TELL OF THE TALE

The Kansas City Current had a season of peaks and valleys en route to a fifth-place finish and first-ever appearance in the NWSL playoffs. The Current ranged from near the bottom of the table to at the very top before settling just inside the top five, though only fifth because of a net zero goal differential (3 ^rd – San Diego, +11; 4 ^th – HOU, +8).

NUMBERS TO KNOW

7 – the number of goals scored by Kansas City leading goalscorers CeCe Kizer and Lo’eau LaBonta in the regular season. Kizer’s seven goals came in 16 games played, while LaBonta’s output was over 21 games played, and five of those goals were from the penalty spot. Sitting just one off the top is forward Kristen Hamilton, who managed six goals on the year. 6 – the total number of goalscorers on the Current, with four of those six scoring four or more goals on the season. Joining Kizer, LaBonta, and Hamilton in that mix is midfielder Hailie Mace, who scored exactly four on the season. Elsewhere, forwards Elyse Bennett (3) and Claire Lavogez (2) were the only other contributors with the pair combining for five goals. 2 – the number of players to have featured at least in part of every game. Those players are forwards Kate Del Fava and Kristen Hamilton, and though they are the only ones to have played a part in each game, they are joined by six other teammates who had featured in at least 20 of those regular season games. 3 – the number of players to have scored six penalty kick goals in a single season (including playoffs), a group which now features Current midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta after her penalty against Houston in the first round of the playoffs. LaBonta’s five spot kick in the league were equaled only by San Diego forward Alex Morgan, who also had five goals from the spot as part of her 15-goal season. 13 – the number of consecutive games that Kansas City went unbeaten from May 30 to September 15. In that run, Kansas City managed nine wins (D4) and set a new club record for most games without a loss. TELL OF THE TALE The Kansas City Current had a season of peaks and valleys en route to a fifth-place finish and first-ever appearance in the NWSL playoffs. The Current ranged from near the bottom of the table to at the very top before settling just inside the top five, though only fifth because of a net zero goal differential (3 ^rd – San Diego, +11; 4 ^th – HOU, +8). The Current’s rocky start to the season was a result of a five-game winless run that was snapped near the end of May, a full month into the season. Kansas City suffered back-to-back shutout losses to Portland (3-0) and Houston (2-0) to start the year, and those were followed up by a draw in Orlando that saw the Pride snatch a point thanks to a goal in the sixth minute of added time robbing Kansas City of the win. Then, two more shutout losses to Angel City (1-0) and OL Reign (1-0) left them with a single point after five games. Kansas City then earned their first win of the season thanks to a 1-0 win over Louisville at the end of May, and little did they know that that win would spark a run that would span 13 games and nearly four calendar months. After drawing two of their next three following the win, the Current then hit a run where they won five of their next six and, ultimately, seven of their next nine as they lit up the league and surged their way to the top of the table. Unfortunately, a mid-September loss to Chicago broke up the magnificent run, and Kansas City then relied on an equalizer in the fourth minute of added time by midfielder Hailie Mace to earn a point off Portland three days later. A bounce back 3-0 win over the Spirit to end the month of September gave Kansas City high hopes of possibly hosting a playoff game, but a 1-0 loss in Louisville on the final day left the Current sitting in fifth place, clear of sixth place Chicago by three points but with the knowledge that even a point from that game would have put them in third had other results remained the same. Now, after a win against Houston in the club’s first-ever playoff game, the Current face a trip to Seattle to face OL Reign in the NWSL semifinals on Sunday, October 23.