June 28, 2024 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL)
Kansas City Current News Release
KANSAS CITY – The Kansas City Current (10-0-5, 35 pts., 1st place) made NWSL history on Friday night in front of the eighth consecutive sellout crowd at CPKC Stadium, downing the Houston Dash (3-7-5, 14 pts., 12th place) 2-0 behind a brace from forward Temwa Chawinga. Friday’s victory extended the Current’s winning streak, which dates to the end of the 2023 season, to a league-record 17 matches. The Current were held off the scoresheet until the 77th minute, but Chawinga helped propel the club to victory with two goals in three minutes.
The two scores marked Chawinga’s third brace of the season as she upped her goal total for the 2024 campaign to 11. Chawinga’s tally is not only the highest total in the NWSL, but also the club record for goals in a single season.
“I’m very happy with how the team performed tonight. You can’t be successful if you think you’re going to score five goals every game, you can’t be successful if you don’t win 1-0, if you don’t score in the first couple of minutes. All these little things are part of the process of building a successful team,” said head coach Vlatko Andonovski. “I’m very happy that the team didn’t give up.”
Chawinga’s third shot in the 26th minute provided the first historical moment of the match. While her half-volleyed effort from inside the Dash penalty area sailed just high of Houston goalkeeper Jane Campbell’s net, Chawinga’s shot did find the nearby Missouri River. The shot became the first in stadium history to reach the river, but stadium personnel overcame the river’s strong current to retrieve the monumental strike.
Kansas City continued to push as the first half progressed. Debinha had a pair of headers sail high in first half stoppage time, and a weaving Chawinga effort met the gloves of Campbell in the four minutes into first half stoppage time. In total, Kansas City had 17 first-half shots while Campbell made six saves as the match entered halftime scoreless.
In the 61st minute, a long-range effort from midfielder Claire Hutton fell to Chawinga in the Houston penalty area. After evading multiple defenders, Chawinga’s off-balanced strike deflected off a teammate and rolled just wide of goal. Minutes later, a corner kick from Rodriguez nearly pinballed into the back of the net. In the 69th minute, the Current nearly executed a perfect counterattack for the game’s opening goal. Chawinga collected a loose ball…