KC Current’s defense was able to ‘lock in’ against Houston Dash on Friday

When the Kansas City Current entered the field to warm up on Friday, thunder rolled over CPKC Stadium.

It was music, the bass blasting over the speakers while the growing crowd of Current fans roared even louder in anticipation of the match against the Houston Dash. The real thunderstorm would arrive after the game.

On the pitch, the team’s intensity sharpened into focus — a focus particularly evident from goalkeeper AD Franch.

“What it takes is for everybody to lock in,” said Franch, who has played every minute of this season.

She stood lightly on the balls of her feet, arms poised, expression stone. A trainer kicked a ball her way, and her gloves locked around it. Franch smiled, tossed the ball back with a laugh. And tensed immediately for the next round.

For the rest of the night, Franch waited for those rounds to test her during the game itself. They rarely came. The Dash would hit only six shots total, two of them on target.

In the first half, Franch scooped a weak shot from Dash forward Diana Ordóñez. Deep in the second, Franch punched away an incoming Houston corner — a big relief, considering the Current’s lackluster defense against set pieces this season, which had culminated in a frustrating tie with Chicago two weeks ago.

“We (analyzed) a bunch of film, and it was something we knew we allowed to become a trend” Franch said. “And we decided it was unacceptable.”

In response to that trend, Franch noted that the team has “stepped in” and adopted a different mindset. Against the Dash, this seemed to be in their favor.

The Dash was either picked off by Current field players or lobbed shots off target. The Current’s offense, however, wasn’t absolved from a lack of clean finishing either.

Still, with a 2-0 victory over the Dash, the Current added another victory to its now record-breaking, 17-game undefeated streak. It also was the Current’s fourth clean sheet of the 15 matches played so far — a much-welcomed statistic when the team has conceded a total of 15 goals in its home stadium.

Even so, Franch cited the support to be found at CPKC for much of the team’s success so far:

“When we have a sellout crowd and coaching staff and the front office staff — everybody’s invested in us. We can take care of the things that we want on the field, so that value is empowering. You can see that in the way we play.”

Next week, the Current will host the Orlando Pride, also undefeated, in a crucial battle for the top of the NWSL table. Though the Pride has scored 12 less goals than the Current this season, it has conceded only 11 — about half of what the Current has.

But, as Current head coach Vlatko Andonovski claimed to tell his players: “Enjoy tonight. Start getting ready tomorrow.”

On the pitch, after a grueling nine minutes of stoppage time, the final whistle blew. Captain Lo LaBonta made her way toward the keeper’s box and high-fived a line of her teammates along the way. She opened her arms.

There was Franch, who, in that moment, lifted her teammate off the ground.