Last week’s STATSDraft spotlight game featured the historic opening of CPKC Stadium that hosted the NWSL opening matchup between the Kansas City Current and Portland Thorns. The world’s first professional women’s soccer stadium hosted a wild opening match as the Current won a high-scoring 5-4 clash.
No one could have predicted such a wild game as the KC Current went up 3-0 in the first half and eventually went up 5-1 in the 68th minute. Even with a four-goal lead, they weren’t quite in the clear as Portland came roaring back and made it 5-4 before the final whistle blew.
Topher and I each hit on two of the five statistics drafted. Topher swung and hit on the home run ball of home team wins and least corners wins. I hit on most duels won and saves. Both of us were let down as Topher’s shooting stats narrowly missed and my selections of tackles and passing accuracy narrowly missed.
Unexpected Opener
With such a big occasion, I was expecting a low-scoring matchup. I could not have been more wrong. A four-goal first half was followed by an even more explosive five-goal second half as Portland played catchup but ran out of time.
New head coach Vlatko Andonovski will be thrilled to have such an offensive explosion with great efficiency for it being the first game of the year. He will be concerned about the way his side closed out the game. Perhaps it was the result of a good Portland team finding a better rhythm and forcing their way past the Current with more shots in the second half.
CPKC Stadium opened with a bang and will surely remain a tough place to play for every opponent. At the same time, every team that plays at the stadium will look forward to games in KC to play in such an environment, knowing the importance of the historical stadium.
This is a big season for a KC Current team that has high expectations. Saturday was only a glimpse at what the Current can be in the future as Andonovski continues to shape this team.
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