LOS ANGELES — All it took for the Kansas City Current was one shot on goal to decide Monday night’s game against Angel City Football Club.
After holding the league’s top team without a shot in the first half, Angel City allowed its first shot on goal in the 59th minute and it resulted in goal by Kansas City’s Michelle Cooper.
I felt like we controlled the flow of the game for 65 percent of the game as the possession stats say,” Angel City defender Sarah Gorden said. “We had good combinations, we broke them down, we just didn’t find that final thing and put the ball in the back of the net.
“One defensive breakdown and they capitalize on it.”
The goal eventually stood as the game-winner in a 1-0 victory over Angel City at BMO Stadium. The goal was the first touch for Cooper, who entered the game as a sub in the same minute.
The win was the 19th this season for the Current (19-2-2, 59 points), setting a new single-season NWSL record.
The loss severely dampens the hopes for a late-season playoff push from Angel City (6-11-6, 24 points). Angel City is in 11th place, seven points behind the eighth and final playoff spot in the 14-team league.
Angel City has three games remaining, the next two Sundays at home (Oct. 12 against the Houston Dash and Oct. 19 against the Portland Thorns) and the final game of the regular season on Nov. 2 on the road against the Chicago Stars.
The Current won the first meeting between the teams, 1-0, on June 20.
After Cooper’s goal on Monday, the game opened up a bit with Angel City pressing for an equalizer. Kennedy Fuller, who entered the game in the 60th minute, nearly brought Angel City level, but her shot from the left was kept out by Current goalkeeper Lorena in the 62nd minute.
Early in stoppage time, Angel City had a free kick just outside the 18-yard box, but Maiara Niehues’ attempt was just off target and over the crossbar.
The final stats are what give Angel City confidence going forward, but also a bit of frustration. Angel City won the possession battle, had 15 shots and four on goal, compared to just five total shots for the Current and the one shot on goal that led to the win.
“Today we looked like what we’re going to look like going forward,” Angel City coach Alex Straus said. “That’s maybe the best display of our style and identity that we’re building. I think that part of the game, we played off the pitch, we played them off the pitch, we got in between the lines, we were patient, we made them chase the ball and this is by far the best team in the league and we are not at the moment.
“We see that we are close and we’re going to make some adjustments and it’s not that big of a gap before we arrive at that level, but we need to play like this every time, then we will win more games.”
Kansas City was playing without a big piece of its attack in league-leading goal-scorer Temwa Chawinga (14 goals), who is sidelined with knee injury.
Neither team produced any real chances to break the scoreless draw before halftime. Angel City had seven shots in the first 45 minutes, with two on goal, but neither one caused Lorena any problems. Meanwhile, Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson didn’t face any shots in the first half.
That’s how the game remained until the Current proved why they are the top team in the league, bringing on Cooper and seeing her make an instant impact.
The game was the Angel City debut for midfielder Hina Sugita. Sugita was acquired from Portland in a trade for M.A. Vignola and $600,000 in intraleague transfer funds.
“Hina was one who captured my attention when I was in Europe,” Angel City coach Alex Straus said during the week. “When I arrived here, I very early said to (Sporting Director Mark) Parsons that this is a player who will understand the journey that we started and the way that we want to play our soccer for the coming years.
“She will be a very good addition. We tried to get her earlier, but it was not possible. But in the last couple of weeks, something changed, and it was possible. She’s such a fantastic talent that we just capitalized now.”
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