Kansas City Current Close Out 2023 Season with 2-2 Draw against NJ/NY Gotham FC

The Kansas City Current finished out the 2023 season with a 2-2 draw on the road at NJ/NY Gotham FC. An impressive team performance saw the Current come back from a two-goal deficit and prevent Gotham from leaping up the NWSL standings. 

“It was just like the mentality that they decided we are not giving up this easy tonight.” said the Current interim head coach Caroline Sjöblom. “We knew that if we can just get the ball behind their midfield, their defensive line is going to shake and that’s what they did, and it was a really good mentality from the group tonight.”

Gotham started the match with an extremely high-pressure strategy, which paid off big in the first six minutes. After the ball was poked away from midfielder Alex Loera on the edge of the Current’s penalty box, forward Midge Purce was in perfect position to jump on the interception. She took one touch to hit a low shot toward the far post, just inches past goalkeeper AD Franch and securing an early lead for the home team. 

With a playoff berth on the line, Gotham doubled their lead in the 15th minute. Gotham defender Kristen Edmonds found midfielder Yazmeen Ryan at the top of the penalty area. Ryan cut a path through Kansas City’s defense before banging her shot off the far post and into the back of the net. 

After two early goals, the Current found its rhythm. Kansas City allowed two goals on three shots in the first 17 minutes of the match, but then did not allow Gotham another shot until three minutes into the second half. 

Kansas City narrowed the scoreline in the 28th minute. A long ball from Loera found rookie forward Alexa Spaanstra charging down the right-hand side. The rookie cut into the center, beating two Gotham defenders, before hitting a lofty shot from the top of the box that sailed over the top of Gotham goalkeeper Mandy Haught. After scoring her first career goal last weekend against the Chicago Red Stars, this is Spaanstra’s second goal in consecutive matches. The assist for Loera was her fourth of the season, solidifying her spot as the 2023 club leader in assists. 

The Current nearly had a second goal less than ten minutes later. Forward Kristen Hamilton jumped in front of a pass out of the back from the Gotham goalkeeper, intercepting the ball and knocking it toward goal. Both players sprinted toward the net, with Haught getting a hand on it in the scramble before Hamilton was able to free it from Haught and get an attempt on net. In the end, it was Gotham defender Ali Krieger who sprinted 20 yards back to save a surefire goal from Kristen Hamilton off of the goal line. 

In the 36th minute, Loera lobbed a ball over the Gotham backline, finding Debinha racing up the left side. The midfielder cut inside, sprinting toward goal and poking the ball through to try and find Hamilton. Although missing Hamilton the ball hit Gotham defender Jenna Nighswonger in stride knocking the ball into the net. The own goal from the Gotham defender providing the equalizer for Kansas City.

The second half was a back-and-forth affair for both teams. Kansas City nearly took the lead in the 68th minute, when Spaanstra laid off a pass to find midfielder Lo LaBonta with space at the center of the penalty box. LaBonta’s one-touch strike forced a diving save from Haught to push the ball wide. 

Arguably the best offensive opportunity of the second half came from defender Elizabeth Ball, who sprinted out ahead of everyone on the counterattack to find herself one-on-one with Haught. The defender slid in to try and get the ball past the goalkeeper, but her attempt was routed out of bounds. 

Goalkeeper AD Franch came in clutch for the club several times throughout the match, but none more crucial than in the 80^th minute. Forward Lynn Williams found herself with open space on the Current’s endline, drawing Franch toward her before sliding the ball across the goal to Gonzalez at the far post. The Kansas City keeper sprinted across the goal, sliding for an impressive kick save to deny Gotham the lead. 

An extremely limited number of season tickets remain for the 2024 season in the new KC Current Stadium. For more information, visit https://www.kansascitycurrent.com/seasontickets

NWSL Match Report
Match: NJ/NY Gotham FC vs. Kansas City Current 
Date: October 15, 2023
Venue: Red Bull Arena, Harrison, NJ   
Kickoff: 4:07 p.m. CT / 5:07 p.m. ET
Weather: 59 degrees, partly cloudy 
Attendance: 9,005

Discipline 
45+1’ Gotham – Edmonds (Yellow) 
90+3’ Gotham – Nighswonger (Yellow)

Scoring
6’ Gotham – Purce (Sheehan) 
15’ Gotham – Ryan (Edmonds) 
26’ Kansas City – Spaanstra (Loera) 
36’ Kansas City – Own Goal – Nighswonger 

Scoring Summary

NJ/NY Gotham FC Lineup: Haught, Nighswonger, Krieger ©, Lopez, Edmonds, Ryan, Martin, Sheehan (72’ Farrelly), Williams (90+2’ Stengel), Gonzalez, Purce 
Unused Substitutes: Betos, Bruninha, Long, Shim, Jean, Freeman, Onumonu 

Kansas City Current Lineup: Franch, Rodriguez, Lauren, Ball, Del Fava, Debinha, LaBonta, Loera, Spaanstra (84’ Lavogez), Hamilton © (72’ Curran), Cooper (85’ Larsson) 
Unused Substitutes: Miller, Childers, Soto, Merrick