BY: Thad Bell
Photos: Pablo Gonzalez
The Kansas City Current notched a 3-0 win over Pachuca Saturday evening in Kansas City. The Current now sit on top of Group C in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup and are in a good position to advance to the semifinals.
“We wanted to start out intense and we wanted to impose ourselves to the opponent and set the tempo,” said head coach Vlatko Andonovski. “We wanted to be the ones to control the tempo.“

Brazilian star Debinha shined for Kansas City and lived up to her coach’s instructions, starting quickly. She quickly put pressure on the Pachuca defense with a pair of shots before breaking through in the 12th minute. Swedish defender Hanna Glas dropped a pass back to Debinha just outside the box who unleashed a rocket into the upper corner to get the Current on the scoreboard.
Debinha has battled injuries and trying to work back to her normal scoring form all season, coming into the tournament with just a single goal. She found her stride against Pachuca, following up her first goal with a second in the 28th minute. Kristen Hamilton drove into right side of box before slicing a pass across the front of goal. Debinha flew past her defender and volley the ball into the back of the net.
Four minutes later it was Hamilton’s turn to score a similar goal. Winger Michell Cooper took the playmaker role and drove the ball across the box. Hamilton slammed the ball into the back of the net.

With a 3-0 lead the Current kept the pressure up through the rest of the match but also used that time to bring in some new players and rest some of the regular starters. Kansas City dominated the scoreline and the stats with 58% of possession and outshooting Pachuca 20-8.
Kansas City next face Liga MX Femenil power Tigres UANL at 7 p.m. CT. Thursday at CPKC stadium in Kansas City. A win or draw would ensure the Current advances to the next round. The NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup semifinals will be played in Kansas City on August 6th and the final in San Antonio on October 25th.