The Kansas City Current opened play in The Women’s Cup with a 3-0 victory over the Mamelodi Sundowns Wednesday night at CPKC Stadium. Facing the first intercontinental opponent in club history, the Current scored three first-half goals to secure a place in Saturday’s championship. Forward Alexa Spaanstra opened the scoring with a beautiful strike in the 24th minute, and fellow forward Michelle Cooper scored the Current’s second goal of the match 14 minutes later. Midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo rounded out the scoring in the 42nd minute with a picturesque, curled strike from the corner of the Sundowns’ 18-yard box.
Kansas City will face Spain’s Atlético de Madrid Saturday for the championship of The Women’s Cup. The Spanish side downed Japan’s INAC Kobe in a penalty shootout, which was the first match of Wednesday’s doubleheader at CPKC Stadium.
“As a coach and as a staff, we talked about how good this opportunity is for the growth of the game,” said head coach Vlatko Andonovski. “I think this is great. I mean, how many times can you bring four groups of people from different continents to one place to do the things they love doing? I think it’s a great tournament, a great show for the fans.”
The Current continued the club’s dominant form in its International Summer of Soccer, riding a first-half scoring outburst to victory Wednesday night. Despite a few quality chances early in the match, Spaanstra ultimately opened the scoring with an impressive long-range strike. After nearly scoring seconds before, Spaanstra picked up a loose ball on the right wing and dribbled across the pitch. Near the top of the Sundowns’ 18-yard box, Spaanstra fired a knuckling strike into the back of the net to put the Current ahead.
Goalkeeper Almuth Schult, who made her first appearance for the Current Wednesday night, made a reflexive stop to deny a long-range effort from the Sundowns in the 36th minute. Schult made two saves in the match, earning a debut shutout as the Current’s sound defense ultimately kept the visitors off the board.
In the 38th minute, a smooth finish doubled the Current’s advantage. LaBonta fired a through ball to Cooper, who raced behind the Sundowns’ defense for a one-on-one against goalkeeper Andile Dlamini. Cooper smoothly evaded the goalkeeper and rolled the ball into an empty net to put the Current ahead 2-0.
Kansas City continued to attack and found its third and final goal of the match in short order. Cooper and DiBernardo ran a nifty give-and-go on a Current corner kick in the 42nd minute, which culminated in DiBernardo getting a clean look at goal from the corner of the Sundowns’ 18-yard box. From a difficult angle, DiBernardo’s curled strike found the back of the net to put the Current ahead 3-0.
Kansas City did not score in the second half, but the three-goal opening frame proved more-than enough to power the Current to the championship of The Women’s Cup.
The Current’s championship opponent, Atlético, held a one-goal lead over INAC Kobe for a majority of the match before conceding a late equalizer. The match went to a penalty shootout, and goalkeeper Lola Gallardo made three consecutive saves to help Atlético advance. INAC Kobe will face the Sundowns Saturday at 5 p.m. CT in the third-place match.
Kansas City, meanwhile, wraps up its International Summer of Soccer Saturday at 8 p.m. CT against Atlético de Madrid in championship of The Women’s Cup. Both of Saturday’s matches will be broadcast on VIZIO WatchFree+, channel 1301. Kansas City fans can listen to Dave Borchardt and Jillian Carroll Letrinko call the Current’s match on 90.9 The Bridge or on the KC Current app in English and Portuguese.
The Women’s Cup Match Report
Match: Kansas City Current vs. Mamelodi Sundowns
Date: August 14, 2024
Venue: CPKC Stadium, Kansas City, MO
Kickoff: 8:22 p.m. CT
Weather: 84 degrees, humid
Discipline
62’ Mamelodi – Biyana (Yellow)
68’ Mamelodi – Madonsela (Yellow)
90+2’ Kansas City – Feist (Yellow)
Scoring
24’ Kansas City – Spaanstra
38’ Kansas City – Cooper (LaBonta)
42’ Kansas City – DiBernardo (Cooper)
Scoring Summary
| Goals | 1 | 2 | F |
| Kansas City | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Mamelodi | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kansas City Current Lineup: Schult, Rodriguez, Ballisager, Cook (58’ Glas), Steigleder, LaBonta © (46’ Hutton), Feist, DiBernardo (58’ Debinha), Spaanstra (67’ Prince), Hamilton (58’ Chawinga), Cooper (67’ Wheeler)
Unused Substitutes: Ball, Franch, Silkowitz,
Mamelodi Sundowns Lineup: Dlamini, Madonsela, Mbane, Makhubela, Biyana (88’ Mogolola), Mthandi, Rabale (65’ Kgasago), Ramalepe, Dhlamini (88’ Hadebe), Mgcoyi (46’ Daweti), Kgadiete (46’ Majiya)
Unused Substitutes: Bosija, Ntimane, Mokoena, Makhurubetshi, Sauls, Letsoso, Mali, Mashigo, Minnies, Mulaudzi
