KC attempt to Dash Houston’s playoff hopes: match preview

We’ve all heard the idea of a team, late in a season, “playing spoiler”. This usually suggests a team that has already been eliminated from playoff contention squaring off against a team still in some sort of title/postseason hunt. If the eliminated team wins, they’ve “spoiled” the chances of the other squad.

Well, even though the Kansas City Current have very much not been eliminated from the postseason (in fact, they’re guaranteed to be the #1 seed), these last few weeks have felt a lot like the team is out there playing spoiler against their opponents. Outside of maintaining form and racking up records, Kansas City has very little to play for in this final stretch of the regular season. And yet they not only keep playing the games (of course), they keep winning them.

Three games ago, the Current eliminated the Chicago Stars from the playoff hunt. Two matches ago, they dealt Angel City‘s playoff dreams a major blow. And last time out, they prevented Gotham FC from locking up a playoff bid–and put a big dent in their chances of hosting a quarterfinal match.

This week? The Current will get to potentially play spoiler again as they make their final road trip of the season (short of playing in the Championship match in San Jose) to Houston where the Dash are clinging to the faintest playoff hopes. If KC flies away from Texas with a win (or even a draw) this weekend, they will have squashed one more team’s hopes of extending their season.

(We can even do this one more time as we look ahead to “Decision Day” on November 2nd. The Current will host the San Diego Wave who are, right now, just one point above 8th place and will likely be desperate to earn a result against the Shield winners.)

Week 24 in the books.Two matchweeks left to make a move 📈

— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 2025-10-13T17:43:17.654Z

There are eight teams battling for the final five playoff spots. Right now, Houston is at the bottom of that pile. They would not only need to earn six points from the final two matches, they’d need other teams (Louisville, North Carolina, & Angel City) to all drop some/all possible points.

There was a stretch after the league’s summer break in which Houston actually looked like a dangerous team. They had a six-match unbeaten run that included wins over Gotham, San Deigo, and North Carolina. Unfortunately, though, most of that momentum seems to have stalled over the past month as they’ve lost three of their past five and only beaten Chicago. Their loss last weekend to Angel City was especially painful. Had they been able to win that, they would have been in 9th place and within striking distance of the postseason.

There is a chance that the team was somewhat distracted by the news coming out last week that the Dash are up for sale and that the most likely buyer is the son of a Chinese billionaire. The potential sale price of $120M does continue an upward trend in the valuations of NWSL teams (and women’s sports teams in general).

Regardless of their recent struggles, and any off-the-field distractions, the Dash welcome the league-leading Kansas City Current to their gasoline stadium this Saturday. The Current have been an absolute juggernaut this year and with each passing week are setting new records that seem unlikely to ever be touched. Whether it’s for total wins, points-per-game, fewest goals allowed, most shutouts, biggest goal differential, most multi-goal wins (including nine wins by a 2-0 scoreline as one of our readers pointed out), and many other records, the 2025 KC Current feel rather like a team of destiny. After securing a playoff berth in August and securing the NWSL Shield in September, the Current have had the luxury to tinker with their lineups–keeping everyone fresh and getting everyone minutes on the field. Despite this (for example, Golden Boot leader Temwa Chawinga has only played in one of the previous four halves), the team just continues to win. Their last loss came all the way back on May 2nd, a stretch of 19-matches (in all competitions) unbeaten.

Last Saturday was supposed to be a tough test for the Current as they matched up against a Gotham team seemingly rounding into form and looking to secure a top-three finish. But, well, after goals from Bia and Chawinga and another shutout from Lorena and the defense, the final scoreline of 2-0 in favor of the Current looked all too familiar.

The last time that KC and Houston met, back in April, the final score was, surprise, surprise, 2-0 to KC with LaBonta and Sharples tallying for the hosts. There have been few major changes for either side in the months since then. One roster alteration from the Texans was the addition of Chloe Ricketts in a trade from the Washington Spirit. Ricketts debuted in the NWSL as a 15-year-old in 2023 and was, for a time, the youngest goal scorer in league history. Additionally, there has been some shuffling in goal as one-time staple (and USWNT keeper) Jane Campbell temporarily lost the starting job earlier this season. She regained it halfway through but has now been out for a few weeks with a thigh injury.

Houston will also be represented at the three upcoming USWNT games by a pair of athletes as Avery Patterson and Yazmeen Ryan will suit up for the red, white, and blue.

Back repping the red, white and blue 🇺🇸Avery Patterson and Yazmeen Ryan will join USWNT for friendlies against Portugal and New Zealand at the end of the monthhttps://bit.ly/3W792hb

— Houston Dash (@houstondash.com) 2025-10-15T16:07:31.890569588Z

Not to be outdone, the Current will be sending three (Michelle Cooper, Claire Hutton, and Ally Sentnor) to be part of the group playing against Portugal and New Zealand (the NZ match is 10/29 in KC).

Additionally, Nichelle Prince, Bia Zaneratto, and Lorena will all be sporting their national team colors during the international break that starts after this weekend’s match in Houston. Plus, Katie Scott, Alex Pfeiffer, and Mary Long have all been called into the US-U20 national team camp.

While the actual significance of the penultimate regular season match is minimal for the Kansas City Current, this is a team that is fully locked in and one that will be looking to maintain its current form. KC is 35! points better than Houston in the league table and that gap could grow with another strong performance (perhaps another 2-0 win?). The last time the Current lined up against a team lower down the standings, Vlatko trotted out the team’s youngest ever starting eleven. With many of the regulars about to get work with their national teams, perhaps this is another opportunity for KC to showcase their depth while also working to grind out a win.

WHEN: Saturday, October 18 at 6:30 PM (Central Time)

WHERE: Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, TX

HOW TO WATCH: ion / 38 the Spot

Record:

KC Current: 20-2-2 (62 points, 1st place–locked in)

Houston Dash: 7-6-11 (27 points, 11th place)

Last Match:

KC Current: 2-0 home win versus Gotham FC

Houston Dash: 0-2 road loss versus Angel City FC