Kennedy Fuller Off the Bench, Angelina Anderson's Penalty Save Lift Angel City Past KC Current 2-1

Angelina Anderson read Lo'eau LaBonta's penalty, got down to her left and smothered it. Fourteen minutes later, Kennedy Fuller made sure the save actually meant something.

Fuller came off the bench in the 69th minute and scored two minutes later, Gisele Thompson had a goal and an assist, and Angel City FC beat the Kansas City Current 2-1 on Wednesday night at BMO Stadium. It was Angel City's first win since the club opened the season 3-0-0, and it ended a five-match winless run that included four straight losses. In front of 11,574 fans, the slump finally broke.

Thompson Sets the Tone

Angel City came out sharp. Nealy Martin forced Lorena into a save with a header in the seventh minute, and two minutes later Martin turned provider. Her pass found Thompson on the right side of the box, the defender survived a challenge from Kayla Sharples and drilled a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner.

"The first goal is perfect," head coach Alex Straus said. "We were patient in our build."

The hosts had chances to double it. Casey Phair, making her first NWSL start, pulled a shot wide in the 22nd minute, Jun Endo missed a minute later and Maiara Niehues headed wide in the 34th. Phair, a constant nuisance for Lorena, lasted 83 minutes before Prisca Chilufya replaced her. Kansas City slowly took over the ball, and Croix Bethune became the problem. She forced Anderson into a save in the 28th minute and curled one just wide in the 43rd.

Then, right before the break, the Current struck. Bethune found Izzy Rodriguez on the left, Rodriguez picked out Ally Sentnor in the middle, and Sentnor's shot from the center of the box deflected off a defender and past a wrong-footed Anderson. The Current said it was Sentnor's second goal of the season and the sixth of her regular-season career, and that Rodriguez extended her own franchise assist record to 13.

The Turning Point: Anderson Says No

Kansas City started the second half like it smelled blood. In the 54th minute Bethune met a LaBonta cross from very close range, and Anderson stuck out a leg to keep it out. A minute later Sentnor beat her marker on a long ball and drew a foul from Emily Sams in the box.

LaBonta stepped up in the 57th minute and drove her kick low. Anderson dove and smothered it. That was the night, right there, and Fuller knew it.

"We've been on a losing streak, and so for her to just put her head down and make the save for the team, it pushed us. We had to score," Fuller said.

Fuller Finishes the Job

Straus went to his bench in the 69th minute, sending on Fuller and Taylor Suarez for Endo and Niehues. The move paid off almost instantly. In the 71st minute Thompson nodded a ball toward Fuller in the center of the box, and the midfielder cushioned it and volleyed a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner. Lorena had no chance.

Fuller nearly made it a highlight package nine minutes later, curling a shot from outside the box off the crossbar.

"That's why we put her on, because we know that Kennedy has the quality and creativity to finish the games off," Straus said. "And she almost got an even better one in the top corner after."

Kansas City threw everything forward during seven minutes of stoppage time, earning three corners, but Bethune's late shot was blocked and Elizabeth Ball dragged the final chance wide.

"The goal hurts that we conceded but our team fought until the very end," Current head coach Chris Armas said. "We learn and these games that are tight, we have to find a way to sway the margins."

Star Turns

Gisele Thompson was the best player on the field. One shot, one goal, one assist and the kind of two-way energy that drags a team out of a slump.

Angelina Anderson made three saves, and two of them were the type that decide seasons, not just matches: the kick save on Bethune and the penalty stop on LaBonta.

Kennedy Fuller came on in the 69th minute, took two shots, scored once and hit the bar once. Efficient does not cover it.

Ally Sentnor did nearly everything for Kansas City short of winning it. She scored the equalizer, drew the penalty and spent the night making Angel City's back line uncomfortable.

Croix Bethune was Kansas City's most dangerous player, with four shots and two on target, but she ran into a goalkeeper having a night.

Stats That Matter

• Possession: Kansas City held 58.7 percent of the ball and completed 379 passes to Angel City's 237.
• Shots: Angel City outshot the Current 13 to 9, and both teams put four on target.
• The penalty: Kansas City took the night's only spot kick and did not score it.
• Box defense: Angel City made 42 clearances to the Current's 36.

What It Means

Angel City moved to 4-1-4 with 13 points. According to the Current, the result also snapped Kansas City's four-match winning streak against Angel City. There is no time to celebrate, though. Angel City heads to Houston on Saturday for its third match in seven days.

Kansas City fell to 5-0-5 with 15 points, and its three-match winning streak, built on wins at North Carolina and at home against Chicago and Houston, is over. The Current still have not drawn a match this season, which says plenty about a team that lives at the extremes. They host Portland on Sunday at CPKC Stadium.

The Closing Take

Every great team eventually finds its closer, the Mariano Rivera who jogs in and ends the conversation. Angel City spent April and early May without one. On Wednesday, Straus summed up his substitute in a sentence: "And today Kennedy was a finisher, and she came on and won us the game." With Anderson slamming the door at the other end, that is a formula worth repeating.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and club notes as reported by Angel City FC and the Kansas City Current.