The one team who seemed consistent enough throughout the previous seasons can’t hold it together at all in 2016. FC Kansas City has fallen far from their regular expectations this season as they sit in eighth place on the table. Although their playoff hopes aren’t completely gone, there are still so many questions for what should be a great and talented club. From what we’ve seen so far, it’s safe to say they’ve been the most disappointing team so far.
A decorated history
In every season leading up to 2016, the Blues have made an appearance in playoffs. In the past two seasons, they’ve gone on to become back-to-back champions of the NWSL. The midwest team was considered a powerhouse built on talent and a play that was originally styled around U.S. midfielder Lauren Holiday. They were a threat to anyone who came against them, and could severely punish teams for making the most simple of mistakes
In the league’s inaugural season back in 2013, Kansas City finished with an overall record of 11-6-5. This record put them in second and gave them home field advantage in playoffs. The following year, the Blues finished with an overall record of 12-7-5, placing them second overall again. They went on to defeat the Seattle Reign 2-1 in the championship match. 2015 proved a little tougher, giving Kansas City a record of 9-5-6, finishing third overall. Once again they were able to claim the title with a 1-0 victory against the Reign. With their second title, the Blues became the first team in the league to win not only consecutive, but also multiple championship titles.
The retirement and pregnancy plague hits Kansas City
Between the 2015 NWSL Championship and the early stages of the 2016 NWSL season, Kansas City lost way too many of their core and impact players. The biggest is no doubt Lauren Holiday, who retired a few months after the championship while the U.S. Women’s National Team was on their Victory Tour. Veteran defender Leigh Ann Robinson retired from professional soccer in the weeks following the championship. At the end of the year, former USWNT defender Amy LePeilbet retired after winning two titles with the club. Rounding out the group of retirees is midfielder Jen Buczkowski, who retired on May 13 after Kansas City’s match against the Chicago Red Stars.
Pregnancies also came up for the team, as seen with U.S. forwards Amy Rodriguez and Sydney Leroux. Rodriguez, who has been with Kansas City since 2014 and has scored game-winning goals in both the 2014 and 2015 championships, announced her pregnancy in early January, which promptly ruled her out of Olympics and the fourth NWSL season. Leroux was previously with the Flash before she was traded to Kansas City a few days before the 2016 NWSL College Draft, and announced her pregnancy a few weeks later, which also meant she would no longer be able to help Kansas City compete for the title or help the USWNT try for gold in Rio.
Talented but inconsistent 2016 squad
The Blues aren’t at a complete loss without the previously mentioned players. In this year’s draft, they were able to bring in New Zealand international Katie Bowen from University of North Carolina to help on defense, and bring back Canadian midfielder Desiree Scott. On top of that, the younger players of Kansas City - such as Erika Tymrak, Mandy Laddish and Shea Groom have shown promised and sparks here and there. A trade with the Houston Dash brought Tiffany McCarty in, and she’s been super effective in creating attacks.
Though their lineup isn’t ideal to what Coach Vlatko Andonovski is used to, with this roster Kansas City could easily be in the top half of the table. Unfortunately this isn’t the case. Currently, the Blues have a record of 4-6-4 with a goal differential of negative two. It was expected that they would struggle a little and go through a period of adjustment, but it wasn’t seen that they’d have such a poor record this far in. They’re a full 10 points away from first place, and this weekend they could possibly find themselves in the middle of the table if they come away with three points.
Forward Shea Groom leads the team with six goals. She’s tied for second overall in the league. This should be a good thing, but when looking at the rest of the team, only one other person has multiple goals to their name, and that’s Yael Averbuch. Tymrak, now a veteran since being drafted to the Blues in 2013, only has one goal to her name this season, despite being known for her creative moves and impressive shots. The Blues didn’t even score their first goal until May 28, and that’s a problem in itself.
It’s impressive that Groom is leading the team with her six goals, but she can’t do this on her own, and if she scores she can’t be doing it in spurts. Which isn’t just on her, it’s on all of Kansas City. In some matches, they show up and fans will catch glimpses of the FC Kansas City everyone is familiar with, the ones who are able to keep it together for 90 minutes and come out with results. In other matches, the Blues are falling apart at the seams and unable to keep teams from scoring because goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart can’t do it all when it comes to defense.
Second half turnaround crucial
With 10 points separating them from first place, a playoff spot could still be in the Blues’ future. Picking up points after the Olympic break will be key. FC Kansas City has to stay consistent. They can’t pick up points and look spectacular then the following week not even put up a fair performance. If they can keep control of matches and find the back of the net more often, we’ll possibly see FC Kansas City making their fourth consecutive appearance in the NWSL playoffs.