NWSL season preview 2023: KC Current are prepared to contend again

Matt Potter and the Kansas City Current come out of the offseason with arguably the most talented and deepest team in the league. 

Nobody kicked the NWSL offseason out of the park quite like Matt Potter and the Kansas City Current. Nobody in the organization was content after finishing as the runners-up in the NWSL in just their second season in the league. From last place by a considerable margin in 2021, KC was a team on a mission in 2022. There is an ambition from the front office down that Kansas City wants to be not only the epicenter for women’s soccer in the United States but the entire world.

Additions like Brazilian superstar Debinha, Swedish international Hanna Glas, Morgan Gautrat, and Vanessa DiBernardo will help back up that statement. Everyone wants to finish at the top, but the Current are taking that goal to a completely new level.

With a state-of-the-art training facility and a new women’s soccer-centric stadium coming in 2024, Kansas City has everything it needs to entice free agents from all over the globe. Kansas City is doing things that no other women’s soccer club around the world has managed to do yet. Despite some rumblings of Debinha heading across the pond to Arsenal, the opportunity to get up every day and work in an environment that is as bought in as Kansas City was too much to pass up.

Heading into last season, all the talk was about the acquisitions of Sam Mewis and Lynn Williams. A year later, and neither of them look to be a part of the future. Current general manager Camille Levin Ashton shipped out Williams in exchange for the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 draft, selecting Michelle Copper out of Duke University. Mewis has no timeline to return. She had yet another surgery on her knee in January, and there is little hope the midfielder will feature at all in Kansas City’s 2023 season. Instead of just waiting it out for those two superstars, the Current acted swiftly to make this club an immediate contender.

Even with the World Cup window in August, this team looks well-equipped to be able to endure. Given the depth that is present in the midfield and the Current drafting two goalkeepers in January’s draft, they shouldn’t hit any bumps in the road during the four games that occur during the World Cup window.

In just his first season in the NWSL, the former USWNT U23 head coach completely turned around a franchise into one of the scariest teams heading into 2023. Critics will point out the departure of Elyse Bennett as a key loss, but even without her, the attack has an abundance of talent. Last season, Kansas City was not even looked at as a title contender. This year is a completely different story.

Kansas City Current: Projected starting XI (3-5-2): 

Goalkeeper: Adrianna Franch

Defenders (3): Elizabeth Ball, Jenna Winebrenner, Addisyn Merrick

Midfielders (5): Lo’eau LaBonta, Debinha, Vanessa DiBernardo, Alexis Loera, Hailie Mace

Forwards (2): Cece Kizer, Kristen Hamilton

(*The projected XI takes into account injuries*)

Kansas City Current Most Important Player: Midfielder, Desiree “The Destroyer” Scott

With a myriad of midfielders coming to KC this offseason, the future of Canadian international Desiree Scott with the Current was looking unclear. At the age of 35, and with over 180 appearances for her national team, Scott is a critical player in the progress of this team both on and off the pitch. In early February, the midfielder announced that she was going to miss the beginning of the season as she recovers from knee surgery.

The Canadian started in 18 of the 19 matches in which she played during the regular season with Kansas City, leading the team in tackles plus interceptions. Scott has seen it all with the Current. The front office valued her leadership qualities so much that they extended her stay with the club for another year despite Potter’s side possessing a crowded midfield.

Despite the fact that she will not be on the field against the Courage for the opening match, “The Destroyer” is going to play a vital role in the success of the team down the stretch. Without her, there would have been a massive hole on the team. Her energy is infectious. While her presence may not be felt between the white lines to begin the campaign, there is no question she will be right there providing the necessary guidance to accumulate wins.

Kansas City Current best case scenario for the 2023 season: Capturing their first NWSL title

The objective is clear for this team. Losing to the high-powered Portland Thorns in the NWSL Championship has left a sour taste in the player’s mouths. Imagine if the Current were to hoist the trophy in November, they would be able to open up their new women’s soccer-specific stadium in 2024 with silverware already in the cabinet.

The ambition from the top to the bottom in Kansas City is an encouraging side for not only the league but the sport as a whole. This is where the sport is tending, and the Current are leading the charge. Potter’s team had three players with six or more goals in the regular season in 2022, and with all of this creativity coming into the side, you can only imagine what the results are going to be. Looking at the offseason of everyone around the league, Kansas City looks the most likely to secure that coveted title in November.

Kansas City Current projected finish: 3rd in the NWSL table, Titleholders

The way in which you get into the postseason does not matter. This team is made to make a deep run in the playoffs. The only question heading into the season is how these players are going to handle playing the role of the “hunted”. With all of the new faces joining the likes of the regulars of last season, it may take some time for this team to gel.

Potter may need a few weeks to configure an ideal formation for the team, and as players return, it may even change. When everything finally clicks on all levels of the pitch, it is difficult to see any side in the league preventing Kansas City from accomplishing its goal. Third seems like a fair spot to place the Current with the potential of the mid-west side obtaining the Shield. Welcome to the era of Kansas City’s dominance in the NWSL. This is only the beginning.

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