Taylor Suarez Scores First Pro Goal as Angel City and Current Draw 1-1 in Kansas City

Taylor Suarez picked a pretty loud room for her first professional goal. CPKC Stadium did not stay quiet for long, but the point Angel City FC carried out of it was worth celebrating anyway.

Suarez struck in the 14th minute, Haley Hopkins answered in the 26th, and the Kansas City Current and Angel City FC played to a 1-1 draw on Saturday evening in front of 11,500 in Kansas City. The Current outshot their visitors 16-8, but Angelina Anderson made six saves to send Angel City home with a point, while Kansas City's league-record home unbeaten streak at CPKC Stadium stretched to 26 matches, per the club.

A Fast Start and a Faster Reply

Angel City came out composed. The club said it held more than 60 percent of the ball through the first 20 minutes, and it turned that control into a goal in the 14th. Carina Lageyre slipped a through ball behind the Current's back line, Suarez ran onto it in the middle of the box and finished low with her right foot into the bottom left corner past Marisa Jordan. Per Angel City, it was Suarez's first pro goal and Lageyre's first NWSL assist.

"She played me a perfect through ball, and I knew I had to finish it right then and there," Suarez said.

Kansas City needed 12 minutes to reply. Debinha had already tested Anderson in the 23rd minute, then Izzy Rodriguez got to the byline on the left and bent in a cross that Hopkins volleyed first time with her left foot. 1-1. The Current said it was Hopkins' fifth goal of the regular season and her third in two matches, and that Rodriguez extended her club regular-season assist record to 14.

From there the first half belonged to the hosts. Anderson made a sprawling save on Amelia White in the 33rd minute, Rocky Rodríguez fired wide off a corner a minute later, and both Lo'eau LaBonta and Hopkins had efforts blocked before the break.

Anderson Holds the Line

The second half was a test of Anderson's nerve, and she aced it. Suarez nearly restored the lead in the 51st minute after Ally Sentnor spun through traffic and laid the ball off, but Jordan made the save, the only one she needed all night. After that, it was mostly Kansas City throwing punches.

Rodríguez let one rip from distance in the 60th minute and Anderson got a hand to it. In the 76th, Croix Bethune hit a shot from the middle of the box that Anderson pushed away at full stretch, and when Hopkins teed up LaBonta from the scraps, her shot slid just wide. In the 83rd, Anderson tipped a Hopkins drive from outside the box away from the top right corner. Kansas City finished with seven shots on target. Anderson stopped six of them.

Angel City still had a sniff at the end. Suarez sent a 69th-minute header high and wide off a Gisele Thompson cross, Ary Borges headed wide in the 82nd, and in the fifth minute of stoppage time Sophia Mattice, making her first professional start per Angel City, sent a header from a Sentnor delivery just wide to the right. Angel City also lost Sveindís Jónsdóttir to an injury in the 90th minute, with Nealy Martin coming on.

Who Showed Up

Angelina Anderson: Six saves, several of them the kind that end up on highlight packages. Interim head coach Leif Smerud summed up what that does for a team. "It spreads a [sense] of security and a good vibe, a feeling that we have someone behind us taking care of the shots, especially from distance," he said.

Taylor Suarez: A first career goal, four shots and two on target before coming off in the 83rd minute.

Haley Hopkins: The equalizer, three shots and a constant threat in the box. She is in the middle of a heater.

Debinha: No goal, but a milestone. Kansas City said it was her 150th career regular-season start, making her the first Brazilian player in league history to reach that mark. Elizabeth Ball also hit 100 regular-season appearances for the Current, the third player in franchise history to get there.

The Turning Point

Bethune's 76th-minute chance. Kansas City had spent most of the second half pressing, and that was the cleanest look the hosts got: a shot from the center of the box with the loose ball bouncing around the area afterward. Anderson's full-extension save and LaBonta's near miss on the follow-up were the moment the night tilted toward a shared point.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Kansas City 16, Angel City 8.
• Shots on target: Kansas City 7, Angel City 2.
• Saves: Anderson 6, Jordan 1.
• Possession: Dead even, 50.1 percent for Angel City to 49.9 for Kansas City.
• Corners: Kansas City 7, Angel City 2.

What It Means

Kansas City moves to 9-2-7 with 29 points, and the club said it sits fourth. The Current closed a stretch of three matches in seven days, going 1-1-1 with a loss at Boston, a 5-1 rout of Racing Louisville and now this draw. The CPKC Stadium streak, which the club said began on Sept. 7, 2024, now reads 21 wins and five draws. Head coach Chris Armas was satisfied with the defensive side. "We gave up two shots on goal in 90 minutes, and statistically, that's pretty good," he said. Next up is a trip to the Houston Dash on Aug. 8.

Angel City moves to 7-2-7 with 23 points and, according to the club, remains in playoff position. Under Smerud, the club said it is now 3-1-1. Angel City also won the first meeting this season, 2-1 in Los Angeles in May, a game in which Ally Sentnor scored for Kansas City. Per Angel City, Saturday was Sentnor's first trip back to CPKC Stadium since a June trade sent her from the Current to Angel City.

"It was good to get that point, and on an away trip, it felt important and good for the mentality and the spirit of the group as well," Smerud said. Angel City heads to Seattle Reign FC on Sunday, Aug. 9.

Closing Take

Think of this one as a heavyweight bout that went the distance and ended in a split decision. Kansas City landed more punches, Angel City landed the first one, and Anderson spent the second half as the wall nobody could get past. The streak at CPKC lives on, but Angel City walked out of one of the league's toughest buildings with something to show for it.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by AngelCity.com and KansasCityCurrent.com.