Kansas City Current Wraps up First Half of NWSL Regular Season with 1-0 Victory Over Angel City FC
NWSL Kansas City Current

Kansas City Current Wraps up First Half of NWSL Regular Season with 1-0 Victory Over Angel City FC

Published on June 20, 2025 under National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Kansas City Current News Release


KANSAS CITY - The Kansas City Current (11-2-0, 33 pts., 1st place) closed the first half of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) regular season with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Angel City FC (4-6-3, 15 pts., 11th place) on a hot Friday night at CPKC Stadium. Forward Bia Zaneratto scored the game-winning goal in the 69th minute, finishing off a second-chance opportunity with a thunderous strike. A shutout performance from goalkeeper Lorena included an incredible full-stretch dive to deny an Angel City penalty kick in the 57th minute.

The Current has notched the second-highest regular season win total in club history with their 11 victories through 13 matches of the 2025 regular season. Friday's result also marked the club's sixth consecutive win, the second longest regular season winning streak in club history. Kansas City remains atop the NWSL table - and is the only team without a loss or draw at home this year - as the league heads into a month-long break.

"It was a tough win, but for some reason, we celebrated this one a little bit more than the previous ones when we won by two, three or four goals before," said head coach Vlatko Andonovski. "So I'm very happy because in order to be successful in this league, sometimes you just have to find a way. And I'm very proud of all the players that were focused and concentrated all the way through and found a way."

Defensively, the Current notched their sixth shutout of the 2025 season in a gritty defensive effort. All six shutouts have come with Lorena in net, and the Brazilian netminder now holds sole possession of the club's franchise record for regular season shutouts.

Kansas City and Angel City played to a stalemate in the first half despite the Current dominating the action. The home team had a solid chance in the fifth minute when forward Michelle Cooper drove down the right wing and fired a ball across the penalty area for defender Izzy Rodriguez, whose shot ultimately sailed high. Continuing to threaten, defender Kayla Sharples headed a ball on target in the 25th minute to force a save from Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson. Six minutes later, forward Temwa Chawinga rolled a shot just wide from the top of the visitor's penalty area after evading multiple defenders.

In the 41st minute, midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo lofted a ball to the back post that Anderson pushed away. As the first half drew to a close, Rodriguez served a dangerous ball that just missed multiple Current runners, marking the last action of a scoreless first half. Kansas City held Angel City without a shot attempt through the first 45 minutes of play.

The referee awarded a penalty kick to Angel City after a foul inside the Current's penalty area in the 54th minute, and Angel City forward Alyssa Thompson stepped up to the spot and fired a shot towards the left side. Reading the effort perfectly, Lorena had a full extension dive to get both hands behind the ball and deny Thompson the goal as the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. The game-changing stop was Lorena's first penalty kick save in her NWSL career, and the first penalty kick save by a Current goalkeeper since 2023.

Kansas City broke through six minutes later. Rodriguez started the action with a through ball that split multiple Angel City defenders and met Chawinga in stride. Chawinga earned a one-on-one opportunity with Anderson after separating herself from the defense, but the goalkeeper denied the breakaway with a save on Chawinga's low strike. However, the ball fell perfectly to Zaneratto at the top of the penalty area. Zaneratto rolled the ball forward with the bottom of her left foot before taking another quick touch. Her strike fizzed past the outstretched arms of Anderson and into the back of the net to give the Current a 1-0 lead they would not relinquish.

The goal marked Zaneratto's fifth of the 2025 regular season, which matches her total from last season. It was also the first time in her career she scored in consecutive regular season matches. The Brazilian also became the seventh player in franchise history to reach 10 career regular season goals, just six days after Cooper became the sixth to achieve the feat. Friday also marked another milestone for Cooper: She became the eighth player in club history to reach 50 career regular season appearances.

The Current seized control of the contest from there and nearly doubled their lead on multiple occasions. Chawinga again broke free from the Angel City defense in the 72nd minute, but Anderson dove to deny her goal-bound effort. Chawinga then had yet another effort denied with a strong save from Anderson in the 90th minute. However, riding the momentum provided by the 19th consecutive home sellout crowd in NWSL regular season play, the Current emerged unscathed following 10 minutes of stoppage time to earn the 1-0 victory.

Although on pause from NWSL regular season action, the Kansas City Current is set to host the inaugural Teal Rising Cup presented by Visit Missouri at CPKC Stadium on July 12 and 15 with doubleheaders on both matchdays. The four-team tournament will feature the Current, fellow NWSL team Chicago Stars FC and Brazilian Serie A1 clubs Corinthians SC and Palmeiras. The event gets underway on July 12 when Chicago Stars FC squares off against Corinthians SC at 4:30 p.m. CT in match one before the Current takes on Palmeiras at approximately 8 p.m. in match two. A consolation and championship match will round out the event on July 15. Tickets can be purchased HERE.

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: Kansas City Current vs. Angel City FC

Date: June 20, 2025

Venue: CPKC Stadium, Kansas City, MO

Kickoff: 7:10 p.m. CT / 5:10 p.m. PT

Weather: 90 degrees, sunny

Attendance: 11,500

Discipline

81' Kansas City - Prince (Yellow)

Scoring

69' Kansas City - Zaneratto

Scoring Summary

1 2 F

Kansas City 0 1 1

Angel City 0 0 0

Kansas City Current Lineup: Lorena, Mace, Ball, Sharples, I. Rodriguez, R. Rodríguez, DiBernardo © (66' Feist), Hutton (90+11' Wheeler), Cooper (66' Prince), Zaneratto (87' Hopkins), Chawinga

Unused Substitutes: Ivory, Steigleder, Long, Lacho, Scott

Angel City FC Lineup: Anderson, Gorden © (75' Fuller), Reid, Vignola (46' Moriya), G. Thompson (66' Mattice), Hammond (87' Zelem), Kennedy, Hodge, Dufour (75' Press), A. Thompson, Tiernan

Unused Substitutes: Stambaugh, Phair, Nabet

Check out the Kansas City Current Statistics

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National Women's Soccer League Stories from June 20, 2025


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