AD Franch’s Saves And A Brave Strike From Hailie Mace, The Kansas City Current Are Saved Again

The Kansas City Current are the Comeback Queens of the NWSL and it really showed in Sunday afternoon’s 1–1 tie with the Portland Thorns. The Thorns were tough, they were strong on the ball, they showed their class, peppered AD Franch with 13 shots on target, but ultimately — with some thanks to admit-ably poor officiating — the Current clawed points back from another Hailie Mace banger.

It’s another instance of “what can we even learn from this?”, as the Current desperately completed a run of 3 games in a week with yesterday’s game reaching 90+ degree temps in Kansas City. The players were tired and the relative lack of rotation meant that the starters were operating on fumes by the time the 2nd half rolled around. It was noticeable, and despite Portland’s possession in the first half, the Thorns really started pouring on the xG in the 2nd half.

The xG (expected Goals) doesn’t always tell the entire story but it shows just how much KC ceded possession and chances to the Thorns as their fatigue levels rose. Kansas City were also extremely lucky not to concede a penalty to Sophia Smith as she…