KANSAS CITY – Thursday night was the final of three group stage matches for the Kansas City Current in the inaugural Summer Cup. KC took on Liga MX’s Tigres UANL who came into the match needing a win and some help to advance to the semi-finals. Kansas City, on the other hand, came in undefeated with wins over the Houston Dash and Pachuca in previous homestands.
The scoring began quickly for the Current after a yellow card was issued to Tigres’ Natalia Villarreal providing a set-piece opportunity for the Current. Vanessa DiBernardo spun the ball from around 10 yards outside of the box to the head of a flying Lo’eau LaBonta who fired it to the right of the goalkeeper. The goal from the captain gave the Current their first lead of the match.
DiBernardo was not done setting her teammates up though. Just minutes after the initial goal, the midfielder found Ellie Wheeler for yet another header. Both passes were beautifully placed creating goals that provided a comfortable lead for the hosts early in the match.
The Tigres came out of halftime much more comfortable than they were in the first half, controlling the ball for the majority of the opening minutes. The constant attack finally resulted in a score in the 56th minute when Thembi Kgatlana fired a ball to the right of AD Franch. KC’s goalkeeper did her best to react, but the most she could do was tip it with her foot, which was not enough.
KC’s prolific offense responded just as you might expect though. Less than a minute following Kgatlana’s goal, an errant pass provided Debihna with the opportunity she had been looking for over the last couple of matches. She didn’t wait to think about it and knocked the ball in, bringing the lead back up to two.
Facing a deficit of two goals, Tigres felt the pressure even more knowing that they would have to not only win to advance but also outscore Kansas City by two goals, creating an almost insurmountable challenge for the Mexican futbol club.
If any hope remained in the minds of Tigres’ members, it was shut down in the waning moments of the match as time slowly fell off the clock. After a KC goal was taken away on an offside call, Kansas City made sure to add to their group stage goals with another attempt. After strategically dribbling the ball into the box, Claire Hutton angled a ball past Tigres’ defense. The goal was the first professional one for the eighteen-year-old, and her teammates celebrated accordingly. The goal also signified the potent offense Kansas City has demonstrated in the opening half of the NWSL season but also carried into the Summer Cup. Their perfect 3-0-0 record is impressive enough, but they managed to score at least three goals in each match, totaling ten goals over the stretch. This team is on a special run that they look to continue into the four-team tournament beginning on Tuesday.
Kansas City ended the match controlling the ball for only 43% of the match, yet dominated offensively while also only allowing the single goal. The Semi-Finals are being held in Kansas City on August 6th. CPKC Stadium is celebrating its inaugural season and it will share a birthday with the Summer Cup who selected the venue for both of the semi-final matchups. Kansas City advances and will play a club yet to be determined, but will take place at 8:00 pm local time. The other will take place four hours before, at four.
