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Friday, April 26, at 7:00 p.m., Angel City is at home for the second time in a week, this time against Kansas City Current. The match will be broadcast on Amazon Prime, with an English-language radio broadcast on iHeart and a Spanish broadcast on 780 AM La Mera Mera.
Matchup
Last week, Angel City won 2–1 at home against North Carolina on the strength of two goals by forward Claire Emslie. The first was a direct free kick in the 22nd minute that Emslie curled over the Courage wall and into the left side of the net; in the 54th minute, she chipped the opposing keeper to double the lead. Forward Tyler Lussi pulled one back for the visitors in the 73rd minute.
Kansas City’s last game was a dramatic 5–2 home win over Bay FC. Forward Bia Zaneratto and midfielder Bailey Feist each put away early goals for the Current, with Bay answering in the 17th minute. A second-half brace by forward Temwa Chawinga and another goal for Zaneratto solidified the Kansas City lead; a 78th-minute effort by Bay proved to be no more than a consolation goal as the home team kept them off the score sheet for the remainder of the game.
Kansas City are currently in first place in the standings with a 4–0–1 (W–L–D) record. Following their win on Sunday, Angel City jumped into 7th place with a 2–2–1 record.
Against the Current, Angel City are 3–1–1 all-time. Their most recent meeting was a 4–2 loss on the road just a few weeks ago.
Scouting Report
Following that March 30 loss, Angel City fans are all too familiar with Kansas City’s two biggest attacking threats: forwards Temwa Chawinga and Bia Zaneratto, who each had a goal and an assist in that match. The two are currently co-leaders in the Golden Boot race, with four goals and two assists each.
Both players are new to the NWSL this season, and they fit into Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski’s fast-paced, transitional attack perfectly. The Current pose an almost opposite challenge to the Courage, ACFC’s last opponent: the Courage have the highest average possession in the league, while Kansas City have the lowest.
Once Chawinga and Zaneratto have the ball in space, they’re difficult to stop, so the key will be preventing them from getting the ball in the first place. Angel City will have to be diligent in possession and move the ball quickly under pressure in order to limit turnovers as much as possible.
Don’t overlook midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo, either. The longtime Chicago Red Stars staple, who moved to Kansas City in 2023, is also having an excellent start to her season, leading the league in assists, with four, as well as having two goals under her belt.
Great Scot
While Kansas City are by far the highest-scoring team in the league, with 17 goals—seven more than the two next-highest-scoring teams, Portland and North Carolina—they also have a relatively porous defense, having conceded ten goals on the season. They have yet to keep a clean sheet and have allowed two or more goals in three of their five games to date.
That’s good news for an Angel City side that’s finding their scoring stride, having notched five goals in the last three games, after a slow first few weeks.
The team’s workhorse on the forward line has been Scottish international Claire Emslie, who, in addition to having scored two impressive goals last week, has a league-leading 17 chances created. Emslie has been one of the most consistent wide forwards in the league, posing an equal threat whether she’s whipping crosses into the box, taking defenders on the dribble, holding the ball up for over- or underlapping runs by teammates, or shooting herself, both in the run of play and in dead-ball situations.
