PAWTUCKET, R.I. (July 25, 2026) — The Kansas City Current (8-7-1, 25 pts., 6th place) were unable to match a first-half goal by Boston Legacy FC (5-8-4, 19 pts., 12th place) forward Aïssata Traoré Saturday evening at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, R.I., resulting in a 1-0 victory for the hosts. Traoré’s goal came in the 18th minute and held for the duration of the contest despite several scoring opportunities from the Current throughout the remainder of the match.
Midfielders Debinha and Vanessa DiBernardo both reached milestones in Saturday’s contest. In the fifth minute, Debinha hit 5,000 regular season minutes played for the club, becoming the seventh player in franchise history to reach that mark. DiBernardo, who entered the contest as a second-half substitute, became the 13th player in Current history to appear in 50 career regular season matches for the club.
“There are a lot of controllables that we think we can do a little bit better,” said head coach Chris Armas. “But this team responds like champions and winners. We have a good work ethic, we have a process and we have a way of doing things. It’s going to be right back to work.”
Ninety seconds into the match, a well-worked Current corner saw forward Haley Hopkins head a cross from midfielder Croix Bethune which ultimately struck the crossbar and was cleared aware. Five minutes later, another opportunity came when Bethune forced a turnover and took a goal-bound shot that was deflected by a Boston defender.
The hosts took the lead with a goal from Traorë in the 18th minute, who capitalized on a loose ball near the top of the penalty area and sent a low strike into the bottom left corner. Kansas City immediately went to work pushing for an equalizer, but Boston goalkeeper Casey Murphy made a key save three minutes after Boston’s goal to quell a one-on-one opportunity with Hopkins.
Bethune generated another quality look in first half stoppage time, but her curled effort was saved by Murphy before Debinha’s follow-up effort sailed high. The sequence marked the last action of the first half as the Legacy took their one-goal advantage into halftime.
The Current continued to press as the second half progressed — and Boston was reduced to 10 players in second half stoppage time due to a direct red card issued to Ella Stevens — but Kansas City could not find an equalizer.
Kansas City returns to CPKC Stadium next week with a pair of home matches, the first of which comes Wednesday, July 29, against Racing Louisville FC at 7 p.m. CT. The midweek match will broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network, and fans in Kansas City can catch Kylen Mills and Jordan Angeli call the action on The Spot – Kansas City 38 with a pregame show, KC Current Matchday, beginning at 6:30 p.m. CT. Dave Borchardt and Doug McLagan will be over the air on 90.9 The Bridge, and the game will be available on the KC Current App in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
The Current will celebrate Soccer at Schools Night, presented by Bank of America, during Wednesday’s match. The club will also honor Kansas City’s Black history, artistic expression and culture throughout Celebrating Black Culture at CPKC Stadium. Tickets to the match can be purchased HERE. Kansas City then remains home next Saturday with a match against Angel City FC on Aug. 1 at 5:30 p.m. CT.
NWSL Match Report
Match: Boston Legacy FC vs. Kansas City Current
Date: July 25, 2026
Venue: Centreville Bank Stadium, Pawtucket, R.I.
Kickoff: 4:03 PM CT (5:03 PM ET)
Weather: 79 degrees, sunny
Attendance: 8,939
Discipline
45+2’ Boston – Olivieri (Yellow)
82’ Kansas City – LaBonta (Yellow)
90+4’ Boston – Stevens (Red)
Scoring
18’ Boston – Traoré
Scoring Summary
1 2 F
Boston 1 0 1
Kansas City 0 0 0
Boston Legacy FC Lineup: Murphy, Reale, Elgin (67’ Hernández), Carabali, St-Georges, Karish, Caño, Olivieri, Smith (85’ Gambone), Prince © (85’ Allen), Traoré (67’ Stevens)
Unused Substitutes: Stambaugh, Ivory, Ansbrow, Davis, Hasbo
Kansas City Current Lineup: Jordan, I. Rodriguez, Sharples, Robinson, Rouse, R. Rodríguez (71’ White), LaBonta ©, Bethune, Paul (46’ DiBernardo), Hopkins, Debinha (71’ Hocking)
Unused Substitutes: Williams-Mosier, Brewer, Ball, Feist, Scott, Suliafu
