A contingent of more than 400 players, friends and family organized by Afrim’s Sports Alleycat Soccer Club packed two buses and carpools to travel to Red Bull Arena in northern New Jersey to support Bethlehem's Claire Hutton, who stars for the NWSL's Kansas City Current. The Current played NJ-NY Gotham FC Sunday evening, April 14, 2024, in its season home opener celebrating their NWSL 2023 championship. (Photo courtesy Kiera Hovey)
Bethlehem’s Claire Hutton, left, has played all 270 minutes of the first three games for the undefeated Kansas City Current. She returned to the New York area to play in front of hundreds of Capital Region soccer fans, friends and family when the Current played NWSL 2023 champion Gotham on Sunday, April 14, 2024.
Bethlehem’s Claire Hutton has played all 270 minutes of the first three games for the undefeated Kansas City Current. She returned to the New York area to play in front of hundreds of Capital Region soccer fans, friends and family when the Current played NWSL 2023 champion Gotham on Sunday, April 14, 2024.
Bethlehem’s Claire Hutton, right, has played all 270 minutes of the first three games for the undefeated Kansas City Current. She returned to the New York area to play in front of hundreds of Capital Region soccer fans, friends and family when the Current played NWSL 2023 champion Gotham on Sunday, April 14, 2024.
Bethlehem’s Claire Hutton, left, has played all 270 minutes of the first three games for the undefeated Kansas City Current. She returned to the New York area to play in front of hundreds of Capital Region soccer fans, friends and family when the Current played NWSL 2023 champion Gotham on Sunday, April 14, 2024.
One year ago, Vlatko Andonovski, head coach of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, was preparing his team to play in the 2023 FIFA World Cup in Australia/New Zealand.
Claire Hutton was graduating early from Bethlehem Central High School and accepted an offer to compete for the renowned soccer program at the University of North Carolina under head coach Anson Dorrance.
• WNBA draft: I’m rooting for Dyaisha Fair of Syracuse, the 5-5 guard from Rochester who scored the third-most points in NCAA Division I women’s history (3,403), behind only Caitlin Clark (3,951) and Kelsey Plum (3,527), as a five-year player. Watch on ESPN Monday at 7:30 p.m.
• SNL: The Caitlin Clark appearance on Weekend Update is must-see TV.
This column is sponsored by Times Union Women@Work, the Capital Region’s network of business and professional women. Join today at: https://womenatworkny.com
After their career trajectories changed, the coach and player are now united on the pitch.
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Andonovski resigned in August after the USWNT performed poorly in the World Cup, losing a heartbreaker to Sweden on penalty kicks in the round of 16.
Hutton took a giant leap forward in her soccer career by being a key player and serving as captain for the U.S. Under-19 Women’s Youth National Team squad that earned a bronze medal in November during the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
One month later, after being invited to train with several National Women’s Soccer League teams, Hutton signed a three-year contract with the Kansas City Current.
The coach and player have found a new home for their soccer careers in Kansas City’s Riverfront Park, playing for an organization partly owned by Brittany and Chiefs' quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
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And what a home it is.
The Current’s 11,500-seat CPKC Stadium, a privately funded complex built at a cost of $117 million, is the first facility designed exclusively for an NWSL team. It also features an $18 million team training complex and offices.
The 18-year-old Hutton has exceeded expectations. She has played all 270 minutes of the Current’s NWSL season and her team is 3-0 going into Sunday night’s game, the home opener for NJ-NY Gotham FC, the defending NWSL champs. She leads her team in progressive passes and tackles plus interceptions by a considerable margin.
“Claire is a great player with unbelievable potential. Every day she steps on the field and earns more and more of our trust for getting the job done in every situation,” Andonovski said in an email on Saturday.
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A contingent, organized by Afrim’s Sports Alleycat Soccer Club, of more than 400 players, friends and family packed two buses and joined carpools to drive the 160 miles down the Thruway to Red Bull Arena in northern New Jersey to support Hutton. Many will be wearing red in support of Hutton.
Hutton said the opportunity to return to the Northeast to play in front of family and friends as a professional “feels surreal.”
“The amount of people who have reached out, letting me know they are coming to watch, has been overwhelming and exciting,” she said Saturday.
Alleycat players participated in pregame ceremonies, escorting both teams onto the field. At halftime, youth players lined the tunnels to support players returning to the field.
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It’s all part of an organized partnership between the Alleycats and Gotham that is now in its third year. As tickets were purchased through the club’s discounted link to sales, the perks became more plentiful.
Alleycats director of coaching Chris Le organized the trip.
“Our families are really excited. It’s a reflection of not just what Claire’s doing as a player, which is crazy that she’s starting and playing every minute, but the impact she had on a lot of our kids and families as a club and the relationships she’s built. So many people want to go down and support her,” Le said Saturday.
The game not only featured soccer’s top players but also several promotions, including a ring and banner ceremony honoring Gotham’s 2023 championship season and a bobblehead giveaway featuring retired USWNT and Gotham star defender Ali Krieger. It was also a battle of NFL quarterbacks, with Eli Manning, an investor in Gotham, making an appearance and promoting his team’s championship rings on ESPN’s SportsCenter while trash-talking with Patrick Mahomes.
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Players on the star-studded rosters include USWNT veterans Crystal Dunn, Tierna Davidson and Emily Sonnett for Gotham and international players including Spain’s Esther González for Gotham and Canada’s Desiree Scott and Brazilian national Debinha playing for the Current. Gotham’s Rose Lavelle and Lynn Williams and Debinha are listed as injured players. Midge Purce of Gotham is out for the season and the Olympics with an ACL injury.
Le noted the special relationship Hutton and her family developed with longtime Alleycat soccer coaches Betsy Drambour, technical skills director, and Skip Dawson, administrative director at Afrim’s. When the Current opened its season March 15 with a 5-4 win in front of a sold-out crowd, Drambour and Dawson were in the stands. They decided at the last minute to fly to Kansas City when they were assured their players’ games and Alleycat responsibilities that weekend would be covered by other coaches.
“This place is unbelievable,” Drambour said during the opening game. “It’s crazy how much this is doing for women’s sports.”
For Hutton, who is continuing her studies at the University of Missouri in Kansas City, the homecoming is a chance to give back to those like Drambour and Dawson who have supported her journey to play at the elite levels of soccer.
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“I can’t wait to share my love for the game this Sunday with people I grew up with and the Alleycats who I have played and coached for,” Hutton said. “So many emotions will be felt during this game and to be surrounded by so many loved ones makes it all so much better.”
Joyceb10bassett@gmail.com • @joyceb10bassett • timesunion.com/author/joyce-bassett
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