Match Preview: Kansas City Current travel to Florida looking for season sweep of Orlando Pride

The Kansas City Current (3-9-0, 9pts.) hit the road this weekend for the second regular season meeting of 2023 with the Orlando Pride (4-7-1, 13pts.). Kickoff from Orlando’s Exploria Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT with Maura Sheridan and Tony Meola on the call for Paramount+ and Dave Borchardt and Jillian Caroll Letrinko on the call for KC Current Radio, available on the KC Current App. 

This is Kansas City’s first match since taking on the Washington Spirit June 18. The Current started off on the right foot, with Michelle Cooper scoring her first regular season goal of her career 22 seconds into the match. Then midfielder Debinha scored her 40th career goal in the 17th minute off a penalty kick. Debinha is the first Brazilian player to hit that mark. Despite the fast start, and a 2-1 lead at the half, Washington scored two late goals to complete the comeback and hand the defeat to Kansas City.

Orlando was on the road last weekend to face the North Carolina Courage in Cary, North Carolina. The Pride were unable to find an answer for the Courage attack. Forward Kerolin had the Pride down 1-0 at halftime with a 32nd minute score, then midfielder Meredith Speck made it 2-0 in the 77th minute. The Pride saw any hope of a comeback fall away in the 83rd minute when Kerolin once again found herself on the attack, sending in a shot that bounced around and off an Orlando defender and into the net. 

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Kansas City Current forward Michelle Cooper – Cooper was the second overall selection in the 2023 NWSL Draft after two very successful seasons at Duke. With expectations high, Cooper has been an impressive force in the Kansas City attack. She scored her first professional goal in the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup against Racing Louisville on May 17, and her first regular season score against Washington June 18. That score set a record for the all-time fastest score in NWSL history at only 22 seconds into the match.

Orlando Pride forward Adriana – The Brazilian forward is likely making her final appearance for the Pride before the 2023 FIFA World Cup begins. Acquired in January 2023, she has been a shining point for the Pride as she is tied for the team lead in goals with three. Prior to that, she spent five seasons and scored 72 goals for Brazilian club Corinthians.

BATTLING IT OUT
The Kansas City Current and Orlando Pride are coming into this game with an even playing field, both with two wins and three losses in their last five matches. Last season, both matchups between the teams lead to 2-2 draws, but Kansas City has the series momentum going into Saturday’s match. Although the Pride sit a few spots higher on the regular season table, the Current shut them down in their last head-to-head matchup. Earning the team’s first home regular season win of 2023, the 2-0 final marked the first win against Orlando with goals from forward Cece Kizer and midfielder Debinha, both assisted by Hailie Mace.

WORLD CUP DEBINHA 
In anticipation of the 2023 FIFA World Cup, Saturday is expected to be Kansas City midfielder Debinha's last match with the Current before she is called up to play for Brazil on the world stage. She was one of four players from the NWSL to play for Brazil in the 2019 World Cup and helped lead the team to victory in the 2021 She Believes Cup. On June 18, Debinha hit a milestone 40 career goals in the NWSL and is only the 12th player in the league to accomplish this feat. She has scored in the Kansas City Current’s last two matchups, with a brace against the Chicago Red Stars and penalty kick goal versus Washington Spirit. 

HISTORY IS MADE
Fans had a lot to celebrate in Kansas City on Sunday, as the excitement began early in the game with the fastest goal in NWSL history. Twenty-two seconds after kickoff, Michelle Cooper launched the ball into the net, beating the previous record set by Raquel Rodriguez from what was then Sky Blue FC on June 17 by two seconds. The rookie forward fought hard for a goal to mark her first season in the NWSL and led the team with 18 shots before her record-setting night. In addition to making NWSL history for the Current, she scored a personal victory with her first goal in the regular season. 

RECORD SETTERS
Cooper’s record setting goal against Washington follows a trend from Kansas City scorers. At only 22 seconds into the match, Cooper helped the Current to grab the record for quickest goal in NWSL regular season play. In 2022’s NWSL Challenge Cup, Current defender Taylor Leach scored 1:32 into the match off an early corner kick to set the Challenge Cup record and lead Kansas City to a 3-0 victory. The only ‘fastest goal’ record not owned by Kansas City is in the NWSL Playoffs, although the team is close. Against OL Reign in last year’s NWSL Semifinal, defender Alex Loera found the back of the net in the fourth minute, however one year earlier, Portland’s Eugénie Le Sommer scored in the third minute of one of their playoff matches.