© Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images
At the end of last season, the Kansas City Current decided to go in a different direction. They had just finished top of the National Women’s Soccer League in the regular season with records broken for win percentage and points per game. Of course, the only other direction a team can go from first place is down.
The Current’s new head coach, Chris Armas — his predecessor, Vlatko Andonovski, quietly shuffled into the role of sporting director — was given a daunting task: build on one of the greatest teams in NWSL history. Rather predictably, there is little sign of that transpiring after six games yielding two wins and four defeats.
The most obvious culprit for the downturn is a significant decline in the quality of defensive play. Last year, the Current conceded 13 goals in 26 regular season games. They have already matched that tally this year. There are a variety of reasons behind this.
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