Behind the Kansas City Current’s defensive improvement as NWSL playoffs approach

The Kansas City Current’s barreling toward the postseason, and what was once seen as the team’s fatal flaw is now an undeniable strength.

While the Current lead the National Women’s Soccer League in goals scored this season, KC’s back line has become another asset — especially considering the club’s early-season struggles in that department.

It’s been some time since the Current have posted a 5-4 or 5-2 scoreline. KC has conceded one goal in its last four matches: an own-goal in Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Gotham FC.

All the more impressive, those recent matches were against the top three teams in the NWSL standings: Gotham, the Orlando Pride and the Washington Spirit. The Current outscored them 4-1 in a win and two draws.

“We (have) defended better as a team,” KC coach Vlatko Andonovski said of his squad’s recent defensive success. “There’s no one position, one player. I think that, collectively, we were able to stop the entrances toward our goal in different ways.”

The team’s two-month transformation of its back line has been essential. After the Current lost 4-1 in Washington, D.C. at the end of August, longtime goalkeeper AD Franch was replaced by Almuth Schult.

But it’s not just the play of Schult. The Current lost its next match, falling 2-1 to the North Carolina Courage. And then more changes followed.

KC added Kayla Sharples and Alana Cook to the back line. Both players were acquired via midseason trades during the league’s secondary transfer window. They’ve had an immense impact, conceding just the own-goal in their 360 minutes together.

It’s not gone unnoticed that this center-back duo — which had never played together — is finding such success.

“I think a big thing we have in common is our aggressiveness, our intensity that we want to bring every single day for ourselves, but also the back line,” Sharples said recently. “Hopefully, that ripples into the whole team.”

The Current’s defense has also been aided by how well Hailie Mace and Ellie Wheeler play on the wings. Mace was deployed at left-back to match up with Adrianna against Orlando. In the next game, she lined up at right-back to mark Trinity Rodman.

That’s somewhat akin to the Chiefs assigning cornerback Trent McDuffie to cover and follow the opponent’s top receiver. When you have players who can win their individual matchups, the team’s overall defensive scheme becomes more effective.

The Current has recently been set up in a “mid-block,” contrasting their high line and high press earlier in the season (which were culprits for many of their defensive situations). In doing so, the defensive line has become very difficult to get behind.

In the last four games, having conceded just the one goal, the Current have allowed their opponents 51 shots, with an average distance of 19 yards. Only six of those 51 came from closer than 10 yards.

That means most shots against the Current are coming from outside the box, from distance — makeing them more manageable for Schult in goal.

“We are a little deeper in our press compared to most of the times in this season,” Schult said. “It’s much easier as a goalkeeper when you have more range to point out the shot, react on it.”

The Current will look to keep its lockdown defense rolling on the road Saturday against Racing Louisville FC in Kentucky. That match is scheduled to kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Central Time.