June 10, 2022 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) – Kansas City Current News Release
KANSAS CITY – The Kansas City Current host NJ/NY Gotham FC in Kansas City for the first time in 2022 on Saturday, June 11 at 7:30 p.m. CT. The match will be streamed nationally on Paramount+ while Dave Borchardt and Lori Lindsey will broadcast the match locally on KMCI, 38 The Spot.
Playing the third of four straight home games, the Current come into the match with a two-game unbeaten streak. Last week Kansas City battled to a 2-2 draw against the first-place San Diego Wave. Forwards Elyse Bennett and Kristen Hamilton each scored for the Current.
Gotham also played last Saturday, a 1-0 victory over the Washington Spirit. The win marked Gotham’s second consecutive 1-0 victory. Forward Midge Purce provided the contest’s lone goal, her second of the regular season, in the 21st minute. Notably, Gotham enters Saturday’s match having played just five regular season games, tied for the fewest in the NWSL.
ROSTER MOVES
The Kansas City Current added a little home-flair to the roster this week via a trade with Racing Louisville. In exchange for $150,000 in allocation funds, the Current received forward Cece Kizer and defender Addisyn Merrick. Both players are originally from the metro area, with Kizer hailing from Overland Park, KS and Merrick from Lee’s Summit, MO.
Kizer was selected by Racing Louisville in the 2021 Expansion Draft. She scored the first goal in Louisville’s history in the team’s 2021 Challenge Cup debut April 10. She led the team in games started (22) and was second in goals scored (5) and minutes played (1,889). She comes to Kansas City with two assists in seven games played so far this season.
Drafted in the fourth round of the 2020 NWSL Draft by the North Carolina Courage, Merrick appeared in seven matches for the Courage in the 2020 Challenge Cup and Fall Series. Merrick was the first player selected by Racing Louisville in the 2020 Expansion Draft but missed much of the season due to an injury. Making a strong comeback, the young defender has started two matches for Racing Louisville in 2022.
SET PIECE SUCCESS
Kansas City’s offensive showing against San Diego was thanks in large part to an emphasis on creating chances from corner kicks. The Current recorded 10 corner kicks against the Wave, the highest single-game total in all competitions for the team and turned many of them into threatening scoring opportunities.
The most significant opportunities…