Book it! Kansas City Current reach NWSL’s championship game, beating host OL Reign 2-0

In just their second year of existence, the Kansas City Current are going to play for the championship of the National Women’s Soccer League.

The Current, the league’s last-place team a year ago, guaranteed that by playing spoiler on the road for the second straight week, this time beating the OL Reign 2-0 Sunday evening at Lumen Field in Seattle.

Continuing a remarkable turnaround for the franchise that recently broke ground on a new riverfront stadium in downtown Kansas City, the Current will play Portland for the league championship on Saturday at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.

“We get to continue a journey that we’ve been on all season,” Current coach Matt Potter said. “... And the fact that we get to play one more game and be together another week, it’s pretty darn exciting.”

Alex Loera’s early goal gave the Current the advantage and Kristen Hamilton’s second-half goal added some cushion. Current goalkeeper AD Franch made seven saves in a spectacular clean-sheet performance.

Franch, who registered her league record-tying third shutout in an NWSL playoff game and surpassed Nicole Barnhart for most saves in NWSL postseason history, credited her team’s rock-solid defense.

“She leads the way,” Potter said of Franch. “(She) knows how to handle this environment, this stage, if you like. The big players show up in the big moments, and there she was, standing tall again today.”

Loera opened the scoring in the fourth minute, pouncing on a loose ball in the penalty area and ripping a shot low and hard off the turf. In an unusual gaffe from OL Reign goalkeeper of the year finalist Phallon Tullis-Joyce, she let the ball escape her grasp and settle into the bottom corner.

Cece Kizer had to be subbed off before halftime after she knocked heads with an OL Reign defender. According to Potter, she is doing well but was removed as a precaution.

Her replacement, Elyse Bennett, had an impact in the second half. The Current dropped back after the intermission, inviting the Reign to push numbers forward in search of an equalizer. Bennett used her size and speed to threaten in behind with long balls over the top.

That very scenario enabled the Current to score their second goal. Bennett won an aerial duel with multiple Reign defenders in the 63rd minute and the ball was picked up by Kristen Hamilton.

The Reign’s defenders tracked Bennett’s run into the box, allowing Hamilton to cut inside and drive a shot low and hard into the net.

Franch made a super second-half save on a hard strike by U.S. Women’s National Team star Megan Rapinoe. Franch dove just enough to get a fist onto the ball and push it away — one of numerous saves that the Salina, Kansas native made Sunday.

After the game, Franch and her teammates were able to celebrate yet another momentous achievement in a year that’s been full of them.

“We’ve been a part of really good clubs, really good teams, and the heart of this team is so unique,” Franch said. “I’m so incredibly proud of everybody and I think that we just lean on each other, we support each other, we pick each other up when someone’s down …

“That’s just who we are. We’re gonna grind it out, and we’re gonna fight for each other, and we’re never gonna stop working.”

Kickoff for the NWSL championship match, the Current against the Portland Thorns, is scheduled for 7 p.m. Central on Saturday. The game will be televised on CBS and Paramount+.

Asked what stands out the most to her about this Kansas City club in comparison to past teams she’s played with in the postseason — including the Current’s finale-game opponent, Portland — the veteran Franch thought about it for a moment.

“The turnaround time,” she said. “There was always expectation to be in the playoffs on other teams I’ve played on. That was our expectation here, but I don’t think that was the expectation of the outside world.”

The way the Current has played this year and now in the playoffs, that expectation has no doubt changed.