Umbrellas Out Awaiting the Reign: Match Preview

In twenty matches so far this regular season, the Kansas City Current have lost only twice, with the most recent time being May 2nd against the Seattle Reign.

That match, four-and-a-half months ago, was dominated by the Current in all statistical areas except the one that matters most, the final score: 0-1. Just as they did a few weeks ago when they took down the North Carolina Courage to avenge their only other defeat on the season, the Current have a chance to rectify one of the few blemishes on their otherwise sterling record when the Reign rolls in this weekend.

Seattle has been a consistently middle-of-the-pack team this year. Their 8-6-6 record suggests they’re almost equally likely to win, lose, or draw anytime they step onto the pitch. Curiously, their 30 points actually places them in a four-way tie for third place in the league standings, however their poor goal differential drops them officially to 6th.

The Reign’s roster is littered with big names including KC’s old friend Lynn Biyendolo (though she’ll likely miss this weekend’s game with a knee injury). Other prominent team members include Sofia Huerta, Jordyn Huitema, Mia Fishel (the USWNT member who set an NWSL record by signing a deal this July with Seattle to transfer from Chelsea for nearly $2.5 million), and Jess Fishlock (who scored the winner for Seattle in their last match against Racing Louisville).

Speaking of that match with Louisville, it was actually suspended near halftime for two days due to one of the Racing players, USWNT midfielder Savannah DeMelo, collapsing on the field and having to be taking away in an ambulance. Because of this, Seattle effectively is coming off a midweek game as the final 45+ of that match just concluded on Tuesday.

The other notable personnel element entering this matchup is that it pits the two winningest coaches in NWSL history. Laura Harvey (Reign) and Vlatko Andonovski (Current) are the only two league coaches to amass 100 career victories. Coincidentally, they have also both coached the Reign, with Andonovski leading the team for a couple of years between Harvey’s stints in charge. Matchups between these two masterminds tend to turn into games of strategy and adjustments.

Both of these teams enter the weekend’s game in quality form. Seattle has only lost two of their previous ten matches and have earned the fourth most points of any team in the league over that stretch. Of course, the team that has been far and away the best over that time period (and really any part of this year) has been the KC Current. The Current still lead the league standings by 14 points and have earned eight more points than the next best team over the past ten games.

KC Current aren’t chasing history — they’re writing it. 👊50 points in 20 weeks… let that sink in 🫣#NWSLHistory

— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 2025-09-16T16:54:45.943Z

Kansas City’s past three results have been noteworthy for the postseason. With their win on August 30, they secured a spot in the playoffs. With their victory on September 6, they guaranteed themselves a home playoff match. With their draw against 2nd place Spirit last weekend, they locked in a top two league finish meaning they won’t have to play a road game at any point during the postseason (the Championship will be played at a neutral site–San Jose, CA). And the team can continue this momentous stretch with a win (and anything less than a win by Washington) this weekend. If KC defeats Seattle on Saturday and Washington loses or draws against Angel City on Thursday, the NWSL Shield will be headed to the heartland for the first time ever.

** UPDATE: The Washington and Angel City match ended in a 2-2 draw, so a win for KC this weekend officially earns the Current the Shield!

The last time these two teams met in Kansas City, it was Laurel Ivory minding the nets for the Reign. Earlier in 2024, Ivory had consistently frustrated the Current in a 0-0 draw in Seattle, not conceding despite facing 19 shots. That luck ran out the second time around when Ivory and her teammates allowed five in a 5-2 KC win. Now Ivory sports the KC teal (or whatever the goalkeeper variant is) and she has contributed to the league record shutout streak Kansas City is currently enjoying. It has been more than eight full games since KC last allowed an opponent to score and while Brazilian superstar Lorena has (wo)manned the posts for most of those games, Ivory has started twice during that time and has yet to be scored on.

Defended our fortress 💪

✔️ Pfeiffer return in reg szn
✔️ 13th clean sheet of the year
✔️ Lorena 11th shutout of the year
✔️ 13 matches unbeaten
✔️ Fastest team to 50 points

— KC Current – x (@thekccurrent) September 14, 2025

On the other end of the pitch, the sometimes-high-flying Kansas City offense has become somewhat more muted of late. It’s been that same timespan, eight games, since KC has netted more than two goals of their own. They still are easily outpacing the rest of the league with their 38 total goals scored this year, but that vaunted attack is perhaps seeming less dangerous as the season wears on.

A month ago, the Current had never been held scoreless inside CPKC Stadium. It has now happened twice, both in instances where it was a first v second place matchup. Admittedly, the last time out the Current were sans their star forward, Temwa Chawinga, who was resting a slightly banged up knee.

Tonight's Health Report ❤️‍🩹@KUHospital | #KCBABY pic.twitter.com/kQCiqc67F3

— KC Current – x (@thekccurrent) September 20, 2025

Also, the Spirit were rescued not once but twice by defenders clearing shots off the line that could have easily been tallies for Bia and Debinha. Regardless, as much as the Current’s defense is humming along right now, their attackers will be eager to hear the stands calling out “we want another one, just like the other one, we want ___” several times this weekend.

With the opportunity to right an early season wrong and potentially secure the number one seed in the playoffs, the Current will be eager to give the Kansas City fans a show and not let Seattle Reign on their parade.

WHEN: Saturday, September 20 at 6:30 PM (Central Time)

WHERE: CPKC Stadium, Kansas City, MO

HOW TO WATCH: Ion

Record:

KC Current: 16-2-2 (50 points, 1st place)

Seattle Reign FC: 8-6-6 (30 points, 6th place)

Last Match:

KC Current: 0-0 home draw versus Washington Spirit

Seattle Reign FC: 1-0 home victory over Racing Louisville