There’s a lot of momentum heading into the KC Current’s 2022 season. It’s their second year, but talk about lots to talk about — a new coach, a new venue (read: Children’s Mercy Park), new players, and a great start to the Challenge Cup: 1-0-1, ranking No. 1 in the Central Division.
KCtoday talked with head coach Matt Potter, goalkeeper Adrianna Franch, Midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta, and forward Kristen Hamilton on these big changes + their goals.
Matt Potter
How has Kansas City been different to you from other clubs you’ve been a part of?
I think ownership has a clear plan of what they’re trying to accomplish. The facilities are second to none. The ideas behind the club are to do things that haven’t been done before, and who wouldn’t want to be part of that? It’s exciting. I’m privileged to be chosen to lead the way as the coach, but it’s not just about me, it’s the people behind the scenes. We have a lot of people that are very good at what they do, and that allows players then to focus on playing, which is what we want them to do. So all in all, from ownership down, it’s very clear what they’re trying to accomplish, and that’s not be normal.
Your game plan is exciting — your style of play is aggressive. How close are you to getting to where you want to be?
We’ve taken a couple of good steps. That’s it really. I think there’s a lot more in the group […] the competitive nature of the players. They’re hungry to learn and try to translate what we’re giving them into games.
What is your overall expectation for this upcoming season?
We want to compete, and that’s every game. If we compete in the manner we know how to […] we’ll turn those into wins.
When you say compete, are you referring to the strength of this league?
Without a doubt. The talent top to bottom of the league is incredible, and every team has their marquee players, but the strength of the teams is the depth and the quality of the players, and that speaks to the growth of the women’s game in the states.
How much does your picture of the team change when you get into the season?
I’ve been on record saying we’ve tried to build an identity both on and off the field. Then you go play against another team, and it gets tested. So that reveals things that are going well — that also reveals things we’re going to continue to grow in.
How fun is it to train in a place like this and get those first jitters out of the way?
Well it’s a wonderful facility. I’ve been privileged to watch games here … Looking forward to the weekend and hopefully a crowd that will help spur us on to a win.
Adrianna Franch
What’s it like playing for KC, returning to the Midwest as a native of Salina, KS?
Well, this year, we haven’t been here that long [...] but being here today, it’s exciting to see what’s potentially going to happen on our first home game. So excited for that to come up, hopefully to really see what the city is going to bring for us because it makes a difference with the crowd out there, and hopefully everybody’s excited for everything that’s happened so far. I mean, two games, a tie and a win away, we’re excited for where we’ve started [...] It’s cool to be able to say, I play in Kansas [...] It is cool to see how much this city embraces soccer [...] Legends is where I would come to the mall outside of tournaments and stuff, so you see it a little differently as an adult than you do a kid, but it’s just an adventure I get to go on now.
Do you feel an excitement in this city coming up to the home opener?
Well, we haven’t had many opportunities to really hang out with the city, honestly, so I hope so. The experience that happened last night with the men [Sporting KC beating Real Salt Lake, 1-0], hopefully that same energy is brought for the women [...] If that’s what they’re going to bring, that shows this city is excited for the women’s sport to represent.
Coach Potter comes from the international team, and you have played with them too. What’s that relationship like?
There’s definitely a little bit of banter. He was actually head coach at OU while I was at Oklahoma State, so we have a little bit of a history.
Is it exciting to be a part of something so new, where everyone’s building relationships?
There are pros and cons to both, but when you’re able to help build something, you get to look back on it later, and you’re like, hey, I was a part of the groundwork [...] Everyone’s excited. Every single player is working their butts off to get after it. They want to bring something for this city. They want to be a great team, and that starts with a winning mentality, and I think we’re going to continue to push for that.
Lo’eau LaBonta + Kristen Hamilton
You’ve been to KC for a while. You went to Utah and now came back. Do you take on a leadership role with new players?
Lo’eau — Desi and I are the only ones from the SCKC days [...] It is a new team this year, and we’ve kind of created a leadership group [...] We have our own meetings and bring it together, but I think everybody — one thing this team does really well, no matter if you’re new, a returner, a veteran, you pick each other up and you make each other better. That’s one thing I love about this group is we’ve built such a good bond off the field that it’s made it easy to play well on the field.
Looking forward to the first home game at Children’s Mercy, what are you excited for?
Kristen — I think just being in a whole new stadium [...] Super exciting that a lot of these young girls [...] haven’t experienced a stadium atmosphere like this very often in their career, so it’s really exciting, and you can feel kind of the buzz around the team.
Lo’eau — I come here for every home game that Sporting has, so I love the atmosphere. I actually brought out some of the rookies in the game the other day, and they were just like, “Oh my gosh, can we fill the seats like the men do,” and I said absolutely, we just have to be successful. Bring the victories for them to have the fans keep coming back [...] We are super hyped to be here for our fans, especially in this amazing stadium.
What lessons do you have from last season and how are you looking to improve?
Kristen — Last year, we didn’t necessarily have the details down. We didn’t necessarily have this identity to us, and I think this year, we’re coming into it with a really good sense of our identity, what we’re going to be on the field, what we’re going to be for each other on and off the field [...] I think that comradery and team cohesiveness is a lot greater this year.
