KC Current road woes continue in Orlando

Inclement weather in Orlando delayed the start of this match, the first meeting of the season between the Kansas City Current and the Orlando Pride. Once upon a time, during the 2024 and 2025 seasons, this was THE matchup to look forward to between the league’s best teams. But today, just a match-up of two teams trying to stay in contention midseason and make a statement, but only one team would do just that.

Temwa Chawinga started on the bench due to recovering from a respiratory illness earlier this week. Michelle Cooper (thigh) was also unavailable, as was Lorena (hip). But Debinha returned to the starting lineup after missing time due to injury, and Amelia White earned her first start in her rookie season. Vanessa DiBenardo returned to the active roster after being on maternity leave for a year.

STARTERS FOR THE SHOWDOWN 🔥

— KC Current (@kansascitycurrent.bsky.social) 2026-07-10T23:16:21.468Z

The Current, without Chawinga in the attack, had two major opportunities to score in the first half. Debinha, in the 21st minute, had a great look for a shot on goal, but it was a right to Anna Moorhouse. Later in the 25th minute, teamwork between Debinha and Haley Hopkins led to a Current goal, but Debinha was offside while making the run to the box.

Razor close offside decision against Debinha takes the Hopkins goal away. If this is the only angle then you can't change it. It's all they showed, but there has to be another, right? #KCBaby

— Chad Smith (@chadcsmith.bsky.social) 2026-07-11T01:32:14.700Z

There would be no other angle or second look to potentially reverse the call; perhaps we’ve gotten too used to FIFA fancy VAR this Men’s World Cup to have another angle/look, and we headed into halftime 0-0. But if we thought the second half would remain close, we thought wrong. It was all Orlando in the second half, as the Pride scored three goals to Kansas City’s zero. Not even Chawinga subbing at the beginning of the second half would give us any hope.

The second half was riddled by defensive mistakes. The first allowed Marta time and space to make it 1-0 in the 49th minute. The second was a result of a poorly defended corner kick in the 57th minute. And the third was Barbra Banda taking advantage of Marissa Jordan’s missed kick outside the box, leaving Banda with a wide-open net.

A wide open net doesn't stand a chance vs. Barbra Banda.#NWSLRivalries | Ally

— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 2026-07-11T02:54:36.806Z

Overall, it was a disappointing performance in Orlando for the Current, even with the return of Chawinga in the second half; the attack was uninspiring, and every shot was off frame or too weak to get past Moorhouse. Kansas City is now 2-6 on the road, continuing their road game woes. The good news for the Current is that they return to CPCK Stadium, where they are 6-0, to face the top of the table San Diego Wave.