KC Current
Kansas City Current kick off 2023 UKG NWSL Challenge Cup @ Houston Dash
The KC Current travel to the Houston Dash for the first game of the 2023 UKG NWSL Challenge Cup, a quest to for the $1 million tournament’s prize.
The much-anticipated UKG NWSL Challenge Cup returns for 2023! Okay, maybe much-anticipated may be a stretch to describe the excitement of the Challenge Cup, but the tournament is back for 2023. This time title sponsor UKG has doubled the prize pool to $1 million for the tournament championship.
About the Challenge Cup
2023 marks the fourth year of the Challenge Cup. For the first time since its inception in 2020, the Cup will run concurrently with the regular season, featuring three groups of four teams playing double round-robin matches for a total of six contests. Following group play, the top team from each group, plus the division runner-up with the most points, will advance to the semifinal stage on Wednesday, September 6 ahead of the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup Final on Saturday, September 9. The Current are in the Central Division with the Houston Dash, Chicago Red Stars, and Racing Louisville.
Up first for Kansas City: @ Houston Dash
When: Wednesday, April 19
Where: Shell Energy Stadium | Houston, Texas
Time: 6:30 PM CT
Stream: CBS Sports Network
Radio: KC Current Radio on Kansas City Current app, featuring Dave Borchardt and Jillian Carroll-Letrinko
What to Expect
It’s a pause on the 2023 NWSL season, but it’s also an opportunity to continue building on the year. For the Dash, they are unbeaten in the regular season, with draws against Racing Louisville and Portland and a win over Chicago. For the Current, they have found themselves in a winless stretch, having lost all three regular season matches against North Carolina, Portland, and Chicago. Much of that has to with the current state of the injury report each week as key players continue to be unavailable due to injuries, and it will be the same storyline heading into game one of the tournament.
OUT:
Elizabeth Ball (hamstring), Morgan Gautrat (calf), Hanna Glas (knee), Kristen Hamilton (knee), Claire Lavogez (SEI – knee)
Alex Loera (foot), Sam Mewis (SEI – knee), Desiree Scott (knee)
QUESTIONABLE:
Mallory Weber (knee), Mimmi Larsson (hamstring)
This is the first meeting between the Current and the Dash since Kansas City eliminated Houston from the 2022 NWSL playoffs with a 2-1 win last October. Kansas City has won five of its last six meetings with the Dash, outscoring Houston by a 12-5 margin.
Players to Watch:
Debinha (KC): The Brazilian midfielder has been named Challenge Cup MVP the last two years, leading her former team, the North Carolina Courage, to a championship win in 2022. She has nine all-time goals in the Challenge Cup, two more than any other player. She scored her first goal of 2023 last Saturday against Chicago.
María Sánchez (HOU): Sánchez could very well be a candidate to be Houston’s MVP at the end of the season. She has scored a goal in the last two games for the Dash.
The Current’s Chances in the Challenge Cup
While Kansas City is in a winless streak and continue to deal with injuries, the tournament is a new focus with the same preparation.
“Well, preparation, there’s nothing new for us. We have the processes that are in place and they’re all about building a good feeling towards the game day experience. I’m sure with the new sponsorship, players are motivated a bit more, but overall the processes don’t change,” head coach Matt Potter said in the Current’s press release
In the 2022 Challenge Cup, Kansas City won four of its six group stage games, advancing to the semifinals rounds where they lost to the North Carolina Courage.
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Logically it feels like the timing of the Challenge Cup isn’t great for KC–adding more matches in for a team already stretched really thin by injuries is not generally a recipe for success. Despite that, I’m choosing to think about this cup differently. Right now, things could hardly be going worse for the Current, so the Challenge Cup presents them with an opportunity to start righting the ship. If KC can travel to Houston and come away with a victory (or, heck, even a tie) then that’s momentum they can carry into their regular season match on Sunday and beyond.
Also as a side note, I miss the comment-area discussions about the Current that I got to participate in last season! I don’t know if it’s the team’s poor form, the website change, or something else, but I’ve been the only person to comment on the last three Current articles on here. I miss the community!
I’m sorry you’ve been flying solo… I do read all your comments on the Current and align very strongly! I didn’t comment a ton on the Current back on TBT either, but I do follow them closely. I feel you on commenting being down while the community tries to find its footing again. A new site paired with underwhelming results city-wide makes it challenging. I’m a pretty polarizing commenter to begin with, and I’m still easing into being comfortable on the new site by not saying as much or even all that I want to.
One of your last comments talking about the Current’s sheen wearing off resonated very deeply with me because I’ve also been feeling wary due to several things that have happened with the club the past several months. What kept me from responding is nerves over sparking more “controversial” conversations. I stand by what I believe, but I can also read the room and felt like my perspectives were wearing thin for folks (not necessarily you) towards the end of last season so I’ve been trying to back off across the board. I also think commenting is down in general because everything feels so dire for all KC soccer. I mean, I’m still cranky over the Comets blowing it in the playoffs because they all decided to fall asleep on Utica’s game winner (like, what was that?).
I wonder if a lot of people still look at the Current strictly with rose-colored glasses so things like big signings and building the first women’s specific stadium block out other concerns. Which is a problem because then the red flags just look like flags if you don’t adjust your perspective from time to time. You’re right, though, there is reason to be hopeful for the Current and that Challenge Cup could be an opportunity not a burden. A slow start is never ideal, but I’m trying to keep it in perspective and not panic. I’m excited to watch a few matches today, and will be in the match post if you’re around 🙂
Thank you Kat! There is something gratifying in exchanging thoughts with others.
It’s definitely easy to slip into the mindset of being a Current “apologist” as we all want this club, this organization to really be successful, to be the model for the league or even the world. And absolutely there is reason to be excited by what they have and are currently accomplishing. But that doesn’t let them off the hook for missteps. Cheering the Current on to victory in the NWSL championship match in the first ever professional women’s soccer stadium will be that much sweeter if we’re able to know the club is full of good people doing things the right way.
My comments are down for two reasons. 1) I’m not used to this new site and have a hard time knowing which comments are new. 2) I have been wasting TONS of time on AI art (I think because I’ve always wanted to draw but have zero talent).
I just saw Cindy report that Potter has been let go. I have to say, I didn’t think he was all that great. Now, that’s mostly because he rarely did what I thought he should. The fact that he knows way more about soccer than I do doesn’t change that because I’m an entitled, opinionated fan. But seriously, there are more ambitious hires out there.
It is funny how differently Sporting and the Current are treating the same issue.
Yeah, it’s tough picking through threads trying to find what’s new. That’s cool about getting into AI art for yourself! I know very little about it. I just started learning to throw pots, and I agree with you that a creative outlet like that is a bit more appealing than sportsball at the moment.
WHOA. Coach Potter is out?!? Wow.
ETA:
“Today, the Kansas City Current announced that the club has parted ways with head coach Matt Potter, related to issues around his leadership and employment responsibilities.” 😐
I bet one of those “employment responsibilities” was to win a game.