The Kansas City Current (20-3-2, 62 pts., 1st place) closed out the road portion of its regular season schedule with a 1-0 loss to the Houston Dash (8-11-6, 30 pts., 10th place) Saturday night at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, Texas. Despite a late push from the Current, Houston midfielder Ryan Gareis’ 69th-minute strike stood as the decisive factor in the host’s victory. The defeat snapped the Current’s 17-match unbeaten streak, which is tied for the longest unbeaten run in franchise history.
“This was one of those games, and sometimes things like this will happen,” said head coach Vlatko Andonovski. “You’re going to dominate, you’re going to do everything well but you’re not going to score a goal and you’re going to get punished…I’m glad it happened now and not two games from now.”
Houston had a flurry of scoring opportunities in the first 15 minutes, but goalkeeper Lorena made a strong save at the near post to deny a shot from Houston forward Messiah Bright early on. Minutes later, the Brazilian netminder made a full extension dive to push away a shot from distance by Dash midfielder Sarah Puntigam.
Kansas City found its rhythm as the first half progressed and had perhaps its best chance of the opening frame in the 19th minute. The move began on the left wing when midfielder Claire Hutton played a pass for forward Bia Zaneratto in the attacking third. Zaneratto quickly dished the ball out to defender Izzy Rodriguez with a one-time feed, and Rodriguez curled a low ball back across the face of goal. Hutton met the cross at the near post and rolled a low shot that evaded the outstretched arm of Houston goalkeeper Jane Campbell, but the ball struck the inside of the post and ultimately stayed out of the net.
As the Current continued to press, defender Hailie Mace and forward Michelle Cooper uncorked shots from distance in the 36th and 37th minute, respectively, and Rodriguez fizzed a shot just high shortly after. In the 45th minute, Zaneratto nearly chipped Campbell from inside the penalty area, but Campbell recovered just in time to snare the effort. Kansas City closed the first half with 10 total shots, but the match remained scoreless heading into the break.
Houston ultimately broke through in the 69th minute. Forward Yazmeen Ryan started the goal-scoring move with a cross from the right wing that met Gareis at the back post. Gareis placed a one-timed strike into the top right corner to give the hosts the lead.
Kansas City immediately began pushing for a response. Defender Gabrielle Robinson had a headed effort blocked by Houston in the 74th minute before forward Haley Hopkins ripped a shot from distance four minutes later that Campbell denied. Zaneratto rolled a dangerous ball across the face of goal in the 88th minute, but that went wide. Forward Nichelle Prince lofted a cross into the box from the right wing in the second minute of second-half stoppage time that met midfielder Ally Sentnor, whose goal-bound strike was blocked by a Dash defender as Houston concluded the match with the one-goal victory.
Two milestones were achieved during the contest. In the 28th minute, Rodriguez became the fifth player in franchise history to reach 5,000 career regular season minutes for the club. Additionally, Debinha made her 50th career regular season start for the Current, the sixth player in club history to hit that mark.
The NWSL is off next weekend for the October FIFA international window. During the break, the United States Women’s National Team will play its first-ever match at CPKC Stadium in a friendly against New Zealand on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. CT. The match will broadcast on TNT, TruTV and HBO Max in English, on Universo and Peacock in Spanish and on the radio on Westwood One Sports and FDP Spanish Radio. Limited tickets are available for purchase HERE.
Kansas City returns to action on Sunday, Nov. 2, at CPKC Stadium against the San Diego Wave for the club’s final match of the 2025 NWSL regular season. The game will be the club’s annual Fan Appreciation Day. Times and broadcast information will be confirmed following Sunday’s matches. Limited tickets are available for purchase HERE.
NWSL Match Report
Match: Houston Dash vs. Kansas City Current
Date: October 18, 2025
Venue: Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, TX
Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. CT
Weather: 86 degrees, sunny
Attendance: 8,436
Discipline
NONE
Scoring
69’ Houston – Gareis (Ryan)
Scoring Summary
1 2 F
Houston 0 1 1
Kansas City 0 0 0
Houston Dash Lineup: Campbell ©, Berkley (90+4’ Lind), Nielsen, Patterson, Boattin (84’ Chapman (90+9’ Heilferty)), Sheehan, Van Zanten (66’ Gareis), Puntigam (84’ Alozie), Colaprico, Bright (66’ Bright), Ryan
Unused Substitutes: Larisey, Briede, Smith, Ricketts
Kansas City Current Lineup: Lorena, Mace, Sharples (84’ Pfeiffer), Robinson, I. Rodriguez, LaBonta © (84’ R. Rodríguez), Hutton (90+9’ Long), Debinha (66’ Sentnor), Cooper (66’ Hopkins), Zaneratto, Chawinga (29’ Prince)
Unused Substitutes: Ivory, Wheeler, Ball
