Which Way is the (KC) Current Flowing?

In a league that wants to celebrate parity, the Kansas City Current have started playing their part. After a record breaking opening (5-0-0, 12 goals for, 1 against) through the first five matches, the Current had the look of a team that would simply bulldoze their way through the regular season. They really weren’t tested during the opening month-and-a-half, winning every match by multiple goals.

Then came a coast-to-coast road trip that has forced everyone to reset their expectations for this team. While both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball had been dominant in the opening stretch, they have taken their turns faltering more recently. First, it was the defense who suffered the worst three-minute stretch of the season towards the end of the game in North Carolina. The offense had twice provided a lead and entering the 90th minute, the one-goal margin still held. Then the wheels absolutely came off as the Courage were able to not only draw level but then steal the victory with a pair of very late goals. (This has become a pattern when KC plays NC. The last three times the Courage have defeated the Current, the game-winning goals have come during second half stoppage time.) This result was especially dispiriting as the Courage entered the game winless in 2025.

Playing a challenging Sunday/Friday match schedule, the Current flew to the west coast to clash with the Seattle Reign, and it was the offense’s turn to stumble. To that point in the season, the team had scored no fewer than two goals in each match. Unfortunately, Seattle’s defensive posture routinely frustrated the KC attack, resulting in just three shots on goal, less than one xG (expected goals), and no tallies on the scoreboard. This meant that a scrum in the box off a corner kick that (former Current) Lynn Biyendolo eventually poked across the line was the difference in the game.

Two weeks ago, in the preview of the NC match, we wrote: “Things can change quickly in sports; one week you’re on top of the world, and then next, an injury or a loss has you feeling quite different.” That line is feeling a little too prophetic as the vibes around this team are quite diminished from where they were. And in fact, it’s been both injuries and losses that have resulted in the changed mood as key players like Michelle Cooper, Temwa Chawinga, Alana Cook, and Nichelle Prince have all missed time due to ailments.

So, again, the question needs to be asked, which way is the Current flowing? If there’s been a silver lining to this two-game slide, it’s that it hasn’t really cost the team in the NWSL standings. They are still sitting in first place, level on points with the Orlando Pride, who have suffered their own pair of surprising defeats, especially the 0-1 setback against the Portland Thorns on Saturday. Additionally, other teams that were earmarked for success (Washington, Gotham, etc.) all dropped points last weekend.

But the Current can’t continue to coast on the goodwill of other teams and the parity of this league. Believe it or not, Sporting Kansas City (yes, the team that has already parted ways with their legendary coach this season) has won twice since the Current last tasted victory. Travel fatigue, schedule quirks, and injury excuses need to all be dismissed as no one is going to feel sorry for the squad with the reigning MVP, a former national team coach, a crown jewel of a stadium, and nearly half of the Best XI from the opening month of the season.

How can the team get back to their winning ways? Partly out of necessity, but head coach Vlatko Andonovski has tinkered with the lineup several times recently. For example, most people were surprised to see Flora Marta Lacho line up at fullback for her first NWSL start last weekend. She is listed on the Current’s official website as “forward” and her two previous appearances for the Teal had been in much more attacking roles. Additionally, this didn’t seem to be the result of injuries as regular fullbacks Hailie Mace, Izzy Rodriguez, and Ellie Wheeler all made appearances in the game. Lacho did well in her time on the field, routinely demonstrating both quickness and physicality to thwart the Reign and spring an attack, but her insertion into the lineup didn’t allow for the continuity and familiarity that would have been present with the “regulars”.

And speaking of Wheeler, dating back to last season, Andonovski has a curious tendency to insert more defenders when chasing goals. Late in the match against the Pride last summer (what turned into KC’s first loss of the season), Andonovski subbed on center back Lauren to spearhead the offense. The same sort of thing played out in Seattle of Friday as Kayla Sharples started camping out in the Reign’s box looking to receive crosses. Additionally, Wheeler (normally a fullback) has become an extra winger when Kansas City is looking to generate offense. Yes, she played in an attacking role in college, but that’s not her primary function for the Current.

Why is this Andonovski’s strategy? Does he not trust the attacking subs he has available so he instead uses his defenders as the offense? In his defense, with Cooper and Prince out and Chawinga limited, Mary Long became the only other obvious attacking option off the bench on Friday. Hopefully Kristen Hamilton and Alex Pfeiffer will heal and become available soon.

At the other end of the pitch, one of the particularly troubling trends from early 2024 is starting to resurface. In two games in a row now, the Current have conceded in the mess following an opponent’s corner kick. One of the reasons that corner kick stats are collected during a match is because they’re always a tantalizing proposition–dump the ball into a box filled with around 18 players and anything can happen. And yet, the better teams rarely concede in those situations with averages hovering around 3% of corner kicks resulting in goals. In back-to-back games, KC has allowed a player too much time and space while just hanging out near the PK spot.

Perhaps if/when everyone is again healthy, this team will return to its juggernaut status; perhaps it really is that most of the issues from the last couple of weeks can be reasonably chalked up to injuries. However, even if that’s the case, it’s on Andonovski’s shoulders to figure out how to navigate stretches like this. This team’s defense went from allowing just a single goal in five full matches to allowing four over the past two. This team’s offense went from 14 goals netted in the first five-and-a-half matches to none over the past 130 minutes.

There’s something to be said for consistency, for allowing players to thrive in the positions they’re used to. Every team is dealing with injuries/absences. The last two teams to defeat the Pride did so without two of the league’s most high-profile players: Trinity Rodman and Sophia Wilson (née Smith). The coaches of the Spirit and the Thorns figured out a way to frustrate a team loaded with players like Marta and Banda and push across just enough offense to walk away with wins. Now it’s on Vlatko to do the same.

This Sunday marks an opportunity to get things back on track. Bay FC enter the match with a very similar record to both the Seattle Reign and the North Carolina Courage so presumably the Current won’t be taking them lightly. KC should be well rested, having had nine days since their last competition. However, this weekend starts another Sunday/Friday scheduling quirk as the Current follow this home game with a trip to co-leaders Orlando.

Hopefully they will have correctly the flow and gotten the Current moving in the victorious direction again.