August 5, 2022 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) – Kansas City Current News Release
KANSAS CITY – The Kansas City Current (5-4-4, 19pts, 6th place) begin August with a pivotal road battle against league-leading San Diego Wave FC (7-3-4, 25pts, 1st place) on Sunday, August 7 at 4 p.m. CT. Sunday’s match will stream nationally on Paramount+ and be broadcast locally on KMCI, 38 the Spot.
Kansas City carries the second-longest unbeaten streak in the entire NWSL heading into Sunday’s match. The Current had to battle back from a 2-0 second-half deficit to draw 2-2 with the Orlando Pride on July 31. After the Pride took a two-goal lead in the 46th minute, Current forward Elyse Bennett scored in the 57th minute to cut the Pride’s lead to 2-1. In the 82nd minute, forward Cece Kizer chipped Orlando’s goalkeeper and slotted the ball into an empty net to tie the match at 2-2. The draw extended the Current’s franchise-best unbeaten streak to eight matches.
San Diego also enters Sunday’s match on a tear, with the expansion side having lost just one match in the last two months. Most recently, the Wave downed the Chicago Red Stars 1-0 on July 30. 17-year-old midfielder Jaedyn Shaw scored the contest’s lone goal in the 28th minute, becoming the youngest player to score on an NWSL debut in league history in the process. The Wave weathered 20 total Chicago shots in the shutout victory.
‘THE DESTROYER’ RETURNS
The Current received a massive midfield boost against Orlando, as team captain Desiree Scott made her first appearance for the club since June 18. Scott had been competing in the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship with Canada and guided the team to a second-place finish, with Canada narrowly falling to the United States in the Gold Medal Match.
Scott started all five of Canada’s matches and logged 363 minutes. Despite finishing the tournament in second place, Scott and Canada did secure automatic qualification for the 2023 FIFA World Cup.
Scott started and played 74 minutes for the Current in Sunday’s match and supplied her always-steady defensive presence in the middle of the park. Having played the fourth-most minutes of any Kansas City player in 2022, Scott could feature heavily down the stretch as the Current push for their first-ever playoff berth.
Rookie defender Jenna Winebrenner also made her first appearance for the Current in over a month after suffering an injury on June 4. Winebrenner, who made her eighth appearance of the regular season on Sunday against…