KANSAS CITY (July 6, 2024) — The Kansas City Current (10-1-5, 35 pts., 2nd place) saw the club’s 17-match unbeaten streak come to an end Saturday night in a hard-fought 2-1 defeat against the Orlando Pride (11-0-5, 38 pts., 1st place). Saturday’s showdown between the top two clubs in the NWSL lived up to the billing, producing a back-and-forth affair decided by a game-winning penalty kick from Orlando’s Marta in the 63rd minute.
Orlando forward Barbara Banda, who began the day tied with Kansas City forward Temwa Chawinga atop the NWSL Golden Boot leaderboard, opened the scoring in the 37th minute before Chawinga equalized with a brilliant individual effort seconds later. The Current fought valiantly in front of another sellout crowd at CPKC Stadium to push for an equalizer, but the Pride emerged victorious in Saturday’s battle of the unbeatens.
“We have ten games to go, playoffs ahead of us and hopefully we meet them in the finals,” said head coach Vlatko Andonovski.
The attacking talent of both sides was on display throughout the opening 45 minutes. Goalkeeper AD Franch made a pair of sparkling saves in the second minute to help keep the match scoreless, and Michelle Cooper headed a cross from Izzy Rodriguez just over the Pride net in the seventh minute. In the 14th minute, Orlando defender Carrie Lawrence received a yellow card for a foul on Chawinga as she was breaking through on goal.
Lawrence’s foul set the tone for a physical match that featured 29 total fouls and seven total yellow cards between the two teams.
Debinha made history in the 26th minute, becoming the first Brazilian player to reach 10,000 career minutes played in the NWSL. In the 31st minute, Hailie Mace reached the 5,000-minute threshold for her NWSL career.
In the 38th minute, Banda put the visitors ahead. A long-range strike from Adriana was blocked by Elizabeth Ball, but the ricochet fell perfectly to Banda. She took a touch forward to the Current’s penalty spot and fired her effort past Franch for the first goal of the contest.
The goal put Banda atop the NWSL Golden Boot leaderboard, but her stay at the top lasted less than two minutes later, Rodriguez found Chawinga at midfield. Chawinga, who had her back to goal, turned past a Pride defender and bolted to goal. Near the top of Orlando’s penalty area, Chawinga swerved through multiple Orlando defenders before getting a good look at goal. To cap her brilliant individual run, Chawinga rolled a left-footed strike past Orlando’s Anna Moorhouse to equalize the contest in the 39th minute.
In the 42nd minute, the Current received an additional jolt of momentum when Lawrence received her second yellow card of the match after a hard foul on Chawinga. That resulted in a red card for the Pride, who had to finish the match with ten players. Chawinga nearly put the Current ahead in first-half stoppage time, but the match remained 1-1 at halftime.
The second half resumed with a similar intensity as both sides pushed for the lead. Rodriguez and Chawinga saw shots sail just high of Moorhouse’s goal inside the first ten minutes of the second half.
In the 60th minute, the referee awarded the visitors a penalty kick after a collision between Franch and Adriana inside the Current’s penalty area. Marta ultimately converted the opportunity in the 63rd minute to put the Pride ahead 2-1. The penalty kick marked the first awarded against the Current this season.
The Current pushed for an equalizer over the final half-hour of the contest. Franch made a massive save on a Banda strike in the 80th minute to keep Kansas City within striking distance, and Bayley Feist saw an effort from 18 yards out in the 88th minute sail just high of goal. In the second minute of second-half stoppage time, Rodriguez found Ellie Wheeler in the penalty area on a long, diagonal pass. Wheeler latched onto the pass and had a one-on-one opportunity with Moorhouse, but the goalkeeper stood firm to deny the chance. Kansas City ultimately could not break through as the Pride took home the one-goal victory.
Kansas City has next week off and, as the NWSL breaks for the Olympics, will not play another league match until August 25. In the meantime, the Current return to play July 20 at CPKC Stadium as the club kicks off the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup against the Houston Dash.
The match will be broadcast on Paramount+ and CBS Sports, and fans in Kansas City can listen along on the Kansas City Current Radio Network.
NWSL Match Report
Match: Kansas City Current vs. Orlando Pride
Date: July 6, 2024
Venue: CPKC Stadium, Kansas City, MO
Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. CT
Weather: 86 degrees, sunny
Attendance: 11,500
Discipline
14’ Orlando – Lawrence (Yellow)
23’ Orlando – Marta (Yellow)
28’ Kansas City – Hutton (Yellow)
42’ Orlando – Lawrence (Second Yellow, Red)
47’ Kansas City – LaBonta (Yellow)
57’ Kansas City – Mace (Yellow)
61’ Kansas City – Franch (Yellow)
Scoring
37’ Orlando – Banda
39’ Kansas City – Chawinga (Rodriguez)
63’ Orlando – Marta (PK)
Scoring Summary
| Goals | 1 | 2 | F |
| Kansas City | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Orlando | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Kansas City Current Lineup: Franch, Rodriguez, Ballisager, Ball (86’ Lauren), Mace, LaBonta ©, Hutton (71’ Wheeler), Debinha, Chawinga, Lavogez (57’ Feist), Cooper
Unused Substitutes: Steigleder, Glas, Scott, Hamilton, Silkowitz, Spaanstra
Orlando Pride Lineup: Moorhouse, Lawrence (RC 42’), Sams, Strom, Abello, Yates (45’ McCutcheon), Marta ©, Angelina (70’ Dyke), Adriana (70’ Watt), Doyle (44’ Souza), Banda
Unused Substitutes: Crone, Allen, Lemos, Martinez, Gautrat, Rafaelle
