Lavogez scores deciding goal (and it was a beauty) as KC Current beat host Courage

The Kansas City Current didn’t play their typically stingy brand of defense Saturday night, but they kept scoring long enough to set up a pivotal moment of brilliance from Claire Lavogez.

In the 79th minute, with the match against the North Carolina Courage knotted at three goals apiece at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., the French midfielder acquired by the Current this summer took a pass from Elizabeth Ball and drove into the heart of the hosts’ defense.

“It’s a good thing she doesn’t understand our English,” Current teammate Lo LaBonta said. “Another week that the KC current should be on SportsCenter Top 10.”

Lavogez didn’t break stride on the highlight-reel strike. Her screamer from distance found its way over the outstretched fingertips of Carolina’s leaping keeper and into the top-left corner of the net.

That was it: a 4-3 lead that the Current (7-4-4) would not relinquish. The Current’s unbeaten streak now stands at 10 games.

“I think everybody was literally saying, ‘Play Hammy!’ and then she wound up to hit it,” LaBonta said. “And then she wound up to hit it, and we’re like, ‘Well, don’t listen to us!’”

Kristen Hamilton scored the first goal for the Current in the 20th minute. Lo LaBonta scored in the 45th and CeCe Kizer in the 60th.

The sides traded blows throughout the first 45 minutes. When the Courage opened the scoring through Diana Ordoñez, the Current punched back through Hamilton.

Current coach Matt Potter praised the team’s mentality to punch back despite falling behind on three separate occasions.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the group,” Potter said. “To show the response on three separate occasions speaks to their character.

“I don’t think it’s a surprise to anybody inside of the group. I think we’re building our identity that other people are having to now adjust to. To get punched and still come out (on top) speaks to their character, and I could not be more proud as a coach.”

When Debinha finished a tap-in after a collision at midfield sprung the Courage on a breakaway, LaBonta kept her stellar season going by equalizing just before halftime. It was more of the same in the second half, too — end-to-end play and two goals scored within the first 10 minutes.

The Courage went in front again on an incredible header from Kaleigh Kurtz that struck both the crossbar and the upright on its way across the line. And then Kizer equalized, the Overland Park native scoring her sixth goal since the trade that sent her from Racing Louisville to Kansas City.

The Current have now gone 10 games straight without a loss and are tied for second place in the NWSL. The Houston Dash and San Diego Wave have a hefty lead on goal differential as the tie-breaker, but the Current are just three points out of first place.

“We have a lot we can learn throughout this 10-game streak that we’ve been on, and the tide can turn any second” Hamilton said. “Everyone’s seen how the NWSL goes, so for us it feels good at the moment, but it’s about focusing on the next game and learning from this one.”

The Current return home Friday for a 7 p.m. game against Angel City FC at Children’s Mercy Park. KC hopes to break the 10,000-fans mark in attendance for the match.