KANSAS CITY (Nov. 9, 2025) — The No. 1-seeded Kansas City Current (21-3-2, 65 pts.) saw its 2025 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) campaign come to a close Sunday afternoon at CPKC Stadium, falling 2-1 to No. 8 Gotham FC (9-8-9, 36 pts.) in the quarterfinals of the NWSL Playoffs, presented by Google Pixel. After the visitors took the lead in the second half, defender Ellie Wheeler sent the game to extra time with a long-range strike in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time, marking the latest game-tying regulation goal in NWSL playoff history. However, Gotham found the back of the net in the waning seconds of extra time to secure a semifinal berth.
The result brought Kansas City’s 2025 season to a close, one that saw the club win their first-ever NWSL Shield while setting several franchise and league records along the way. The Current set NWSL records for wins (21), points (65) and shutouts (16), among others, during the historic campaign.
“As much as we’re disappointed in the final result today, we’re not going to allow this result to define our season,” said head coach Vlatko Andonovski. “I think that our players, even today, can walk with their heads up. I think they did an incredible job throughout the whole season and I don’t want one shot or one missed opportunity or one cross to define who we are or, at the same time, to take away everything else that they did in these 27 games.”
Both sides generated scoring opportunities throughout the opening half and the first shot on target came in the 17th minute. After evading a Gotham defender, midfielder Ally Sentnor uncorked a strike from distance that was heading towards the top left corner, but Gotham goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger made a full-extension dive to keep the ball out of the net.
Current goalkeeper Lorena was called into action seven minutes late, snaring a shot from inside the penalty area by Gotham forward Gabi Portilho. In the 28th minute, Gotham forward Midge Purce weaved towards goal and fired a near-post strike, but Lorena made an incredible kick save to deny the opportunity. The ball went over the endline for a Gotham corner kick, but a dead ball resulted in a Current counterattack. Midfielder Debinha kickstarted the move near midfield, winning the loose ball and playing it through for forward Nichelle Prince. Prince raced ahead for a one-on-one opportunity with Berger, but Gotham’s goalkeeper stood tall to reject both Prince’s initial and follow-up effort.
Neither side could find a breakthrough as the match entered halftime in a scoreless deadlock. The end-to-end action continued into the second half, and the Current nearly went ahead in the 63rd minute when Prince broke away down the right wing and played an angled ball across the penalty area for Sentnor. Sentnor took a touch and fired a shot from the top of the penalty area, but her effort was blocked.
Gotham forward Jaedyn Shaw put the visitors ahead in the 68th minute. The forward latched on to a lofted through ball from defender Emily Sonnett and struck a driven effort past Lorena to open the scoring. Gotham’s one-goal advantage held up for over 30 minutes as the Current continued pressing for an equalizer.
In the sixth minute of second half stoppage time, a moment of brilliance from Wheeler sent the sellout crowd at CPKC Stadium into a frenzy. On a second-chance opportunity following a set piece, midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta dished the ball out wide to Wheeler on the right wing. Wheeler took a touch inside, bypassed a Gotham defender with a deft cut, and curled a left-footed strike from the edge of the 18-yard box past the outstretched arms of Berger and into the bottom left corner of the goal.
The goal marked the first of Wheeler’s postseason career, as well as LaBonta’s first career playoff assist. Wheeler’s goal was also the latest game-tying goal in regulation in NWSL playoff history.
Riding the momentum of Wheeler’s goal, Kansas City generated multiple scoring opportunities throughout extra time. LaBonta ripped a shot from distance in the 98th minute that Berger denied. In the 104th minute, forward Bia Zaneratto forced a diving save from Gotham’s netminder after a powerful shot from inside the box was pushed over the crossbar.
The visitors secured the victory in the final seconds of the second extra time period. Forward Katie Stengel steered home the game-winning goal on an assist from Shaw in the first minute of stoppage time, leaving Kansas City with little time to generate a late response.
In addition to new records in wins, points and shutouts, the Current earned a league-record 11 home victories, nine road victories and 18 multi-goal games. Kansas City set new NWSL records with nine consecutive shutouts and 869 consecutive shutout minutes and recorded a league-record eight shutouts at home.
NWSL Match Report
Match: Kansas City Current vs. Gotham FC
Date: November 9, 2025
Venue: CPKC Stadium, Kansas City, Mo.
Kickoff: 11:45 a.m. CT/12:45 p.m. ET
Weather: 33 degrees, partly sunny
Attendance: 11,500
Discipline
81’ Kansas City – Zaneratto (Yellow)
90+10’ Gotham – Sonnett (Yellow)
94’ Kansas City – Hopkins (Yellow)
120+2’ Gotham – Shaw (Yellow)
Scoring
68’ Gotham – Shaw (Sonnett)
90+6’ Kansas City – Wheeler (LaBonta)
120+1’ Gotham – Stengel (Shaw)
Scoring Summary
| 1 | 2 | ET | F | |
| Kansas City | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Gotham | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Kansas City Current Lineup: Lorena, Mace, Ball (72’ Wheeler), Sharples, I. Rodriguez, LaBonta ©, Hutton, Sentnor, Prince (68’ Hopkins), Zaneratto (114’ Feist), Debinha (85’ Pfeiffer)
Unused Substitutes: Ivory, Steigleder, R. Rodríguez, Long, Robinson
Gotham FC Lineup: Berger, Bruninha (103’ Hasbo), Reale, Shaw, Sonnett, Howell, Schupansky (90’ Duran), Lavelle ©, Portilho (90+4’ Stengel), Purce, Carter
Unused Substitutes: Hogan, Esther, Stevens, Cook, Freeman, Harper
