KC Current
KC Current’s NWSL Shield-winning season ends vs. Gotham
The Kansas City Current, entering the NWSL playoffs as the number one team, hosted number eight seed Gotham FC in the quarterfinals on a frigid day. The winner would go on to the semifinals to face the Orlando Pride. Kansas City would be without Michelle Cooper and Temwa Chawinga. Though listed as questionable for the match, Chawinga was not in the 18, and Cooper was listed to miss the game in the injury report on Saturday.
Bia Zaneretto was available, though, and started alongside Debinha, Nichelle Prince in the attack. Defensively, it was Hailie Mace, Elizabeth Ball, Kayla Sharples, and Izzy Rodriguez, and Lo’eau LaBonta, Claire Hutton, and Ally Sentnor in the midfield.
How Kansas City would play without two players crucial to their attack, Chawinga and Cooper, would set the tone for the first half. Gotham maintained possession all first half (68%), found opportunities to make six shots, two on target, and limited the Current’s attack, breaking down the press. Kansas City, though, still managed three shots on target. Ally Sentnor sent one right towards the goal from a distance in the 17th minute, and if it wasn’t for Ann-Katrin Berger, Gotham’s goalkeeper, the game could have shifted.
Nichelle Prince also had a shot on goal in the 29th minute, but it went right to Berger. Neither team could break though in the first half as Kansas City kept a compact backline to disrupt Gotham’s chances. The Current also found no success sending long balls to the attack without Chawinga, and the attack fizzled in that area.
For the second half, head coach Vlatko Andonovski made no changes, hoping that his starting XI would settle enough to break the Gotham defense. The Current regained possession (53% overall) and had five total shots, but not a single shot was on frame, and the team just appeared unable to connect in the final third. A chance for both teams was all that was needed, and it was Gotham’s Jaedyn Shaw who beat Kayla Sharples and found an angle for a shot to get the ball past Lorena. Gotham took the lead in the 68th minute, 1-0.
Down to the last 20 minutes, Andonovski began making changes, bringing in Haley Hopkins for Nichelle Prince, Ellie Wheeler for Elizabeth Ball, and Alex Pfeiffer for Debinha. The Current’s NWSL Shield-winning season came down to the eight minutes of stoppage time, and they brought everything they could to equalize in the final moments. Ellie Wheeler received a pass from LaBonta, beat a defender, and went for goal, giving life and hope to the season and sending this quarterfinal to extra time.
The season came down to two 15 minutes of extra time, and to the final minutes of the second half of extra time for the game to be decided for Gotham, ending the Current’s season. As extra time was near its end, Ann Katrin Berger sent one final ball into the Current’s box where Katie Stengel beat every Current defender and was able to send the game-winning goal past Lorena.
The Current’s hope for an NWSL championship in a season where they broke records and were the best team ended in the quarterfinals. This was their first loss at CPKC Stadium since July 2024. Kansas City now looks to the off-season and the start of the 2026 season.
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This is why i despise playoffs. They reward mediocrity and second chances. The current were clearly the best team in the league. They did it right and won week in and out.
Whoever lifts the trophy is clearly second best. The Current won the league, just not the second chance money. There is no reason for play offs. Everything should be like the EPL.
As a parent, I taught my kids you have to show up and do it right. Our sport demonstrates the exact opposite.
As long as you have a double round robin league the regular season is the championship. I honestly hope NWSL doesn’t grow too big. Not every league needs 30 teams, I like leagues small enough for a double round robin, it is the fairest format.
The group control played by Gotham slowed the game and was defended by the Current darn well for 119 minutes. Their passing was accurate, and keeping the three lines moving like an accordion, close, then wide if a transition was anticipated was just a good game plan against a normally slashing offense down a couple of key players.
The absence of Gabrielle Robinson late in the game. I hope that she’s not taken a step back in her healing process. We could have used some fresh legs back there the final fifteen minutes.
Ladies, it was a season for the ages, and…
KC BABY!