Match Preview: Utah Royals at KC Current

Not all off-seasons are created equal. If 2025 had finished the way KC fans had hoped (and pundits were expecting), the last few months would have been a time to primarily bask in the glow of the Current being the champions. If, instead, this off-season was more like the one following 2023–a forgettable season but one with the promise of much better things in the future, the fans would have spent the winter months eager to return to the stadium and start witnessing the team’s growth.

But in reality, this off-season was neither of those things. The Current had an incredible regular season in 2025 and then a very brief and disappointing postseason. Many of the team’s important players are back, but some fan favorites have gone. The universally respected coach has shifted roles and the new coach is rather unproven, especially in the women’s game. The team’s dominant attack has many question marks entering the season with some proven players having departed and others still listed on the season ending injury report. Even the World Sevens tournament that could have (should have?) been a fun, money-earning experience for the team in December was a major letdown.

So, as much as it would seem reasonable to feel optimistic about the 2026 Kansas City Current, a team coming off back-to-back successful regular seasons and the defending NWSL Shield winners, there is maybe more nerves than anything else present in the fanbase. How quickly can players like Chawinga, Cooper, and Cook get healthy and be back out on the field? Is Chris Armas the right man for the job? Will any of the new, young signings be able to make immediate impacts? Will Bethune fit neatly into this lineup and will Sentnor finally score for the Teal (after adding multiple goals to her USWNT tally)?

We will start to learn the answers to many of these questions this weekend as the 14th NWSL season kicks off. The last two years, Kansas City has hosted the Portland Thorns to get the season underway, but this year it’s the Utah Royals coming to CPKC Stadium. This would seem to be an easier test out of the gate for KC as Utah have underwhelmed throughout their brief history, finishing 11th and 12th through the first two years of their “rebirth”.

If Utah has a strength, it’s likely in defense as USWNT keeper Mandy McGlynn is one of the better netminders in the world. (She did recently leave the US camp with a finger injury so her availability for opening day may be slightly in question.) In front of her, KC’s old friend Kate Del Fava has proven to be Utah’s most stable piece, completing two “iron woman” seasons in a row. She pairs in the center back position with Kaleigh Riehl, another league veteran who can frustrate opposition’s attacks.

Utah’s midfield will certainly get a boost whenever another former Current, Alex Loera, recovers enough from her (second) ACL injury to return to the field. In her KC days, Loera was one of the more exciting young midfielders, with enviable distribution skills. Additionally, Japanese international and former Washington Spirit stalwart Narumi Miura made the move to the desert and should help shore up the middle of the park for the Royals.

In the attack, Utah returns Mina Tanaka, (U18) KK Ream, Cece Delzer (née Kizer), and then adds Mexican international Kiana Palacios. These players, especially with the addition of Palacios, should be able to manufacture some goals, as Palacios spent the last five seasons with Club América and leaves as the team’s all-time leading goal scorer with 83. Of course, one of the major off-season departures for Utah is Claudia Zornoza, the World Cup winning Spanish international who retired from soccer following the conclusion of the 2025 season. In many matches over the past couple of years, Zornoza was the engine that kept the Royals humming and it remains to be seen how effectively her spot can be filled.

League prognosticators are not bullish on Utah’s chances in 2026 and even their own marketing department seemed to be acknowledging the low expectations (while highlighting Kansas City as one of the “big three”) with their schedule release video.

Meanwhile, for the hosts this Saturday, anything less than a straightforward victory will likely be seen as a disappointment and potentially a bad omen for this new season. While there has been a lot of turnover, including several surprising departures, a core for the team that destroyed several league records last year (including most points in a season) remains largely intact. Regular starters/contributors such as (2x MVP) Temwa Chawinga, Michelle Cooper, Ally Sentnor, Debinha, Lo LaBonta (availability for this weekend in question), Vanessa DiBernardo, Ellie Bravo-Young (née Wheeler), Elizabeth Ball, Alana Cook, Gabby Robinson, Kayla Sharples, and Lorena provide enough continuity from the last season plus that it would be hard to imagine this team falling off completely.

2026 #KCBABY ROSTER IS SET 🙂‍↕️🔥 Our new campaign begins March 14 🙌

— KC Current (@kansascitycurrent.bsky.social) 2026-03-11T22:07:23.502Z

With that said, there are still several question marks. For one thing, at least five of the names mentioned above are unavailable or uncertain for the start of the season. The attack, so fearsome over the past couple of years, may be a work in progress. Not only are attackers like Bia, Nichelle Prince, and Alex Pfeiffer no longer on the roster, but Chawinga’s timeline is unknown and many of the forwards now with the team are either unproven at the NWSL level or brand new to the squad. For example, perhaps realizing depth in the attack was limited, the team just traded for Bay FC‘s 2025 leading goal scorer this Wednesday in Penelope Hocking. Similarly, just last week they officially received the loan of Kyra Carusa from the Long’s sister club.

A message for #KCBABY from P 🫶

— KC Current (@kansascitycurrent.bsky.social) 2026-03-12T18:34:44.911Z

Another question exists in the midfield as league veterans Rocky Rodríguez and Bayley Feist will likely be tasked with replacing Claire Hutton in the #6 role. It may be a challenge filling in for the budding US National Team star.

The defensive third of the field would seem to enjoy the most continuity as the departure of Hailie Mace is the one notable change.

All this discussion is to say that the KC Current should still be one of the teams to beat in the NWSL this season. Perhaps they won’t be running away with the Shield again, but if Armas and the team can trade that in for greater postseason success, most fans would probably take that.

The first measuring stick will be presented to them this weekend in the form of the Utah Royals, a team little is expected from. A comfortable win for the home side would go a long way towards assuaging the concerns from an unexpectedly tumultuous off-season.

WHEN: Saturday, March 14 at 3:00 PM (Central Time)

WHERE: CPKC Stadium, Kansas City, MO

HOW TO WATCH: ion / 38 the Spot 

Record:

2025 KC Current: 21-2-3 (65 points, 1st place)

2025 Utah Royals: 6-7-13 (25 points, 12th place)

Last Match:

KC Current: n/a

Utah Royals: n/a