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It’s teal time! KC Current will play their very first home playoff match tomorrow, one of eight teams to play a quarterfinal match taking on the North Carolina Courage.
I got a chance to sit down with veteran NWSL and Kansas City Current midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo to get her perspective on playoffs, Kansas City fans, and the history this team has already made.
With what started as a historic season, the KC Current keeps scoring firsts. Now the team is getting ready for their first home playoff game in not only stadium history but club history. The playoffs are nothing new to DiBernardo. She played for several seasons with the Chicago Red Stars before joining the KC Current in 2023. I asked her how many times she has been to the playoffs.
“I actually don’t know but a lot,” she laughed. “You just kind of have to treat it as a regular season game,” she said. Adding that there is definitely a different intensity as the team prepares and that details matter even more. Part of the support and message she says she and other veteran players share with their younger teammates.
While she has plenty of playoff experience, she is still soaking up the firsts like the team’s home opener in March at CPKC stadium that was also the very first match in what the team calls the first stadium built for a professional women’s sports team.
“It was surreal. I think, it’s really hard. Everyone asks ‘how does it feel?’, it’s really hard to explain,” said DiBernardo.
DiBernardo had another first to celebrate, she made the very first goal in CPKC stadium at that match in March.
“It was special. I think all of us on the field were relieved that we got that goal. I think there was so much hype in that game and so much excitement that for the stadium, I think we wanted to give the fans a little bit of a show.”
I asked her about the change in the fandom she has seen for women’s soccer since her first season with the NWSL.
“So much!” she laughed. “Where this league started, where we started with this league, and where it is now, its unmatched, it’s amazing to see and be a part of that growth.”
And she loves seeing fans around Kansas City.
“It’s amazing. I mean, that’s part of the reason I came to this city and played for this club is the support the city provides for us.”
