KC Current earn a point in front of largest crowd of the season

The Kansas City Current continued their home stretch at Children’s Mercy Park, hosting the league-leading San Diego Wave in front of 7,954 fans in attendance (the largest for the club so far), hoping to build a winning streak after a rough start to season. The Current earned their first win of the regular season last Monday against Racing Louisville.

How they lined up

The Current went with their usual 3-5-2 line up, with Jenna Winebrenner, Elizabeth Ball, and Alex Loera in the back and Kristen Hamilton and Kate Del Fava staying wide, dropping back as necessary. Kristen Edmonds and Elyse Bennett were positioned in the attack, and Desiree Scott, Victoria Pickett, and Lo’eau LaBonta in the midfield.

How the game went

Before kickoff, midfielder Lo LaBonta was presented with a number 100 jersey for making her 100th NWSL appearance last Monday.

The Current began their attack early, pressing immediately, putting the San Diego defense on alert. It wouldn’t be long before Kansas City took the lead. The current earned a corner kick in the 10th minute. A pass from LaBonta to the box found Kristen Hamilton who was able to head it in for the goal.

But quickly after, the Wave began to put the pressure on the Current and found numerous opportunities to score. A hand ball call in the box would be an unlucky situation for the Current. The ball hit the hand of defender Elizabeth Ball in the penalty area, giving the Wave a chance to tie the game. Alex Morgan converted the penalty in the 37th minute, making it 1-1 as the game went into halftime.

With the game at 1-1, both teams came into half time working to break the deadlock. It was back and forth for the teams, but Kansas City, who tends to start the second half strong found ways to get the ball to forward Elyse Bennett. Her one-on-one match up against the Wave’s Naomi Girma often stopped her attack, but in the 63rd minute, Bennett was in perfect position after a corner to score and give Kansas City the lead.

The Wave, however, would not settle for trailing and Sofia Jakobsson was able to dribble past the backline, finding Alex Morgan in the six-yard box. Morgan was left open near the wide open net to make it 2-2. The Current would earn a point, despite all efforts to get the win. The Wave just found ways to answer each Kansas City goal.