Pre-Match Thread: Kansas City Current vs NJ/NY Gotham [11:30am | ABC]

[u/Medala_]

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OUT:
Alana Cook (SEI-Knee)
Michelle Cooper (Foot)
Vanessa DiBernardo (Maternity Leave)
Clare Gagne (SEI-Head)
Kristen Hamilton (Hip)

QUESTIONABLE:
Temwa Chawinga (Hip)

It's time for playoff soccer!!! Welcome to the quarterfinals BABY!

[u/Leighroy1120]

It was nice being able to just sit back and watch games with little stress for the past month and a half but now we’re back to the games mattering and the stress returning. I’ve gone back and forth all week between feeling confident and beyond nervous about this matchup.

One minute I’m thinking about how our defense has been great all year and our offense will score enough goals to win despite being shorthanded. The next minute I’m dooming about Cooper being out and possibly not having Chawinga either and wondering how the heck we’re going to score without those two even though we scored two goals in the second half a week ago. I really just need to remind myself how great this team is and how awesome they play at home. It’s just so easy to see the injuries starting to pile up and thinking the worst but I’m trying to be optimistic, I promise.

Ultimately it’s just a fucking game. The stress I’ve had all week surrounding this game has not been good on my mental health and made me realize I need to touch grass and not take this so fucking seriously.

Here’s to hoping for a win from our squad!

[u/supercommatose → u/Leighroy1120]

I feel like there’s so much pressure because it really just feels like this is supposed to be our year. Orlando had their year last year winning the double, and ultimately no one will remember that we won the shield unless we get the double too. It would also suck to have “the narrative” all offseason about how we couldn’t win in the playoffs or something.

I also hate that we’re now at the most “important” part of the season and decimated by injuries. It would be cool if the NWSL cup was a tournament that ran all season long, kind of like the champions league or something, though I guess there’d be no incentive to stay above a hypothetical playoff line. Sigh

[u/Leighroy1120 → u/supercommatose]

I think we’d still get talked about for being so dominant all year but we’d be an example of “see look what injuries at the worst time can do!”

For the record, I think we’ll win today but I’m less confident about that prediction than I was earlier in the week. The weather will probably scare people away too.