Kansas City Current Earn Fourth Consecutive Victory with 2-1 Win over Gotham FC

Sports stats



NWSL Kansas City Current

Kansas City Current Earn Fourth Consecutive Victory with 2-1 Win over Gotham FC

June 7, 2025 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Kansas City Current News Release


HARRISON, N.J. - The Kansas City Current (9-2-0, 27 pts., 1st place) picked up its fourth consecutive victory on Saturday afternoon, earning a 2-1 victory over Gotham FC (3-5-3, 12 pts., 9th place). Forward Michelle Cooper opened the scoring in the third minute on an assist from fellow forward Temwa Chawinga, and Chawinga and Cooper combined again in the 11th minute as a Cooper feed resulted in Chawinga doubling the Current's advantage. The hosts pulled a goal back in the waning seconds of second-half stoppage time, but the Current ultimately emerged victorious.

"The first thing I told the team when we got in the huddle was how proud I am of how they approached the game from the first whistle all the way to the end," said head coach Vlatko Andonovski. "Because they were not looking for excuses, they were only looking for reasons to be good, to make it happen to get a success."

Chawinga scored her seventh goal of the 2025 regular season, which moved her into first place in the 2025 NWSL Golden Boot race via the assist tiebreaker. Chawinga also became the fifth player in NWSL history to score in each of her first four meetings against a single opponent across all competitions, as the forward has now scored in all four of her career matches against Gotham FC.

The contest also marked a historic milestone for midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo, who made her 200th NWSL regular season appearance. DiBernardo is the fifth player in NWSL history to reach the milestone and the second youngest to do so.

It took Kansas City just seconds to take an early foothold in the contest. The Current deployed high pressure on Gotham's back line from the opening whistle, which paid off in the third minute when Chawinga intercepted a pass from Gotham FC defender Emily Sonnett at the top of the host's penalty area. Following the turnover, Chawinga shrugged off a Gotham defender and dished the ball to Cooper for a one-on-one opportunity with Gotham FC goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger.

Cooper, who made her first start since April 12, made no mistake with a one-touch finish that landed in the lower left corner. The goal marked Cooper's third of the 2025 regular season, all of which have come in the first half.

Kansas City wasted little time adding to its one-goal advantage, extending its lead to 2-0 in the 11th minute. Midfielder Rocky Rodríguez kickstarted the move in midfield, weaving through multiple Gotham players before sliding a pass forward for DiBernardo. DiBernardo then curled a through ball down the right wing for Cooper, who met the pass in stride and fired the ball across the penalty area with her first touch for Chawinga. Chawinga beat Berger to the loose ball with a deft touch before rolling the ball into an empty net. Chawinga has now scored in four consecutive NWSL regular season contests.

The Current have notched 17 first half goals so far in 2025, the highest total in the NWSL. The club has scored a league-best 43 first half goals since the beginning of the 2024 campaign.

Cooper and Chawinga both notched a goal and an assist within the first 45 minutes of play, marking the fourth time in franchise history there have been multiple players to record a goal and an assist in the same game. Saturday marked the fourth time Chawinga has done so in her NWSL regular season career and the second instance for Cooper, the first of which came earlier this season on March 29 against Utah. Cooper and Chawinga combined for the fastest two goals to start a game in the NWSL this season.

The hosts continued to threaten and generated several scoring opportunities as the first half progressed. Sonnett and Gotham midfielder Jaelin Howell had chances in the minutes following the Current's second goal, and Gotham forward Geyse generated her team's first shot on target in the first minute of stoppage time. However, that marked the final action of the first half as Kansas City took its 2-0 lead into the locker room.

Forward Bia Zaneratto nearly gave Kansas City a three-goal advantage in the 61st minute after settling a cross in the penalty area from DiBernardo, but Zaneratto fired her half-volleyed effort just over the crossbar. Seconds later, the Current forced a turnover in the attacking third and Zaneratto scooped a through ball forward for Chawinga, but Chawinga's lob fell just wide of the back post.

The Current continued to weather consistent Gotham pressure throughout the second half. Goalkeeper Lorena made a remarkable save in the 71st minute on a long-range effort from Gotham defender Sarah Schupansky, sprawling to tip the curled effort over the crossbar.

Gotham FC pulled a goal back in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time, but the referee blew the final whistle shortly after as the Current concluded their three-match road swing with a 2-1 victory. Kansas City improved its all-time record against Gotham FC to an unblemished 5-0-5 across all competitions following Saturday's victory. The match was the Current's first NWSL regular season victory over Gotham since April 30, 2023, as the previous three regular season meetings between the sides ended in draws.

Next weekend, Kansas City makes its long-awaited return to CPKC Stadium for the first time in nearly a month. The Current will welcome Racing Louisville FC for the annual Pride Night, presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, on June 14. Next Saturday's match kicks off at 6:30 p.m. CT and will broadcast nationally on ION. The match will simulcast locally on KMCI, 38 the Spot, and fans in Kansas City can also listen to the action on 90.9 The Bridge. Current fans around the globe can tune in on the KC Current App to listen to the match in English, Spanish or Portuguese.

Limited single-match tickets for 2025 regular season home matches are now on sale to the general public. The best way to ensure you won't miss a second of the action at CPKC Stadium is by joining the Current Club, the Current's trailblazing fan membership experience. Focused on ensuring fans continue to be able to access exclusive opportunities, members can unlock special benefits like priority access to single match tickets, members-only gifts and discounts, access to live and virtual events, exclusive content and more. 2025 Season Ticket Member Account Holders are already enrolled in Current Club at no additional cost. Click HERE for more information about the Current Club.

NWSL Match Report

Match: Gotham FC vs. Kansas City Current

Date: June 7, 2025

Venue: Sports Illustrated Stadium, Harrison, N.J.

Kickoff: 1:06 p.m. ET/12:06 p.m. CT

Weather: 74 degrees, cloudy

Attendance: 10,399

Discipline

33' Gotham - Sonnett (Yellow)

41' Kansas City - Mace (Yellow)

55' Gotham Bench (Yellow)

67' Kansas City - Sharples (Yellow)

85' Gotham - Geyse (Yellow)

Scoring

3' Kansas City - Cooper (Chawinga)

12' Kansas City - Chawinga (Cooper)

90+10' Gotham - Own Goal

Scoring Summary

1 2 F

Gotham 0 1 1

Kansas City 2 0 2

Gotham FC Lineup: Berger, Reale, Sonnett, Howell, Torres (74' Lavelle), González, Geyse, Stevens (26' Schupansky), Martin, Freeman ©, Purce (70' Cook)

Unused Substitutes: Campbell, Bruninha, Whitham, Elgin, Harper, Nyamekye

Kansas City Current Lineup: Lorena, Mace, Ball, Sharples, Wheeler (90+4' Lacho), R. Rodríguez, DiBernardo ©, Hutton (90+4' Feist), Cooper (79' Hopkins), Zaneratto, Chawinga (86' I. Rodriguez)

Unused Substitutes: Ivory, Steigleder, Jereko

Check out the Kansas City Current Statistics



National Women's Soccer League Stories from June 7, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central