Chawinga goal lifts Current over Utah

The Kansas City Current moved back into the win column with a 1-0 victory over the Utah Royals. Temwa Chawinga helped the Current earn the win in the 47^th minute when she notched the game-winning goal. It was a league-record eighth consecutive NWSL match with a goal.

Almuth Schult earned her first clean sheet as a netminder for the Current, coming up with a few big saves to keep the game in Kansas City’s favor. Recently acquired Kayla Sharples got a start on the backline next to Alana Cook and helped limit Utah’s chances.

The Royals had entered the match with a four game win streak between regular season and Summer Cup play, scoring multiple goals in each match. The Current allowed multiple goals in each of the their recent defeats.

Head coach Vlatko Andonovski knew they had to lock the defense down. “We talked a lot about not getting scored on. As much as we want more goals, we talked about winning games 1-0 because it does build character, builds a little stamina, cohesiveness, mindset and everything. Now, we know it’s a good moment, a good growth opportunity and I’m glad that we were able to secure a win.”

The two recent Current matches saw the opponents have the better intensity and Andonovski wanted to match that. “I wanted to make sure that we do whatever it takes to protect our goal, to play with a little more urgency, with a little more bite than the previous game,” Andonovski explained. “I think it wasn’t the prettiest win, it wasn’t the most exciting win, but it was a very good win for the team.”

Chawinga’s goal, her 15th of the NWSL regular season, also tied Lo LaBonta’s franchise record for goals. LaBonta had set the franchises total goals scored in an NWSL regular season set earlier this year. Chawinga joined another elite list of goals scorers as she is just the fifth player in NWSL history to score 15 goals in a regular season.

NWSL Match Report
Match: Kansas City Current vs. Utah Royals FC
Date: September 7, 2024
Venue: CPKC Stadium, Kansas City MO
Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. CT/5:30 p.m. MT
Weather: 73 degrees, fair
Attendance: 11,500

Discipline
None

Scoring
47’ Kansas City – Chawinga (LaBonta)

Scoring Summary

Kansas City Current Lineup: Schult, Rodriguez (61’ Scott), Sharples, Cook, Mace, LaBonta ©, DiBernardo (85’ Feist), Debinha (85’ Ball), Prince (72’ Zaneratto), Chawinga, Wheeler
Unused Substitutes: Franch, Ballisager, Hamilton, Jereko, Magaia

Utah Royals Lineup: Haught, Del Fava, Tejada (72’ Foederer), Riehl, Pogarch (63’ Burns), Griffits, Zornoza, Tanaka (88’ Cluff), Monaghan © (88’ Vasconcelos), Lacasse, Betfort
Unused Substitutes: Roque, Tucker, Murison, Nyberg, Grosso

­­About the Kansas City Current
Founded in December 2020, the Kansas City Current is led by the ownership group of Angie Long, Chris Long, Brittany Mahomes and Patrick Mahomes. The team competes in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). The Kansas City Current opened the first stadium purpose-built for a professional women’s soccer team in front of a sold-out crowd March 16, 2024. To receive periodic updates on CPKC Stadium at Berkley Riverfront Park, visit here to sign-up for more information or to stay connected.