Elizabeth Ball’s second-half goal helped the Kansas City Current pull away from the Utah Royals for a 1-0 victory in Sandy, Utah, on Saturday night.
The Current (7-0-4, 25 points) remained unbeaten and claimed their third road victory. Kansas City earned a clean sheet for the third time in four matches while finishing with a 24-4 advantage in total shots.
The Royals (1-9-1, 4 points) lost their fifth consecutive match and are winless in nine straight contests. Utah was also held scoreless for the sixth time this season.
Ball broke a scoreless tie in the 58th minute with a sliding left-footer that curled inside the near post. Claire Hutton kept possession alive after a corner kick by flicking the ball ahead to Ball, who beat her defender to set up an easy goal.
Kansas City pressed the attack early and it led to a flurry of first-half scoring chances for the Current. Perhaps the best chance in the early minutes occurred with Temwa Chawinga’s blast in the ninth minute.
Chawinga snatched the ball from Royals goalkeeper Mandy Haught inside the 6-yard box and dribbled around her left side. She fired a point-blank shot at an open net, but the ball bounced off and away from the crossbar.
Chawinga unleashed a line-drive right-footer in the 30th minute that nearly broke the ice. Lauren Flynn denied with a timely header that flicked the ball away and kept Kansas City off the board.
It set the tone for a Kansas City attack that generated 15 total shots and four shots on frame before halftime. Utah tallied just two total shots during the same 45-minute juncture.
–Field Level Media
