KC’s Heavenly Season Continues with a Trip to Angel City: Match Preview

Well Kansas City Current fans, this dream season has finally hit a snag…for anyone in the Midwest wanting to watch KC’s next match and not be sleep-deprived. For some reason, the schedule-makers decided that it was a good idea to have the Current travel to the west coast for a 9:30 kickoff (really, more like 9:40) on a Monday night.

Almost certainly, this decision was made to please CBS Sports as this was one of the windows they set aside for an NWSL match and Kansas City and Angel City are two of the leagues more marketable teams. It’s easy to remember the last time the Current were scheduled to play on CBS (at 3:00 in KC in the middle of August) and, after that match was delayed more than three hours due to extreme heat, league commissioner Jessica Berman threatened to fine the team for missing the CBS broadcast. (She would later be greeted with boos as she presented the NWSL Shield to the Current at CPKC Stadium.)

Anyway, setting all this scheduling nonsense aside, this season does continue to go very, very well for the team in teal. They are currently riding a 15-match unbeaten streak and have already secured the Shield and the #1 seed in the playoffs. While they did concede a goal for the first time in nine matches last weekend, they still are easily the best in both goals scored (44) and goals allowed (11) across the league.

With four matches still to play, the Current are in position to set a whole slew of league records. With one more win, they will establish a new mark for most victories in a season (currently 18). If they were able to bag 14 more goals, they could break their own record of goals scored from last season (57). If they give up five or fewer goals the rest of the way, they will set a new league mark for fewest goals allowed (currently 17). If KC can score four more goals than they allow the rest of the way, they will establish a new record for best goal differential over a season (currently +36). If they earn five more points, they will break the mark for most points in a season (currently 60), and if they earn six more points, they will break the mark for best points-per-match average (currently 2.375). All of these records, except the total goals scored, seem quite likely and if achieved would establish this year’s performance by the Current as arguably the best ever in league history.

Of course, as Lo and Claire and the whole team like to regularly remind everyone, the “job’s not done.” All those potential records will mean a lot less if they aren’t able to follow it up by winning the NWSL Championship in November. Regardless of what they do over the final four regular season matches, the Current are in line to host both the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the playoffs. If the season ended today and all playoff games were won by the better seed, that would mean that Kansas City would welcome Racing Louisville for the quarterfinals and Seattle Reign for the semis. If chalk continued to hold, it would be the Washington Spirit (making their second consecutive finals appearance) clashing with the Current for the title in San Jose, CA on 11/22.

But before it’s time to focus too fully on the postseason, there are still four remaining regular season matches. Next up is the aforementioned trip west to meet Angel City on Monday night. Angel City is a club with an interesting mix of off-the-field success and on-the-field mediocrity. This is their 4th year in existence and, when Bob Iger (Disney CEO) and Willow Bay bought the team last year, the valuation of $250 million made Angel City the most valuable women’s sports team in the world. And it’s not just Mickey Mouse money that is behind this club as the list of owners/investors is over 100 people long and includes folks like: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Garner, America Ferrera, Uzo Aduba, Eva Longoria, Billie Jean King, Christina Aguilera, Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm, Cobi Jones, Abby Wambach, Becky G, Matthew Stafford, Serena Williams, Chris Paul, and many others. Additionally, Angel City is consistently among the teams with the highest attendance in the league, averaging north of 19K fans per game.

Despite this, they have yet to experience much in the way of soccer success. Their best season so far was 2023 when they finished 5th in the league and qualified for the playoffs. However, they were one-and-done as they lost the quarterfinal match. That has been their only postseason experience, and, unless they start winning games and grabbing points immediately, they will again miss the playoffs this season. They are currently in 11th place with 24 points and would need to leap all the way up to 8th (currently Louisville at 29 points). In other words, this will be a game that means much more to the home team as Angel City are desperate for points.

In other not particularly positive news for the hosts, Angel City has become something of a training ground for future WSL stars. Over the past two months, three different high-profile players have left SoCal for London as Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea), Alanna Kennedy (London City), and Katie Zelem (London City) have transferred overseas. This has become a significant league talking point as these players join several others (such as Naomi Girma) who have taken their skills abroad recently. There is a clear argument to be made that, top-to-bottom, the NWSL is the best women’s football league in the world. However, to maintain that title it will be important to be able to retain top players.

Coincidentally, it was Alyssa Thompson who played an important role the last time these two teams squared off back in June. With the game still scoreless in the second half, Angel City was awarded a penalty kick with Thompson stepping up to take it. Unfortunately for her, the Brazilian wall known as Lorena was able to get a hand to it and deflect it over the crossbar.

That match would end up as a 1-0 victory for KC as Bia nabbed her fifth goal of the season. Since that match, the pink ladies have been on a bit of a slide with just two wins, three draws, and four losses. That’s only nine points of a possible 27. By comparison, over the same time period, Kansas City has earned 23 of 27 points.

Angel City isn’t just a point of departure, though as the team made headlines this week by trading for Hina Sugita from the Portland Thorns. In addition to Sugita, Angel City also employs other big names such as Alyssa’s sister, Gisele Thompson, potential rookie-of-the-year Riley Tiernan, soccer legends Christen Press & Sydney Leroux, and inspirational defender Savy King.

Of course, the team visiting from the heartland has a pretty nice roster too and a coach who isn’t afraid to mix-and-match to give players rest, minutes, and experiment with different lineups in these “meaningless” games. Coach Vlatko Andonovski rolled out a completely different lineup last Friday with one player making her league debut (Katie Scott), one player making her season debut (Regan Steigleder), one player making her first start of the season (Bayley Feist), and others, like Gabby Robinson and Alex Pfeiffer earning minutes as they continue to work their way back from serious knee injuries. Despite all these changes, KC still secured a comfortable 4-1 win against the visiting Chicago Stars. (Of those rotated pieces, Feist had a particularly strong game, proving again just how deep this roster is as she’s generally buried behind LaBonta, Hutton, and Rocky Rodríguez in the defensive midfield.)

So, while those in Missouri/Kansas and surrounding areas may need to order an extra coffee (perhaps at Pictchside?) in order to catch all the action Monday night, Vlatko will no doubt have the team ready to go regardless of what the lineup looks like. The results may not matter as much as they will in a month’s time, but this is not a squad who rests on their laurels. Need proof? Look no further than the current Golden Boot leader who is also one of the most tenacious defenders in the world.

WHEN: Monday, October 6 at 9:30 PM (Central Time)

WHERE: BMO Stadium, Los Angeles, CA

HOW TO WATCH: CBS Sports / 38 the Spot / YouTube TV

Record:

KC Current: 18-2-2 (56 points, 1st place–locked in)

Angel City FC: 6-6-10 (24 points, 11th place)

Last Match:

KC Current: 4-1 home win versus the Chicago Stars

Angel City FC: 0-1 road loss versus Racing Louisville