Recap: Spirit Falls to Current in Kansas City, Splits Season Series

Kansas City, Mo. (09/20/2024) – The Washington Spirit fell, 0-3, to the Kansas City Current on the road Friday night. 

Known for its high-flying offense led by Golden Boot leader Temwa Chawinga, Kansas City lived up to its strongest suit in today’s match. In her team debut, Current forward Nichelle Prince scored in the fourth minute of the match on a deflection from a Michelle Cooper cross. This marked the first regular season goal scored by a Current player other than Chawinga since June 23.  

In the early stages of the first half, Kansas City overloaded the Spirit’s right side when attacking and sat back on defense to prevent any threats from the Washington front line. The Spirit looked to counter but couldn’t capitalize. The Spirit played all six of the side’s first half corners short, yet only one attempt yielded any chance at the net.   

An unfamiliar lapse, the Spirit defense relented for a second time in the 31st minute, this time to Lo’eau LaBonta for her sixth of the season. LaBonta made a run on the righthand side between multiple defenders and smacked the ball from right on top of the 18-yard box, using Spirit defenders as screens to slip the ball past Aubrey Kingsbury.  

Tara McKeown, who recently signed a new, four-year contract extension, was the defensive hero of the first 45 minutes, matching the intensity and pace of Chawinga, thwarting numerous breakaways and attempts inside the box.  

Trinity Rodman was quiet for most of the first half but represented the Spirit’s biggest threats at goal. One such attempt was a header in the 44th minute that almost got past new Current keeper and German national Almuth Schult on the near post. 

Things went from bad to worse in the second half when a dangerous Spirit attack led to a Current counterattack. A wild scramble in the box led to Chawinga netting her 16th goal of the season off a pass from Debinha.  

The final scoreline would hold but notable occurrences before the final whistle included Rodman leaving the match after being downed with an apparent injury. Additionally, Lena Silano was shown a red card in the eighth minute of second half stoppage time and will miss next Friday night’s match in Los Angeles.  

The Spirit will look to erase this match from its memory as it continues its away stretch when the side visits Angel City FC. Kicking off at 10 p.m. EDT on Friday, September 27, the match will be the Spirit’s second consecutive contest broadcast on Prime. 

-NWSL Match Report-  

Match: Kansas City Current vs. Washington Spirit 

Date: Friday, September 20, 2024  

Venue: CPKC Stadium (Kansas City, Mo.)  

Kickoff: 8 p.m. EDT  

Weather: Sunny, high-80s 

Scoring Summary:  

KCC – Nichelle Prince – 4’ (assisted by Michelle Cooper) 

KCC – Lo’eau LaBonta – 31’ (assisted by Hailie Mace) 

KCC – Temwa Chawinga – 69’ (assisted by Debinha) 

Lineups:  

KCC:  1 – Almuth Schult; 5 – Ellie Wheeler; 27 – Kayla Sharples; 15 – Alana Cook; 4 – Hailie Mace (66 – Hildah Magaia, 86’); 16 – Vanessa DiBernardo (11 – Desiree Scott, 86’); 99 – Debinha (33 – Jereko, 90+2’); 10 – Lo’eau LaBonta; 6 – Temwa Chawinga; 8 – Nichelle Prince (9 – Bia Zaneratto, 59’); 17 – Michelle Cooper (7 – Elizabeth Ball, 59’) 

Unused Substitutes: 12 – Stine Ballisager; 22 – Bayley Feist; 21 – AD Franch; 18 – Izzy Rodriguez 

WAS: 1 – Aubrey Kingsbury; 3 – Casey Krueger (14 – Gabby Carle, 46’); 5 – Annaïg Butel (24 – Esme Morgan, 65’); 9 – Tara McKeown; 26 – Paige Metayer; 17 – Hal Hershfelt; 10 – Leicy Santos; 12 – Andi Sullivan; 2 – Trinity Rodman (16 – Courtney Brown, 78’); 33 – Ashley Hatch (8 – Makenna Morris, 46’); 19 – Rosemonde Koussi (4 – Lena Silano, 65’) 

Unused Substitutes: 28 – Nicole Barnhart; 32 – Jenna Butler; 13 – Brittany Ratcliffe; 22 – Heather Stainbrook 

Stats Summary: KCC / WAS 

Shots: 8 / 14 

Shots On Goal: 3 / 4 

Saves: 4 / 0 

Tackles Won: 12 / 16 

Fouls: 11 / 11 

Offsides: 2 / 1 

Misconduct Summary:  

KCC – Michelle Cooper – 29’ – Yellow Card 

WAS – Lena Silano – 90+8’ – Red Card

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