The Kansas City Current has added some valuable pieces to its trophy collection.

For the very first time.

With a 1-0 victory over Atletico de Madrid on Saturday night, the Currents got their first taste of tournament glory, winning the 2024 Women’s Cup at CPKC Stadium.

“Winning is a good feeling,” said current captain Lo LaBonta after the game. “I’m very proud of this team. We fought. We usually score a lot of goals. Today we only scored one, and sometimes that’s how it is. So I’m proud of this team.”

The Current scored an early goal through Debinha in the 13th minute and that was enough for the first cup final victory in the current team line-up.

The Current won the ball back from Atletico Madrid by pressing high in the attacking third. Four consecutive one-touch passes between Vanessa DiBernardo, Debinha and Temwa Chawinga ended with Debinha completely unmarked at the far post and confidently finishing past goalkeeper Lola Gallardo.

“It was a great goal,” said Andonovski, adding that he was proud of the way his team prevailed against Atletico Madrid’s defensive tactics.

“It requires a lot of creativity and precision… a very methodical approach to break the blockade that (Atletico) has created in front of the goal,” Andonovski added.

The Current had many chances as the game progressed, but was unable to create any space. However, the home team did not need it either.

KC was strong defensively, only testing goalkeeper AD Franch with one shot. The Current only allowed three shots the entire game.

Nevertheless, victory was only secured in the last moments.

In stoppage time, Current had to fend off a barrage of corners from Atletico Madrid. The club didn’t concede a goal, which is particularly notable given that it had conceded the most goals from set pieces of any team in this year’s NWSL regular season.

“We fought hard,” LaBonta said. “(Andonovski) was proud of us that we had three or four corners in the last minute and still came out on top.”

“I hated it at the time,” joked Andonovski. “But after the game I thought it was great because it was a learning opportunity for us. A moment we want to grow from and I think we executed it very well.”

After the final whistle, Debinha was awarded the best player of the match and the team was able to lift the trophy on home soil.

Although this is the first trophy in the club’s history, there is a possibility that it will only be the first trophy of 2024. Current has eight regular season games left. On October 25, the team will travel to San Antonio to face Gotham FC in the Summer Cup final.

And what comes after that? There will be another opportunity to win a trophy on home soil in November, as CPKC Stadium hosts the 2024 NWSL Championship game.

While Andonovski and his team enjoy this victory and the celebration of their first ever trophy, their attention quickly turns back to the task at hand.

“Every victory is nice and we want to enjoy it,” said Andonovski. “But when we’re done, we also have to focus on the next game.”

INAC Kobe Lionessa finished third in the Women’s Cup by defeating Mamelodi Sundowns FC 2-0 in the evening.

The Current returns to NWSL play next Sunday when the club travels to face the Washington Spirit at 11 a.m.

Daniel Sperry Covers Football for The Star. He can be reached at Sperry[email protected].