KC Current set to open Challenge Cup play against Houston on Wednesday
One of the most significant changes the NWSL made to its schedule in the offseason was moving the Challenge Cup out of the preseason. Now, the cup runs concurrent to the regular season, and it’s set to begin for the KC Current this week.
After making the semifinals in the 2022 edition of the Challenge Cup, the Current are set to kick off their 2023 campaign Wednesday night in Houston. They’re doing so in search of a win after losing their third straight game to start the regular season.
The Current have yet to find their footing in NWSL play thus far, sitting at 0-3-0. KC has conceded nine goals in three games.
In previous iterations of the Challenge Cup, clubs used the event to give rookies experience and work out some of the early season adjustments before the regular season began. But that’s not of concern for Current coach Matt Potter, who is more focused on the club’s present state than anything else.
“What is the reality, and how do we best live into who we want to be?” Potter told The Star. “That’s the only thing we can control. For me, that’s the most important thing.”
That reality, at the moment, involves plenty of health concerns. KC has scrambled for solutions on defense and in the midfield as injuries have piled up. The club has had to fill some positions unconventionally and recently added another defender to the roster.
While some players have returned, their minutes are still being managed — and some players likely aren’t in a position to play midweek minutes in addition to weekend games.
“We can only deal with what we have, and we’ll basically try to piece together how we can navigate both games,” Potter said.
Ultimately, all teams in the NWSL are facing that same schedule — with varying degrees of health. Houston had to travel over the weekend and will return to the road after Wednesday night’s match.
Will the Dash choose to rotate their squad on Wednesday, or will they play it straight up?
“There’s many factors, but what we do expect is that their identity is not gonna change no matter who’s on the field,” Potter said. “They can be quite direct, but so good at getting from front to back and finding their personality players.”
As the Current enter this stretch that will most certainly test their depth, Potter admits they don’t have the luxury of the options they want to have. But it’s moments like this that he hopes reveals the group’s character.
“In challenging moments, it doesn’t build your character; it reveals your character,” Potter said. “One of the things I think in the Chicago game, it would’ve been really easy to just basically stop playing at 4-0, but we didn’t. We found a way to come back to 4-2, and that speaks to what I feel is the character of the team.”
And one piece of good news: The Current should have Cece Kizer available Wednesday night in Houston after she missed the match against Chicago with an excused absence.
Wednesday night’s Challenge Cup match kicks off in Houston at 6:30 p.m. Central.
