Preview: Unprecedented doubleheader kicks off with a battle between two of the NWSL’s best
Washington, D.C. (08/23/2024) – The Washington Spirit will face the Kansas City Current on Sunday in the first regular season matchup between the sides this year. The match begins at 12 p.m. EDT at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. and will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network and locally on Monumental Sports Network. Fans can also listen to the team’s local radio broadcast on WashingtonSpirit.com or the ESPN 630 AM website or app.
The Spirit
The Spirit looks to restart regular season play just a week after its most recent competition – a historic friendly against Arsenal W.F.C. Despite falling to Arsenal, 1-2, the Spirit created numerous chances on goal, including a game-high seven shots from forward Ouleye Sarr. Sarr also accounted for the Spirit’s lone goal – a mind-blowing header that lobbed perfectly over the Gunners keeper.
That header from Sarr
— Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) August 18, 2024
Last week’s match was played in front of over 15,000 fans in attendance, making the friendly the most-attended in club history. Additionally, the match was the first on United States soil for Arsenal W.F.C., who made its maiden voyage to the U.S. for the Washington Spirit International Friendlies.
The Spirit was significantly short-handed this summer as six players represented their respective countries during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. All six Spirit Olympians advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament, with the four U.S. Olympians – Trinity Rodman, Croix Bethune, Hal Hershfelt and Casey Krueger – earning gold medals. Rodman – and her pink braids – dazzled in the Olympic Games, scoring three goals including the decisive goal in the tournament’s quarterfinal against Japan.
Also during the summer break, the team announced that goalkeeper Lyza Bosselmann will miss the remainder of the 2024 season with a wrist injury. She played in one match this season and served as Aubrey Kingsbury’s backup.
The Spirit’s most recent regular season match proved to be a dominant performance. The Spirit defeated Bay FC, 3-0, with goals from Makenna Morris, Rodman and Sarr. The win secured a season sweep against Bay FC.
In her first career start, Morris was the most impactful player on the pitch, becoming the first Spirit player in team history to record a goal, assist and draw a penalty in a single match. Her goal was also the fastest of the Spirit’s 2024 season (3:52).
Historically, the Spirit has the upper hand against the Current, leading the all-time series 4-2-0. Despite this, the goal differential is knotted at nine goals apiece. Last season, the Spirit swept the season series with two thrilling, come-from-behind victories. In the first match, the Spirit scored three unanswered goals en route to winning 3-2. The Current also played its first-ever regular season match at Audi Field last September.
Keep an eye out for the Spirit to strike first. When leading at the half, the Spirit is unbeaten in its last 28 matches (21-0-7), including a perfect 9-0-0 this season. Also, should another Spirit player get their first goal of the season, the team will tie its club record for different goal scorers in a season. Currently, 12 different players have scored for the Spirit, five of which are 2024 NWSL Draft selections.
Following this match, the Spirit heads west to San Diego. That match will kick off at 8 p.m. EDT on Sunday, September 1.
The Opposition
While many NWSL teams utilized the summer competition window to recharge and pause from official matches, the Kansas City Current hit the ground running. Most recently, the Current participated and won The Women’s Cup, securing a 1-0 win over Atlético de Madrid in the tournament’s final.
The Women’s Cup featured competitions in both Kansas City and Louisville. The Kansas City branch featured four teams from as many continents, also including Inca Kobe Leonessa (Japan) and Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa).
Prior to The Women’s Cup, the Current excelled in the inaugural NWSL x LIGA MX Femenil Summer Cup tournament. The league-wide competition included four groups of five teams from the NWSL and LIGA MX Femenil.
Kansas City steamrolled through group play with a perfect 3-0-0 record and +8 goal differential. On August 6, the Current pushed even further, defeating North Carolina Courage, 2-0, in the Summer Cup semifinal. No surprise: both goal contributions came from star players Temwa Chawinga and Debinha. The team has advanced to the Summer Cup final, set to be held on October 25 in San Antonio.
The Current’s sterling record was not confined just to the summer window. The club has been one of the most dominant teams in the NWSL this regular season. With a 10-1-5 record (35 points), the Current sits in second place on the NWSL table.
In fact, the Current held an unbeaten record until its most recent regular season match against the Orlando Pride – a clash of the top two teams in the NWSL.
The match lived up to its billing with leading Golden Boot candidates Barbra Banda (ORL) and Chawinga both scoring in the first half before soccer legend Marta sealed the Pride victory with a penalty kick in the 63rd minute. Orlando now sits alone in first place.
The most recent meeting between the Current and Spirit resulted in a thrilling spectacle at Audi Field. Despite earning an early lead via a penalty kick, Kansas City was no match for the Spirit. Ouleye Sarr netted an equalizer in the 57th minute, her first career goal for the Spirit, before Trinity Rodman brought down the house with a late winner in second half stoppage time.
The one, the only: Trinity Rodman. pic.twitter.com/328M8mg6Jp
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) October 1, 2023
Kansas City enters Sunday’s match with some roster changes. Notably, the Current signed Jereko who comes to Kansas City with over a decade of Kenyan National Team experience and a recent stellar campaign in the Turkish Super League. She debuted for the Kenyan National Team at only 17 years old and scored 23 goals, including two hat tricks, in her most recent Turkish season.
Additionally, the Current dealt forward Alexa Spaanstra to Portland in exchange for allocation and intra-league transfer money.
The Kansas City Current will play the North Carolina Courage on Sunday, September 1 at 2 p.m. EDT in its next match.
Notables
- The Spirit owns a 4-2-0 all-time regular season record against Kansas City Current. The two teams have never drawn, but the goal differential is 0 with both teams scoring nine goals through six matches.
- Washington’s four victories over Kansas City all came by exactly one goal.
- Washington’s last Summer Cup match was the Spirit’s 13th game this season with multiple goals. That’s the second-most games with 2+ goals by any NWSL team in all competitions this season (KC – 14) and the second most in a season in team history (14 in 2021).
- Trinity Rodman helped the USWNT win the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, scoring three goals in the competition. The only other player to score for the USWNT at the Olympics while playing for the Spirit was Crystal Dunn against Colombia in 2016.
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