RECAP: KC COURAGE, UNION KC

Written By:  Sofia Scekic

UNION KC DEFEATS KC COURAGE BY THREE ON THE ROAD

After an eventful Week 7 in the Heartland Conference where Union KC (7-1-1) passed Oklahoma City FC (5-3-0) to take the top spot in the conference standings, Union KC then opened up Week 8 with a convincing 3-0 win over the No. 6 KC Courage (6-0-2) to take a four-point lead in the conference standings with less than two weeks left. 

Union KC put one point on the scoreboard less than a minute before heading into the locker room for halftime and scored two more after the break, putting itself firmly in control of the conference with 22 points in the standings.

Union KC nearly struck first in the 16’ minute, with forward Grace Vest getting a shot off to goal as Courage goalkeeper Kaylin Williams came to the front of the box to meet her. Vest’s shot rolled wide left but was the first real scoring opportunity for either team. 

Vest was one of several substitutions for Union KC on the attacking line early in the game; the subs kept Williams on her toes and forced her to make several saves to prevent Union KC from blowing open the game early on. The temperature at kickoff was 93 degrees in Kansas City, perhaps explaining why both teams used substitutes often and early in the game.

The Courage had its best chance to score in the first half during the 30’ minute as forward Rosa Urista-Chico took a pass from one of her teammates in the middle of the field, at the top of the box, and sent the ball through several Union KC defenders. Her shot went wide right, though, leaving the game scoreless more than halfway through the game’s first 45 minutes.

Defender Adriana Benassi, a recent high school graduate, put Union KC on the board in the 44’ minute seemingly by accident — Benassi kicked the ball towards goal from nearly halfway down the pitch and it bounced into the back of the net. Players from both teams looked somewhat confused about what happened, expecting a flag, until several Union KC players began celebrating, indicating that they had finally broken the deadlock.

Union KC subbed in goalkeeper Maddie Meehan (Fort Hays State University) to start the second half and the Courage came inches away from capitalizing. Forward Mikayla Earnst (University of Central Missouri) took a long shot from the far right side of the box that just barely bounced off the right goalpost. 

Union KC put its second point on the board in the 54’ minute off a shot by forward Avery Nguyen (University of Washington) after taking advantage of a deflection from midfielder Anna Lack (University of Central Missouri). 

Lack tallied her second assist of the day 30 minutes later when Vest found the back of the net to make the score 3-0. The second half of the game was dominated by Union KC after it looked evenly matched in the first half. The Courage were held to limited scoring attempts and could not get much going by way of offense.

Tuesday’s game marked the first time this season that the Courage did not score – in its only other loss of the season, the Courage still managed to put up one point against Oklahoma City. 

One bright spot from the game was Williams who made numerous impressive saves throughout the game, particularly in the first half, that kept the Courage in the game. Williams played professionally overseas for several years in the UEFA Women’s Champions League before returning to the United States to coach and continue her playing career.

The KC Courage held the top spot in the standings this season until Week 6 when it had a bye week and were passed by both Oklahoma City and Union KC. The Courage got back to its winning ways quickly, however, kicking off Week 7 with a 3-0 win over Union KC in the two’s first meeting and followed that up with a 6-0 win of Side FC 92 (1-0-9) over the weekend. 

Union KC also picked up two wins last week (along with the loss at the hands of the Courage) to add more points to its total in the standings, as several Heartland Conference teams continue to fight for a playoff berth.

Union KC will face a tough test in its final game of the season when it visits Oklahoma City on Saturday night. Oklahoma City, which won Wednesday’s matchup against Side FC, still has two games remaining and could win the conference provided it wins its last two games while the Courage lose its last two. If Union KC wins its final game, though, it will dash both Oklahoma City and the Courage’s playoff hopes and finish with the highest point total in the standings.

The Courage will play two back-to-back games next Friday and Saturday, starting with a game on the road against Sunflower State FC (3-1-3), before wrapping up the season next Saturday at home against the Missouri Reign (1-1-5). The Reign is not playing for a spot in the postseason but will undoubtedly be looking to spoil what could be the Courage’s final game of this season.