2013 FC Kansas City season

The 2013 season was FC Kansas City's first season of existence, in which they competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top division of women's soccer in the United States.

FC Kansas City
2013 season
Owner
  • Brian Budzinski
  • Chris Likens
  • Brad Likens
  • Greg Likens
Head coachVlatko Andonovski
StadiumShawnee Mission District Stadium
NWSL2nd
NWSL PlayoffsSemifinals
Top goalscorerLauren Cheney (12)
Highest home attendance6,784 (Apr 13 vs. POR)
Lowest home attendance3,057 (Jun 23 vs. WAS)
Average home league attendance4,604
Biggest win3–0 (Jul 24 vs. BOS)
Biggest defeat1–3 (Jun 16 vs. CHI)
2014 →

Background edit

On January 11, 2013, FC Kansas City announced a new logo,[1] which would remain the club's logo until its dissolution in 2017. The team was the league's first to unveil its kits in March, using the same standard templates as the rest of the league in blue, white, and black colors. Overland Park-based Title Boxing Club sponsored the fronts of the shirts.[2]

Summary edit

Founding edit

In November 2012, it was confirmed that a Kansas City-based women's professional soccer team had been accepted into a new women's professional soccer league, later named National Women's Soccer League.[3] The KC ownership group was composed of Chris Likens, his two sons Brad and Greg Likens, and Brian Budzinski, the same owners of the Missouri Comets of the Major Indoor Soccer League.[4][5]

Preseason transactions edit

On January 14, 2013, as part of the NWSL Player Allocation, Nicole Barnhart (USA), Lauren Cheney (USA), Renae Cuéllar (MEX), Marylin Diaz (MEX), Becky Sauerbrunn (USA), Desiree Scott (CAN), and Lauren Sesselmann (CAN) were named to the team.[6][7][8][9]

On January 18, the team selected Kristie Mewis, Erika Tymrak, Whitney Berry, and Nia Williams in the 2013 NWSL College Draft.[10] [11] The team signed Sinead Farrelly, Jen Buczkowski, and Leigh Ann Robinson as free agents.[12]

During the February 7 Supplemental Draft, the Blues selected Courtney Jones, Bianca Henninger, Merritt Mathias, Casey Nogueira, Tina DiMartino, and Casey Berrier.[13]

FC Kansas City held open tryouts in February, calling back nine players to be amateur reserves of the 65 who attended: forward Gisela Arrieta, goalkeeper Colleen Boyd, forward Ariana Calderon, defender Natalie Carter, midfielder Molly Dreska, midfielder Jaime French, defender Natalie Norris, forward Andrea Rodriguez, and midfielder Vendula Strnadova.[14]

Regular season edit

On April 13, 2013, FC Kansas City hosted Portland Thorns FC in the first regular-season match in NWSL history. In the 3rd minute of the match, Renae Cuéllar scored the first goal in the histories of both FC Kansas City and the NWSL. The match drew a sellout crowd of 6,784 and ended in a 1–1 draw.[15][16]

Due to the search for suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing, the Boston Breakers were unable to travel to Kansas City for their scheduled match against Kansas City on April 19, resulting in a postponement.[17] Kansas City won its first game in its second match, defeating Seattle Reign FC 2–0 at home on April 26.[18]

On July 1, head coach Vlatko Andonovski traded Cuéllar to Seattle Reign FC for Teresa Noyola.[19]

FC Kansas City clinched its first playoff qualification after defeating Portland Thorns FC 3–2 on August 4, with Lauren Holiday scoring a brace and Kristie Mewis scoring the match-winning goal in the 74th minute. The road match set a league attendance record of 17,619.[20]

However, despite opportunities to clinch the NWSL Shield, Kansas City lost to the Boston Breakers on August 10[21] and the Chicago Red Stars on August 18,[22] resulting in a three-way tie atop the table for points. With the league's first tiebreaker being head-to-head record, the Western New York Flash won the 2013 Shield, Kansas City finished second, and Portland finished third.[23]

The loss to the Breakers snapped a 10-match unbeaten streak, the season's longest, and was the last time an opponent would shutout Kansas City in any competition until Sky Blue FC in the opening match of the 2015 season, a streak of 25 regular-season matches and 28 including playoffs.[24]: 369  The team's 11 shutouts on the season set a league record that stood until North Carolina Courage recorded 12 in the 2017 season, which was two matches longer.[24]: 371 

Postseason edit

On August 24, Kansas City hosted Portland in the first-ever NWSL Playoffs match in the league's history. After taking a 2–0 lead at halftime on goals by Erika Tymrak and Melissa Henderson, Portland scored twice in the second half to draw in regulation and force extra time.[25] Thorns midfielder Allie Long scored the match-winning goal in the 103rd minute and Kansas City were unable to equalize, eliminating Kansas City from the postseason. The loss was the seventh time in all of the season's competitions that Kansas City had led by two or more goals during a match but failed to win.[26]

Honors edit

FC Kansas City swept the league's postseason individual awards, led by Holiday winning the golden boot and most valuable player awards. Her 12 goals and 9 assists led the league in both categories, and she scored a goal or assist in 10 consecutive appearances, interrupted only by international duty and her wedding to Jrue Holiday.[27]

Stadium edit

On February 6, the club announced its home matches would be played at Shawnee Mission District Stadium in Overland Park, Kansas, a 6,150-capacity high-school gridiron football and track and field stadium with artificial turf. Season tickets were initially priced from $135 to $255.[28]

Club edit

Roster edit

As of August 1, 2013.[29]

No. Pos. Player Nation
1 GK Bianca Henninger   United States
2 FW Melissa Henderson   United States
3 FW Tiffany Cameron   Canada
4 DF Becky Sauerbrunn   United States
6 MF Jen Buczkowski   United States
7 FW Casey Loyd   United States
8 DF Courtney Jones   United States
9 DF Merritt Mathias   United States
10 MF Teresa Noyola   Mexico
11 MF Desiree Scott   Canada
12 FW Lauren Cheney   United States
13 DF Leigh Ann Robinson   United States
14 DF Lauren Sesselmann   Canada
15 MF Erika Tymrak   United States
16 DF Nia Williams   United States
17 MF Sinead Farrelly   United States
18 GK Nicole Barnhart   United States
19 MF Kristie Mewis   United States
20 DF Katie Kelly   United States
22 DF Natalie Norris (reserve)   United States
23 MF Missy Geha (reserve)   United States
26 FW Jaime French   United States
MF Vendula Strnadová (reserve)   Czech Republic

Transactions edit

Team management edit

FC Kansas City's ownership group was composed of Chris, Brad and Greg Likens, and Brian Budzinski. The group also owns the Missouri Comets of the Major Indoor Soccer League.[31] Budzinski is also owner of the Kansas City Soccerdome.[32] On December 12, 2012, the team announced the hiring of Vlatko Andonovski, a former professional player and head coach of the Kansas City Kings of the PASL and Missouri Olympic Development Program (ODP), as head coach for the season.[33]

Competitions edit

Key

  Win   Draw   Loss

Preseason edit

April 6, 2013 1 FC Kansas City 8–0 Nebraska Cornhuskers' Women's Soccer Parkville, Missouri
14:30 Cuéllar   16', 20', 44', 55', 67'
Jones   17'
Farrelly   51'
Report Stadium: Julian Field
Attendance: 410
Referee: Brandon Marshall

NWSL regular season edit

Results summary edit

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
22 11 5 6 34 22  +12 38 6 2 3 16 7  +9 5 3 3 18 15  +3

Last updated: August 18, 2013.
Source: Match reports

Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223
StadiumHHHAAHHAAAHHAHAHAHHAAAH
ResultDPWWLWLLWWLWDWDDDWWWWLL
Updated to match(es) played on August 18, 2013. Source: Match reports
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; P = Postponed

Matches edit

Kickoff times are in CDT (UTC-05)

April 26, 2013 3 FC Kansas City 2–0 Seattle Reign FC Overland Park, Kansas
19:35 Farrelly   21'
Cuéllar   71'
Report Stadium: Shawnee Mission District Stadium
Attendance: 4064
Referee: Christina Unkel
May 4, 2013 4 Seattle Reign FC 0–1 FC Kansas City Tukwila, Washington
22:00 Reed   29'
Fishlock   32'
Report Sesselmann   58'
Cuéllar   69'
Stadium: Starfire Stadium
Attendance: 2,618
Referee: Margaret Domka
May 11, 2013 5 Western New York Flash 2–1 FC Kansas City Rochester, New York
18:35 Wambach   34', 39'
Heyboer   95'
Report Cheney   53'
Sesselmann   91'
Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium
Attendance: 2,738
Referee: Katja Koroleva
May 18, 2013 6 FC Kansas City 2–0 Boston Breakers Overland Park, Kansas
19:35 Cuéllar   17'
Mathias   23'
Cheney   64'
Report Stadium: Shawnee Mission District Stadium
Attendance: 4,362
Referee: Miguel Panduro Jr.
May 25, 2013 7 FC Kansas City 0–1 Sky Blue FC Overland Park, Kansas
19:35 Sesselmann   22' Report Schmidt   23' (pen.) Stadium: Shawnee Mission District Stadium
Attendance: 4186
Referee: John McCloskey
June 6, 2013 8 Portland Thorns FC 4–3 FC Kansas City Portland, Oregon
21:30 Morgan   13', 66'   80'
Wetzel   20'
Foxhoven   48'
Report Cheney   31' (pen.), 56'
Tymrak   81'
Jones   89'
Stadium: JELD-WEN Field
Attendance: 10,886
Referee: Miguel Panduro Jr
June 9, 2013 9 Seattle Reign FC 0–1 FC Kansas City Tukwila, Washington
21:00 Kyle   92' Report Tymrak   63' Stadium: Starfire Stadium
Attendance: 1,377
Referee: Kara Honthumb
June 13, 2013 10 Chicago Red Stars 0–2 FC Kansas City Lisle, Illinois
18:30 Vandenbergh   34' Report Loyd   27' (pen.)
Jones   66'
Stadium: Benedictine University Sports Complex Stadium
Attendance: 1,141
Referee: Josh Wilkens
June 16, 2013 11 FC Kansas City 1–3 Chicago Red Stars Overland Park, Kansas
15:10 Cuéllar   4'
Wiliams   79'
Report Grings   29'   43'
Masar   58'
Fuss   91' (pen.)
Stadium: Shawnee Mission District Stadium
Attendance: 3,421
Referee: Juliana Duncan
June 23, 2013 12 FC Kansas City 2–0 Washington Spirit Overland Park, Kansas
15:10 Cheney   17', 65' Summary Pressley   29' Stadium: Shawnee Mission District Stadium
Attendance: 3,057
Referee:   Katja Koroleva
June 26, 2013 13 Sky Blue FC 2–2 FC Kansas City Piscataway, New Jersey
19:35 Ocampo   85', 90+2' Summary Tymrak   14'
Cheney   74'
Stadium: Yurcak Field
Attendance: 1,126
Referee:   Robert Sibiga
June 30, 2013 14 FC Kansas City 2–0 Portland Thorns FC Overland Park, Kansas
15:10 Cheney   10'
Mathias   71'
Summary Stadium: Shawnee Mission District Stadium
Attendance: 4,774
Referee:   Christina Unkel
July 7, 2013 16 FC Kansas City 0–0 Western New York Flash Overland Park, Kansas
15:10 Robinson   61' Report Reynolds   30' Stadium: Shawnee Mission District Stadium
Attendance: 5,031
Referee: Elvis Mahmutovic
July 14, 2013 17 Chicago Red Stars 3–3 FC Kansas City Lisle, Illinois
15:00 Dominguez   41'
Masar   90'
Chalupny   96+'
Report Holiday   17'
Hemmings   43' (o.g.)
Tymrak   87'
Stadium: Village of Lisle-Benedictine University Sports Complex
Attendance: 1,549
Referee: Josh Wilkens
July 20, 2013 18 FC Kansas City 2–0 Seattle Reign FC Overland Park, Kansas
19:35 (PST) Holiday   39'
Tymrak  86'
Report Stadium: Shawnee Mission District Stadium
Attendance: 5,271
Referee: Boris Senic
July 28, 2013 19 Sky Blue FC 0–1 FC Kansas City Piscataway, New Jersey
17:00 Jones   76' Stadium: Yurcak Field
Attendance: 1,302
August 4, 2013 20 Portland Thorns FC 2–3 FC Kansas City Portland, Oregon
16:00 Foxhoven   51'
Morgan   89'
Holiday   23'   55'
Mewis   74'
Stadium: JELD-WEN Field
Attendance: 17,619
August 10, 2013 21 Boston Breakers 1–0 FC Kansas City Somerville, Massachusetts
17:00 Leroux   65' Report Stadium: Dilboy Stadium
Attendance: 2,116
Referee: Kara Honthumb
August 18, 2013 22 FC Kansas City 1–2 Chicago Red Stars Overland Park, Kansas
15:10 Jones   20' Report Hoy   45', 92'
Grings   65'
Santacaterina   68'
Stadium: Shawnee Mission District Stadium
Attendance: 4,910
Referee: Elvid Mahmutovic

Standings edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Western New York Flash 22 10 8 4 36 20 +16 38 NWSL Shield
2 FC Kansas City 22 11 5 6 34 22 +12 38 NWSL Playoffs
3 Portland Thorns FC (C) 22 11 5 6 32 25 +7 38
4 Sky Blue FC 22 10 6 6 31 26 +5 36
5 Boston Breakers 22 8 6 8 35 34 +1 30
6 Chicago Red Stars 22 8 6 8 32 36 −4 30
7 Seattle Reign FC 22 5 3 14 22 36 −14 18
8 Washington Spirit 22 3 5 14 16 39 −23 14
Source: soccerway.com
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(C) Champions

Statistics edit

Field player regular-season statistics[35]
N P Nation Name GP GS Min G A WG Shot SOG Cros CK Off Foul FS YC RC
6 MF   USA Jen Buczkowski 22 22 1,980[a] 0 2 0 11 11 0 0 1 11 14 0 0
13 DF   USA Leigh Ann Robinson 22 22 1,900 0 5 0 10 6 16 0 2 5 5 1 0
11 MF   CAN Desiree Scott 20 20 1,800 0 0 0 7 5 2 0 0 24 12 0 0
19 MF   USA Kristie Mewis 20 20 1,784 1 0 1 34 13 10 43 1 12 19 2 0
9 DF   USA Merritt Mathias 22 19 1,738 2 3 0 25 17 19 4 7 22 13 3 0
4 DF   USA Becky Sauerbrunn 19 19 1,710 0 1 0 2 1 1 0 0 2 5 0 0
14 DF   CAN Lauren Sesselmann 19 19 1,633 0 0 0 4 1 3 0 0 17 10 3 1
12 MF   USA Lauren Cheney 18 18 1,620 12 9 3 63 31 9 27 3 14 28 0 0
15 MF   USA Erika Tymrak 21 16 1,453 6 4 1 26 14 6 3 5 2 18 0 0
2 MF   USA Melissa Henderson 17 13 1,030 0 0 0 12 9 2 0 16 11 9 0 0
17 MF   USA Sinead Farrelly 16 10 896 1 0 1 9 3 0 0 6 4 7 0 0
10 FW   MEX Renae Cuéllar 11 8 682 5 0 2 27 16 0 0 18 3 8 0 0
8 DF   USA Courtney Jones 22 6 670 4 1 1 32 21 6 0 12 6 7 0 0
7 MF   USA Casey Loyd 4 3 275 1 1 1 9 4 2 5 1 2 4 0 0
20 DF   CAN Katie Kelly 7 2 207 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0
16 DF   USA Nia Williams 4 2 182 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 1 0
10 MF   MEX Teresa Noyola 7 1 155 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0
16 FW   USA Jaime French 1 0 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 FW   CAN Tiffany Cameron 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
22 MF   USA Missy Geha 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
23 DF   USA Natalie Norris 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goalkeeper regular-season statistics[35]
N P Nation Name GP GS Min W L T Shot SOG Save GA GA/G Pen PKF SO
18 GK   USA Nicole Barnhart 20 20 1,800 10 5 5 187 86 67 19 0.95 3 3 10
1 GK   USA Bianca Henninger 2 2 180 1 1 0 17 8 5 3 1.50 1 1 1
  1. ^ Played every available minute of the season.[24]: 375 

NWSL Championship Playoffs edit

August 24, 2013 Semifinal FC Kansas City 2–3 (a.e.t.) Portland Thorns FC Overland Park, Kansas
13:00 CDT Tymrak   12'
Henderson   25'
Scott   73'
Buczkowski   86'
Heath   33'
Dougherty   50'
Long   61'   103'
Weimer   66'
Stadium: Shawnee Mission District Stadium
Attendance: 4,016
Referee: Christina Unkel

Honors and awards edit

References edit

  1. ^ Kassouf, Jeff (January 11, 2013). "FC Kansas City unveils new logo". The Equalizer. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  2. ^ Bell, Thad (March 24, 2013). "More details on FC Kansas City's uniforms". The Equalizer. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  3. ^ "New women's soccer league links and news". Equalizer Soccer. Archived from the original on November 29, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  4. ^ "FC Kansas City To Launch This Spring". FC Kansas City. November 27, 2012. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  5. ^ "Women's professional soccer coming to Kansas City". The Pitch News. Archived from the original on November 29, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  6. ^ "Wambach, Morgan also allocated to NWSL teams". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  7. ^ "NWSL allocation easier said than done". ESPN. Archived from the original on April 2, 2013. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  8. ^ "Player distribution sees NWSL take shape". FIFA. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  9. ^ "New Women's League Allocates Players". New York Times. January 11, 2013. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  10. ^ Lauletta, Dan (January 21, 2013). "FC Kansas City gets top choice in Mewis". The Equalizer. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  11. ^ "Eight Teams Make Selections at 2013 NWSL College Draft at NSCAA Convention in Indianapolis". U.S. Soccer. January 18, 2013. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  12. ^ Lewis, Scott (February 9, 2013). "FC Kansas City officially announces the signing of Sinead Farrelly". NWSL News. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  13. ^ "Results: Ochs taken first in NWSL Supplemental Draft". Equalizer Soccer. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
  14. ^ Bell, Thad (February 20, 2013). "FC Kansas City call back nine from open tryouts". The Equalizer. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  15. ^ Lauletta, Dan (April 13, 2013). "Portland, Kansas City tie in first-ever NWSL game". The Equalizer. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  16. ^ Lauletta, Dan (November 21, 2017). "Lauletta: Five things I'll remember most about FC Kansas City". The Equalizer. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  17. ^ "Breakers-FC Kansas City game postponed due to security, travel issues". The Equalizer. April 19, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  18. ^ Linehan, Meg (April 26, 2013). "FC Kansas City earns first victory over Seattle Reign FC". The Equalizer. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  19. ^ a b Lauletta, Dan (July 1, 2013). "Reign make two trades, land Cuellar for Noyola". The Equalizer. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  20. ^ "Holiday, Kansas City clinch in huge win over Thorns". The Equalizer. August 4, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  21. ^ Linehan, Meg (August 10, 2013). "Breakers upset FC Kansas City first-place clinch". The Equalizer. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  22. ^ Lauletta, Dan (August 18, 2013). "Red Stars stun KC in added time; Flash get 1st place". The Equalizer. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  23. ^ Kassouf, Jeff (August 18, 2013). "WNY Flash win inaugural NWSL regular season title". The Equalizer. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  24. ^ a b c d Cooper, Jen (2021). Keeper Notes NWSL Almanac (2020 ed.). Keeper Notes.
  25. ^ Lauletta, Dan (August 24, 2013). "FC Kansas City, Portland Thorns headed to overtime". The Equalizer. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  26. ^ Lauletta, Dan (August 24, 2013). "Thorns rally past Blues, advance to final". The Equalizer. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  27. ^ a b c d e Kassouf, Jeff (August 27, 2013). "Holiday named 2013 NWSL MVP; KC sweeps awards". The Equalizer. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  28. ^ Kassouf, Jeff (February 6, 2013). "FC Kansas City announces home venue". The Equalizer. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  29. ^ "FC Kansas City Roster". FC Kansas City. Archived from the original on August 1, 2013. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  30. ^ "FC Kansas City Signs Jaime French" (Press release). FC Kansas City. July 31, 2013. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  31. ^ "New Kansas City women's soccer team releases logo". Kansas City Business Journal. January 10, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  32. ^ McDowell, Sam (July 30, 2013). "Joco's pro women's soccer team, FC Kansas City, seeks longevity where others have failed". Kansas City Star. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  33. ^ "FC Kansas City Coaching Staff Announced" (Press release). FC Kansas City. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  34. ^ "NWSL TO RESCHEDULE FC KANSAS CITY VS BOSTON BREAKERS GAME". FC Kansas City. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  35. ^ a b "National Women's Soccer League". National Women's Soccer League. Archived from the original on September 3, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  36. ^ "June's Best: Lauren Cheney". NWSL. Archived from the original on August 2, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  37. ^ "Player of the Week: Erika Tymrak". NWSL. Archived from the original on February 12, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  38. ^ "July's Best: Erika Tymrak". NWSL. Archived from the original on August 5, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
  39. ^ a b Lauletta, Dan (May 4, 2023). "Lauren Holiday, Hall of Famer: Her greatest moments for club and country". The Equalizer. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  40. ^ Kassouf, Jeff (August 21, 2013). "Erika Tymrak named NWSL Rookie of the Year". The Equalizer. Retrieved July 1, 2023.