KC Current leave Houston with a rainy draw

The Kansas City Current remain undefeated but will leave Houston disappointed with a 1-1 draw. Temwa Chawinga scored her fifth goal of the season but the biggest story in the game was a four-hour weather delay that saw the match last six hours.

“I’m very proud of the group,” Current head coach Vlatko Andonovski stated after the match. “I thought that we played a good game. I thought we played some quality soccer, we created opportunities, we broke them down in different ways. At the end, it is what it is.”

The Current were easily the dominant team in the first half, creating numerous chances but Houston Dash keeper Jane Campbell was up to the task on all the shots but one. In the 24th minute the Current broke through when Vanessa DiBernardo crossed into Chawinga. The talented Malawian forward did not get a clean shot off, but the ball was redirected towards the back post as Campbell dove towards the near post. The ball slowly crossed the line to put Kansas City up 1-0.

DiBernardo’s 5th assist. Chawinga’s 5th goal. 🔥

These two are a PROBLEM 👏@NWSL | #KCBABY pic.twitter.com/Dpjz9XSHzZ

— KC Current (@thekccurrent) May 5, 2024

Kansas City continued to control most of the first half and went to the locker room at the end of the first half feeling confident. As the teams went to the locker rooms, the game was put into a weather delay. Four hours later the teams would finally resume play.

The Current were still the better team but Houston started to generate more opportunities. Despite the Dash growing into the game, the Current were not seriously challenged until the 71st minute. AD Franch could not hold onto a cross into the box. Franch and Ellie Wheeler collided creating more chaos and the ball bounced out to  Amanda West. The Dash forward gathered the loose ball and slotted it into the back of the net to level the score, 1-1.

What a way to get your first professional goal!

Amanda West equalizes for the @HoustonDash and we are all tied up! pic.twitter.com/5rwvDlXmIr

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) May 5, 2024

The Current are still undefeated with a 5-0-2 record and 17 points but for the first time this season did not finish the weekend on top of the NWSL. The Orlando Pride slipped by them and are on top with a 5-0-3 record and 18 points with one more game played.

Kansas City next face the Seattle Reign on Wednesday with even less time to prepare. The timeline was already tight with the Current having two days less rest than Seattle, but the weather delay forced Kansas City to shuffle travel plans after missing a flight.

NWSL Match Report
Match: Houston Dash vs. Kansas City Current
Date: May 5, 2024
Venue: Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, TX
Kickoff: 12:11 pm CT
Weather: 77 degrees, cloudy
Attendance: 5,099

Discipline
61’ Houston – Bachmann (Yellow)
74’ Houston – HC Alonso (Yellow)

Scoring
24’ Kansas City – Chawinga (DiBernardo)
71’ Houston – West

Houston Dash Lineup: Campbell ©, Jacobs, Nielsen, Peterson, Ordonez, Nagasato (46’ Olivieri), West (84’ Alozie), Hirst (63’ Andressa), Bachmann, Patterson, Rubensson

Unused Substitutes: Puntigam, Hinz, Briede, Soto, Ayson, Harris

Kansas City Current Lineup: Mace (69’ Wheeler), Chawinga, Ball, Hutton, DiBernardo (67’ Debinha), Rodriguez, Franch ©, Feist (46’ LaBonta), Robinson, Spaanstra (82’ Pfeiffer), Lavogez (67’ Cooper)
Unused Substitutes: Steigleder, Prince, Ballisager, Silkowitz

Chawinga goal | KC Current/NWSL