The Kansas City Current (5-0-0, 1st Seed) took home a trophy Friday night, downing NJ/NY Gotham FC (3-1-1, 2nd Seed) 2-0 in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup Championship in San Antonio, Texas. A first-half brace from forward Temwa Chawinga, set up by two assists from midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta, proved to be the winning combination for the Current as the club earned its second trophy of the 2024 season. Friday’s victory capped the inaugural NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, meaning Kansas City etched its name in history as the first club to take home the trophy.
Kansas City was stifling defensively, allowing just a single shot on target from Gotham FC throughout the duration of the contest. Goalkeeper Almuth Schult earned the shutout in net. The Current withstood Gotham FC pressure in the second half, including ten total corner kicks, to earn the two-goal victory.
“I hope this takes us to the next [trophy] now and to the playoffs, and to the opponents we will play in the playoffs,” said head coach Vlatko Andonovski. “There is something to it, building the winning mentality, you can’t win a big trophy if you don’t win the small ones. Whether it’s The Women’s Cup, we’ve won the Summer Cup and now we have the season. I think it’s a good habit to have, winning is a habit and I’m glad that as a team and as an organization we started building this habit and this mindset. And I just hope that now this takes us to the next one.”
“I’ve loved having every single teammate on this team, we have the support of the technical staff, and we have the front office behind us as well,” said LaBonta. “I don’t know how anybody in the NWSL doesn’t want to come here anymore, it’s great, we’re having a good time, and the winning is a bonus at the end of the day.”
Friday’s victory, separate from NWSL regular season and postseason play, capped a tournament that featured all 14 NWSL clubs and six of the top clubs from Liga MX Femenil. Group stage matches were played in July and early August, and both the Current and Gotham FC advanced to Friday’s championship after winning their respective semifinal matches Aug. 6.
From the opening whistle, the Current immediately put pressure on Gotham FC’s defense. Forward Michelle Cooper nearly opened the scoring less than a minute into the contest, but her header from inside the penalty area sailed just high of Gotham FC goalkeeper Cassie Miller’s net. The match began to tighten up after a flurry of early offense from the Current, as both sides settled in and tightened up in the championship affair.
Kansas City made its first shot on target of the match count. In the 25th minute, a well-worked passing sequence put the Current ahead. Defender Alana Cook started the move with a pass forward to midfielder Claire Hutton, who quickly turned and slid a pass forward to LaBonta in the center circle. LaBonta then sprung Chawinga forward with a one-time flick that met the forward in stride for a breakaway opportunity. Chawinga made no mistake with the opportunity, chipping the ball over Miller and into the back of the net to put the Current ahead. The goal marked the first Gotham FC had conceded in summer cup play.
In the 30th minute, Kansas City nearly doubled its advantage. Cooper took advantage of a loose pass from Miller, and immediately fired a strike at a vacant net that Miller retreated to stop. However, Miller’s save spilled loose for midfielder Debinha, and her lobbed effort barely missed the net.
Seven minutes later, the Current broke through again with a goal that mirrored its first of the match. Hutton kickstarted the move, sharply turning and rolling a ball forward for LaBonta near the top of Gotham FC’s penalty area. With Chawinga making a darting run inside the penalty area, LaBonta found the forward with a one-touch through ball and gave Chawinga another breakaway opportunity. Chawinga doubled the Current’s lead with a clinical finish, lobbing the ball over an outstretched Miller for her second goal of the contest.
LaBonta notched her second assist of the contest on Chawinga’s second goal of the match. LaBonta’s multi-assist performance marked the first multi-assist game in an NWSL competition of her career, as well as the fourth brace for Chawinga across all competitions in 2024.
In the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time, defender Kayla Sharples made a crucial intervention to keep the Current’s lead at 2-0. Defender Bruninha had a clean look at goal from inside the Current’s penalty area following a give-and-go, but Sharples made a well-timed slide tackle to block the shot and prevent a dangerous scoring opportunity. The block marked the last action of the first half as Kansas City took a two-goal lead into halftime.
Kansas City had a few scoring opportunities in the second half, but largely saw the last 45 minutes of the match out without allowing Gotham FC back into the match. Gotham FC out possessed the Current by a significant margin and recorded ten total corner kicks, but Kansas City’s lockdown defense helped secure the shutout victory.
Following Friday’s victory, the Current will turn its attention back to NWSL regular season play as the club continues to gear up for its postseason push. Kansas City’s last match of the 2024 NWSL regular season comes next Saturday, Nov. 3 against the Chicago Red Stars. Next Saturday’s contest kicks off at 2 p.m. CT and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. Fans in Kansas City can catch the action on 90.9 The Bridge or the KC Current App.
The Current are guaranteed at least one home playoff match at CPKC Stadium, but an opportunity to climb the table is still up for grabs. With a top two finish on the final NWSL table, the Current would not have to play a single postseason match outside the friendly confines of CPKC Stadium should Kansas City continue to advance.
Season Ticket Members currently have priority access to purchase playoff tickets at CPKC Stadium. Current Club Members’ early access window to tickets will begin Monday, Oct. 28.
NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup Match Report
Match: Kansas City Current vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC
Date: October 25, 2024
Venue: Toyota Field, San Antonio TX
Kickoff: 7:06 p.m. CT/8:06 p.m. ET
Weather: 83 degrees, sunny
Attendance:
Discipline
28’ Gotham – Bruninha (Yellow)
43’ Kansas City – Cooper (Yellow)
48’ Gotham – Stevens (Yellow)
Scoring
25’ Kansas City – Chawinga (LaBonta)
37’ Kansas City – Chawinga (LaBonta)
Scoring Summary
| Goals | 1 | 2 | F |
| Kansas City | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Gotham | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kansas City Current Lineup: Schult, Rodriguez, Sharples, Cook, Wheeler, LaBonta ©, Hutton (82’ Scott), DiBernardo (90’ Feist), Chawinga (46’ Ball), Debinha (90’ Steigleder), Cooper (82’ Jereko)
Unused Substitutes: Franch, Fraine, Hamilton
NJ/NY Gotham FC Lineup: Miller (90’ Smith), Hiatt, Freeman (66’ Matthews), Flores, Zerboni © (66’ Whitham), Martin, Sheehan, Bruninha, Torres, Stevens, Shim (90’ Baxter)
Unused Substitutes: Betos, Smith, Gonzalez, Moore, Yoshida, Lopez
