WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 22, 2025) — The Kansas City Current (2-0-0, 6pts., 1st place) went into the Nation’s Capital and shut out the Washington Spirit (1-1-0, 3pts. 6th place) in an early season heavyweight matchup, 2-0. For the second straight match forward Temwa Chawinga found the back of the net with a stoppage time dagger and midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta capitalized on a second-half penalty kick to help KC win its first road match of the season and second-consecutive game.
“It’s important to continue a streak and it’s important to get road wins against a team like the Spirit who I think are a very good team and will do very good this season,” said head coach Vlatko Andonovski. “Like always, we come in quiet, we win the three points, we celebrate tonight, we recover tomorrow and move on.”
Kansas City started out with a few good opportunities to score early but couldn’t find the back of the net in the first half. In the 14th minute, LaBonta won the ball and placed it over multiple Washington Spirit defenders for forward Michelle Cooper to run onto. Cooper had a great first touch as Washington goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury came off her line but the shot was deflected high over the top of the goal.
In the 19th minute, Chawinga got one-on-one with Kingsbury off a ball from midfielder Claire Hutton. After rounding the goalkeeper, Chawinga got off a pass off to midfielder Debinha in the six-yard box, who came inches from opening the scoring after her powerful strike hit the cross bar.
KC had three shots on goal in the first 20 minutes of play, but it was the incredible work of Lorena in goal that kept the Current scoreless going into halftime. The save of the match came in the 35th minute as Lorena made an incredible diving save with her right hand, pinning the ball against the post and kept the ball out of the net by fully clearing the ball out with her left hand. Lorena’s clutch stop helped the match enter halftime scoreless.
In the second half, a VAR review gave the Current an opportunity to take a lead. The sequence started in the 52nd minute Debinha angled in and played the ball across the box to a header from Chawinga that got deflected by a Washington defender en route to a goal. After VAR review, a penalty kick was awarded to Current for a handling infraction. LaBonta lined up to take the penalty kick in the 56th minute and with a pair of poignant steps sent Kingsbury the wrong way to bury it with her right foot in the right corner of the net. The goal marked her first of the season and 10th regular season spot kick. LaBonta’s goal gave KC a 1-0 lead over the Spirit.
In the 81st minute Flora Marta Lacho made her KC Current and NWSL debut, becoming the first player from Angola to do so. Midfielder Rocky Rodríguez also made her 150th career appearance and in stoppage time fired a blistering shot that came close to a scoring chance for KC.
But ultimately, after yet another stellar save in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time from Lorena, Chawinga sealed the win for KC. With just two minutes left in 11 minutes of stoppage time defender Hailie Mace, making her 2025 debut, sent a long pass downfield to pit Chawinga one-on-one with a Washington defender. Chawinga raced past her mark and evaded Kingsbury, then fired the ball into an empty net to seal the win in stoppage time, 2-0. Chawinga’s goal marked the latest regular season goal scored in franchise history.
Saturday’s contest also marked a historic milestone for Andonovski. In all competitions, this is the 200th game Andonovski has coached in all NWSL competitions (regular season, playoffs, challenge cup, fall series, summer cup). He’s the fourth coach to reach that milestone.
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: Washington Spirit FC vs. Kansas City Current
Date: March 22, 2025
Venue: Audi Field, Washington, D.C.
Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. ET
Weather: 61 degrees, partly cloudy
Attendance: 19, 254
Discipline
33’ Kansas City – Hutton (Yellow)
83’ Kansas City – R. Rodriguez (Yellow)
90’+6 Kansas City – LaBonta (Yellow)
Scoring
56’ Kansas City – LaBonta (PK)
90’+8 Kansas City – Chawinga (Mace)
Scoring Summary
| 1 | 2 | F | |
| Washington | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kansas City | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Washington Spirit FC Lineup: Kingsbury ©, Krueger (81’ Ratcliffe), McKeown, Carle, Morgan, Bernal, Miura, Santos, Morris, Hatch, Ricketts (57’ Rodman)
Unused Substitutes: MacIver, Stainbrook, Sylla, Dulaney, Boade, Detrizio
Kansas City Current Lineup: Lorena, Wheeler, Sharples, Cook, Rodriguez (69’ Mace), LaBonta ©, Hutton (81’ R. Rodriguez), DiBernardo (81’ Marta Lacho), Chawinga, Debinha (90’+6 Hopkins), Cooper (69’ Prince)
Unused Substitutes: Ivory, Long, Feist, Scott
