LaBonta’s first-half penalty kick helps KC Current beat OL Reign for 3rd straight win
Don’t look now, but the Kansas City Current are in position to make the National Women’s Soccer League playoffs.
The Current jumped two teams in the league standings — including their victims Sunday evening, the OL Reign — thanks to a 1-0 victory over the visitors from the Pacific Northwest at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City Kan.
Kansas City (5-4-3) has now won three straight and is unbeaten in its last seven matches. The OL Reign fell to 4-3-5.
Lo Labonta’s 18th-minute penalty kick stood up for the duration Sunday, withstanding a 15-minute stretch of particular dominance and danger from the OL Reign.
After an adjustment made at the hydration break around the 30-minute mark, it was all KC the rest of the way.
That adjustment?
“I think at times we were giving them a little too much respect,” Current coach Matt Potter said plainly.
Too much respect equals too much time and too much space, especially when you’re playing a roster with OL Reign’s star power.
The Reign roster might be the most potent in the league, boasting both international and domestic names. Even without Rose LaVelle and Megan Rapinoe, they were still cause for concern.
“It’s hard not to give people like Jess Fishlock and Kim Little respect that they deserve, obviously,” Potter said. “But we gave them a little too much space.
“Stopped being so nice, basically,” Potter quipped.
Current goalkeeper AD Franch again kept a clean sheet, making four saves — including a crucial late block on U.S. Women’s National Team superstar Tobin Heath, who subbed on late in the match.
Victoria Pickett went on a dazzling run in the 17th minute, beating Reign defender Phoebe McClernon on the dribble. McClernon tried to keep Pickett from getting past her, but instead she shoved her in the back, resulting in a PK.
“What’s nice is the coaching staff and my teammate’s belief in me taking people one on one,” Pickett said. “During practice people were saying to make sure you’re attacking the final third, and thankfully I got tripped up.”
LaBonta stepped up to take the spot-kick for the third time this season and promptly crushed the ball as hard as she could into the top right corner.
During their seven-game unbeaten run, the Current have trailed in a match for just 10 minutes total. They now rank fifth in the NWSL, with 18 points in 12 games played. While they’re happy about where they’re at, they’re not too concerned about the streak.
“To be perfectly honest, it’s not come up,” Potter said. “I certainly didn’t know, so it’s not come up from where I’m at.”
The players, meanwhile, they’re just taking it game by game.
“We’ve never said that as a group — to each other, it’s always one game at a time,” La Bonta said. “Obviously, it feels great. We’ve jumped in the standings, but as a team we take it week by week, game by game.”
The Current return to action July 31 at home against the Orlando Pride.
