadium. The Current also improved to 5-0-0 all-time against the Royals following the victory.  

Cooper made her 50th career regular season start on Saturday to become the seventh player in club history to reach the milestone. Bethune’s debut goal came on her 25th birthday, and she is the 13th player in NWSL history to score on her birthday. Midfielder Bayley Feist, who started and played the full 90 minutes, celebrated her 29th birthday.

The KC Current now embarks on a three-game road swing beginning in Evanston, Ill., against the Chicago Stars on Sunday, March 22. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. CT at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium. The match will broadcast on ESPN2 and fans in Kansas City can listen to the action on 90.9 the Bridge, and the game will be available in English, Spanish and Portuguese on the KC Current App.

Single match tickets can be purchased HERE and single-match parking is available HERE. Multi-match ticket packages are available HERE and limited season ticket inventory can be found HERE.  The best way to ensure you won’t miss a second of the action at CPKC Stadium is by joining the Current Club, the Current’s trailblazing fan membership experience. Click HERE for more information about joining the Current Club.

NWSL Match Report  
Match: Kansas City Current vs. Utah Royals  
Date: March 14, 2026  
Venue: CPKC Stadium, Kansas City, MO
Kickoff: 3:04 p.m. CT/2:04 p.m. MT 
Weather: 66 degrees, sunny 
Attendance: 11,500

Discipline  
51’ Kansas City – Scott (Yellow)

Scoring  
35’ Utah – Milazzo (Lacasse)
57’ Kansas City – Bethune (Sharples) 
69’ Kansas City – Sentnor (Debinha)

Scoring Summary

Kansas City Current Lineup: Lorena, Bravo-Young, I. Rodriguez, Robinson, Sharples, Feist, Scott (78’ Ball), Debinha ©, Bethune (61’ Hocking), Cooper (46’ Hopkins), Sentnor (88’ Paul)
Unused Substitutes: Jordan, Rouse, White, Suliafu, Carusa

Utah Royals Lineup: Justus, Milazzo (74’ Tejada), Del Fava ©, Riehl, Simmonds (61’ Thomsen), Hammond, Prasnikar (74’ Nagai), Delzer, Lacasse, Palacios (83’ Eichenberger), Mozingo (83’ Ream)
Unused Substitutes: Jackson, Cronin