The Tea(L): A KC Current Podcast

The regular season is over, & the playoffs are here! Cindy & Kristian recap NWSL Decision Day, then look ahead to the Kansas City Current's quarterfinal at home against Angel City.

In this episode:

• Decision Day recap: Gotham won the Shield. The Current finished fourth, & the top seeds all won.
• Win at Racing Louisville: Kayla Sharples & Haley Hopkins scored on headers from Vanessa DiBernardo corners. The win secured a home playoff game & extended the Current's winning streak to five games.
• Current vs. Angel City:  Angel City's form & the 11 AM kickoff. A look at the Current being healthy for the postseason, & the memory of last year's quarterfinal loss at home.
• Predictions: Kristian says 3-2 & Cindy says 3-1, both for Kansas City. They also give picks for the rest of the weekend's matchups & name a player to watch.

Watch the Current host Angel City on Saturday at 11 AM Central on CBS.

It's episode 26 of The Tea(L), hosted by Coleman, with Cindy & Kristian! The Kansas City Current beat the Washington Spirit 2-1 at CPKC Stadium, & the crew breaks down how it happened.

In this episode:

• The win: Kansas City fell behind early, then scored twice in three minutes. They also extended their home unbeaten run to 32 regular-season matches, with 25 wins and 7 draws.
• The crowd: The announced attendance record of 18,000 gets a debate, & so does who counts as "in attendance."
• Tactics: A high press worked in the first half but faded in the second as Washington made adjustments to get Trinity Rodman involved, & the late switch to a five-back line.
• Players: Spotlights on Croix Bethune, Lorena's aerial command, & the open question over Vanessa DiBernardo's contract.
• Decision Day: Sunday, Nov. 1 at 4 PM Central. The Current visit Racing Louisville with a home playoff game on the line. We give score predictions & rapid-fire picks for the Shield, the fourth seed, & the final playoff spot.

Cindy & Kristian break down a gritty 2-0 road win in Utah that pushed the Current into fourth place, where home-field advantage for a quarterfinal suddenly feels within reach.

That’s only the headline. The real story is how Kansas City got there: surviving Utah’s early pressure, turning a set-piece weakness into a weapon, & finally looking like the team that was supposed to be built for a playoff run.

Cindy & Kristian unpack what changed, why Lorena’s confidence matters so much, & how Haley Hopkins went from inconsistent to 10 goals on the season. In this episode:

• Why this road win felt like a full-circle moment for the Current after a rough start to the season
• How Vanessa DiBernardo’s playmaking & second-all-time NWSL assist mark have stabilized the midfield
• Why Temwa Chawinga’s breakaway threat makes Kansas City dangerous even on a night when the finishing isn’t perfect
• What Haley Hopkins’ recent surge says about Chris Armas’ attacking structure
• Why Lorena’s assertive, confident goalkeeping could be the key to a deep playoff push

They also zoom out to the bigger picture: Kansas City’s health is finally improving, the roster is clicking at the right time, & a tough matchup with Washington Spirit looms as the next major test.

With the standings still tight, every point matters - & a home playoff game is starting to feel very real!

The Kansas City Current looked like themselves again after a 5-1 victory vs. Bay FC; Temwa Chawinga kept doing Temwa Chawinga things, & Debinha delivered a hat trick that turned a big win into a statement. Is the team finding its form just in time for the playoff push?

Cindy, Kristian, & Coleman break down the 5-1 result, from the early concession to Kansas City’s response. They discuss the defensive concerns on the right side, why Elizabeth Ball at right back remains a talking point, & how the Current keep finding ways to win after conceding first.

Then they look ahead to a major road test against Utah, where playoff positioning & goal differential could make every point count.

Coleman & Cindy break down the 4-1 win over the Denver Summit, including the shaky opening minutes, Lindsay Heaps’ early goal, & the moment Michelle Cooper and Vanessa DiBernardo helped unlock everything. They also dig into how Haley Hopkins went from a question mark at the nine to the player who completely changed the conversation.

You'll hear:

-Why the first 15 minutes felt like a warning sign before Kansas City took control

-How the penalty & Debinha’s miss raised bigger questions about confidence & mentality

-What Haley Hopkins did differently in a breakout performance that may have changed her season

-Why Vanessa DiBernardo’s vision & passing may be one of the most underrated pieces of this attack

-How Temwa Chawinga, Michelle Cooper, & the Current’s counterattack fit into the team’s identity

They also look ahead to Bay FC, where anything less than three points would feel like a missed opportunity. With Claire Hutton returning to Kansas City, playoff positioning tightening, and the defense still giving nerves, this episode is equal parts celebration & reality check.

Cindy, Kristian, & Coleman break down the Current’s 2-0 loss to San Diego, the set-piece collapse, the attack that never quite clicked, & the roster decisions that are making the problem feel bigger than one bad night.

They dig into what’s really missing - from the lack of a true No. 9, the bench depth, the coaching disconnect, & the ongoing churn of key players leaving without being properly replaced. You’ll hear frank debate about Lorena’s positioning on the own goal, why the road press keeps failing, & whether the team’s “best club in the world” branding is starting to feel painfully out of sync with reality.

The discussion also gets into the bigger picture behind the slide: the difficulty of sustaining a Shield-winning level without a stable sporting structure, & why the Current’s once-clear competitive advantages no longer feel unique in a league that’s rapidly catching up.

From there, the crew looks ahead to the final five matches & the playoff math, including a crucial home stretch. They weigh whether this team can still rally & why the next few weeks could decide everything.

Cindy & Kristian break down how the Current dominated early against the Orlando Pride in their 2-2 draw, created enough chances, & still had to claw back after Barbra Banda punished one mistake, then doubled down with a second. You’ll hear:

• Why Barbra Banda remains the kind of star who can flip a game from anywhere on the field
• How Kansas City generated eight big chances & still couldn’t separate themselves

• What changed when the substitutions came in & the attack started to stall
• Why the Current’s league-leading missed chances may be the difference between hosting a playoff game & scrambling to stay alive

The episode also goes beyond the match itself, with Cindy and Kristian reacting to the shock transfer of Gianna Paul to North Carolina Courage & what it says about the club’s depth, planning, and long-term direction. They dig into the pressure on the front office, the constant turnover in the attack, & why the Current can’t afford to keep losing pieces without replacing them.

With a huge Friday night trip to San Diego Wave next, the stakes are clear: the Current need points now, not later.

The Kansas City Current just dropped a head-scratching Labor Day bombshell, & this episode breaks down why the club's silence around Vlatko Andonovski’s accomplishments feels even louder than the news itself.

Cindy, Coleman, & Kristian react to the shockingly brief release announcing Andonovski’s departure from the sporting director role, then dig into the bigger questions the team did not answer: Who’s actually in charge? What changed after a record-breaking stretch? And why does this move feel like a bigger collapse of trust than a simple staff change?

You’ll hear:

-Why the wording of the press release raised more questions than it answered

-How players like Michelle Cooper, Lo LaBonta, & Claire Hutton responded publicly

-The confusion around the sporting director role, roster construction, and the Current’s front-office structure

-Whether ownership is building a team for long-term success or just chasing control

-What this means for the locker room, the fanbase, & the future of the franchise

The conversation also looks at the tension between the Current’s on-field success & the off-field frustration now swirling around the club. Kristian lays out how stability under Andonovski helped fuel the team’s rise, while Cindy & Coleman push on the bigger concern: fans can see when the story doesn’t add up, & they’re starting to ask the same questions as the media.

Then the mood shifts to the pitch, where Kansas City’s 2-1 road win over Bay FC gets its flowers. Izzy Rodriguez’s stunning Olimpico & Rocky Rodriguez’s late game-winner.

Looking ahead, the crew previews a huge matchup with Orlando Pride at CPKC Stadium, where every point matters as Kansas City fights to stay in the playoff mix.

The Kansas City Current finally snap their summer slump, but this win comes with far more drama than the final score suggests. After a fast start, a stunning Croix Bethune strike, & a nervy second half, this episode breaks down why the 3-2 result over North Carolina felt equal parts relief & warning sign.

Cindy, Kristian, & Coleman unpack the Current’s first victory since July 29, including the tactical pressure that sparked Kansas City’s best attacking stretches & the defensive cracks that nearly gave the game away. They also dig into the season-altering momentum swings, the impact of Gabby Robinson’s injury, & why Lorena’s late saves mattered just as much as the goals.

You’ll hear:

How an own goal, a Bethune beauty, and Michelle Cooper’s finish put Kansas City in control.

Why the second half turned into a stress test for the back line.

What went wrong on the North Carolina response and how Ashley Sanchez kept causing problems.

The penalty controversy, the handball decision, & the set-piece issues that keep haunting KC.

And why the Current’s upcoming road trip to Bay FC feels like a must-win against familiar faces including Claire Hutton, Alex Pfeiffer, & Jordan Silkowitz.

Kansas City gets the three points, but the larger question remains: is this the turning point, or just another reminder that the margin for error is shrinking fast?

After a frustrating 1-1 result against Seattle, Cindy, Coleman, & Kristian break down why the Kansas City Current keep leaving points on the table when it matters most.

The conversation goes beyond the scoreline. They dig into the return of Lorena and Michelle Cooper, the ongoing struggle to replace Temwa Chawinga’s game-breaking presence, and the tactical choices that continue to shrink Kansas City’s attack.

They also go hard on the set-piece issues that Seattle exposed again, including the own goal that came from another breakdown in the back line. You'll hear why Croix Bethune has become the most reliable threat in the attack, why Haley Hopkins on the wing remains a major tactical head-scratcher, and why the penalty decision at 1-1 raised bigger questions about confidence, leadership, and who should be stepping up when the pressure hits.

Kristian and Coleman also weigh in on whether this season is a rebuild, a revealing year, or something even more complicated for the club's identity.

Then the focus shifts to a massive home match against North Carolina. With both teams sitting near each other in the standings and the playoff race tightening, the crew lays out exactly what Kansas City has to fix, what they expect to see from Temwa Chawinga if she returns, and why this one already feels like a must-win.