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FC Kansas City Earns Road Draw

June 25, 2017 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
FC Kansas City News Release


Seattle, WA (June 24, 2017) - FC Kansas City faced the Seattle Reign for the second straight week, and for the second straight week, they walk away from the game with a draw. Brittany Ratcliffe scored her first professional goal for FC Kansas City, but Seattle's Nahomi Kawasumi was able to salvage a point for her side with a second half equalizer.

FC Kansas City's Vlatko Andonovski, in an effort to jump start his team's scoring, had the Blues begin the game with a high-pressure attack. Forward Shea Groom took advantage of that attack and found herself sprinting towards goal with only the goalkeeper between her and the net. Seattle's Lauren Barnes was only able to catch up with Groom enough to foul her from behind.

Barnes' foul immediately stopped Groom from her attack and not only gave FC Kansas City a free kick, it also earned the Reign's captain a Red Card and ejection from the match. Kansas City would now be able to play the up a player the rest of the match.

As Seattle looked to organize themselves with only 10 players on the field, Kansas City took possession and worked the ball straight up the middle of the field.

In the 16th minute, a Seattle clearance popped out to FCKC defender Yael Averbuch. The veteran proceeded to send a strong pass up the middle towards midfielder Alexa Newfield. Newfield reached out with a crafty touch behind her back to where Ratcliffe could run onto the ball with only the goalkeeper to beat.

Ratcliffe's goal was the first of her professional career and gave the Blues a 1-0 lead that they would hold onto throughout the first half.

Seattle's Memorial Stadium has traditionally been a tough place to play for visitors. The Reign seem to take pride in defending their home field. That pride and determination was on full display in the second half.

With FC Kansas City in the lead and Seattle down a player, the Blues had many chances to add to their score line. They outshot the Reign 22-8 in the match.

Known for her goal-scoring abilities, Sydney Leroux was the focus of Seattle's defensive efforts, especially in the 2nd half. Given the added attention, Leroux was able to fight for the ball many times and provide opportunities for her teammates to take their chances at goal. Brittany Taylor, Shea Groom and Alexa Newfield were each given open looks at the net, thanks to Leroux. Unfortunately for Kansas City, none of them were able to get past Seattle's Haley Kopmeyer.

Led by midfielder Megan Rapinoe, Seattle chose to pick and choose their moments of attack. In the 58th minute, the Reign were able to send a cross into the Kansas City penalty box and flood the backside of the attack with players. As the ball bounced around, Seattle's Nahomi Kawasumi was able to get possession and score for the Reign.

Following the Seattle goal, FC Kansas City pushed hard for a winning score. However, Seattle bunkered into their defensive end to protect the tie.

The draw gives FC Kansas City a 3-3-4 record and 13 points on the season. The team will not have long to dwell on this match as they must now travel to Portland, OR for a match against the Thorns on Wednesday, June 28th at 7:00 p.m. PT / 9:00 p.m. CT. The match will be streamed live on the go90 app or go90.com.

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