Match Preview: Wave at Current

After cruising in the Bay last week, the Kansas City Current are ready to surf the Wave on Saturday as they play host to San Diego in the sixth edition of the water derby. Interestingly, since SD joined the league in 2022, the Current have won each of the three matches in Southern California by a 2-1 scoreline but have yet to defeat the San Diego Wave when playing in KC: a 2-2 draw in 2022 and a 0-2 defeat in 2023. That will need to change as Kansas City pushes for a top two finish and the home field advantage that would come with that.

Despite being a year younger than the Current, San Diego already has earned more hardware than their midwestern counterparts. They secured the NWSL Shield (best regular season record) a year ago and won this season’s version of the Challenge Cup (a single match versus Gotham). They are a team used to success as even in their inaugural season they progressed to the playoff semifinals before losing to the eventual champions, Portland Thorns (who defeated KC in the title match that year).

This season though? Not anywhere close to the same level of success. While still boasting some top players in Kailen Sheridan, Naomi Germa, Jaedyn Shaw, & María Sánchez, the Wave have been all but eliminated from postseason contention. They sit 12th in the 14-team table with just five wins to twelve losses on the season. Their attack has been especially anemic this year with just 20 goals scored through 24 games–a full thirty goals fewer than Kansas City has recorded. And despite being led by Girma, considered one of the best defenders in the world, they’ve conceded 30 times, good for a -10 goal differential. They even lost on Wednesday this week to Club América, knocking them out of the Concacaf W Champions Cup competition.

In addition to their on-field struggles, the Wave have dealt with numerous off field distractions that included midseason coach change to Landon Donovan (interim) and a discrimination lawsuit filed by five former employees. The team is likely just eager to turn the page on a fairly disastrous 2024–much like Kansas City was a year ago.

Way back in March, San Diego welcomed the Current for their first match of the season and Izzy and Lo spoiled their party and sent the more than 32K fans home disappointed with a 2-1 KC win.

While the Wave were busy earning the Shield last year, Kansas City was occupied sinking all the way to a next to last place finish. What a difference a season makes as the Current opened 2024 on a 15-match unbeaten streak and have a legitimate shot at a top two finish in the standings. There have been a lot of storylines for KC this year with an influx of rookies and international talent, a midseason shakeup in defense, opening their own stadium, hiring former USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski, setting a record for most different goal scorers in a season, etc. But arguably the biggest storyline has been the star-making season for Temwa Chawinga.

One silly way to measure Chawinga’s success is through the Parkside Pronto trading card series. Every week of the season, Parkside celebrates about five significant moments in the NWSL through their Pronto cards and Chawinga has been featured twice as many times as any other single player this season, including cards recognizing her as the first Malawian goal scorer, the River Ball, and of course her record-breaking tally from last weekend.

https://twitter.com/ParksideCards/status/1844075766968947038

Chawinga now stands alone in league history with 19 goals scored this season. Equally remarkable is the fact that she’s scored in 16 different games, including 12 of the last 13 regular season matches. Basically, the Current have the good fortune of counting on one Chawinga goal each match–an incredible luxury in a sport for which a 1-0 scoreline isn’t uncommon (as happened last week). Additionally, if Temwa is able to notch a goal against San Diego this Saturday, she would be able to boast about having scored against literally every other NWSL team (besides KC) in a single season. That’s an unheard of achievement.

Relive the historic match when Temwa broke the single season scoring record 🎥@NWSL | #KCBABY pic.twitter.com/JnI5sAjmUb

— KC Current – x (@thekccurrent) October 15, 2024

(In unrelated news, this week saw the unveiling of the NWSL’s newest team, the curiously titled BOS Nation FC. They will begin play in 2026 and it seems entirely likely that one of the first goals they concede will be to Temwa Chawinga.)

On paper, this weekend’s matchup would seem to be one of the easier ones for Kansas City. They are undefeated in six straight, having allowed just a single goal over that span. Meanwhile the Wave have won just twice since early May in league matches. San Diego is also coming off a midweek game (a loss) so KC will have the rest and travel advantage.

The Current have lost just once at home all year and average about three goals per match in the friendly confines of CPKC. But…there is a reason that sports aren’t just played on paper. In their regular season home finale, the Current will need to show up and play hard for 90 minutes to walk away with the victory and the three points that go with it. Later in the weekend, both Gotham and Washington have tough matchups that, if things go KC’s way, could result in the Current entering the final weekend of the season alone in second place.

A quick personnel note, this will also be the final regular season home match that could feature an FCKC original and longtime Canadian international, Desiree Scott. She took to social media this week and announce her retirement following the 2024 season.

"Forever grateful for this unforgettable journey. Thank You." ❤️

A message from The Destroyer, @MsDScott11 🗣#KCBABY pic.twitter.com/4NyQnvlP7u

— KC Current – x (@thekccurrent) October 17, 2024

WHEN: Saturday, October 19 at 12:00 PM (Central Time)

WHERE: CPKC Stadium, Kansas City, MO 

HOW TO WATCH: CBS / Paramount+

Record:

KC Current: 14-7-3 (49 points, 4th place in NWSL league standings)

San Diego Wave: 5-7-12 (22 points, 12th place in NWSL league standings)

Last Match:

KC Current: 1-0 away win to Bay FC

San Diego Wave: 0-1 home loss to Club América, 0-2 home loss to Houston Dash