September 7, 2024 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL)
Kansas City Current News Release
KANSAS CITY – The Kansas City Current (11-3-5, 38pts., 3rd place) returned to winning ways in front of an electric home crowd at CPKC Stadium Saturday night, downing the Utah Royals (4-12-3, 15pts., 13th place) 1-0. Forward Temwa Chawinga recorded the game-winning goal in the 47th minute, marking her league-record eighth consecutive NWSL match with a goal, as the Current secured a regular season sweep over the Royals. In net, goalkeeper Almuth Schult kept her first clean sheet as a member of the Current with an array of vital stops.
“We talked a lot about not getting scored on,” said head coach Vlatko Andonovski. “As much as we want more goals, we talked about winning games 1-0 because it does build character, builds a little stamina, cohesiveness, mindset and everything. Now, we know it’s a good moment, a good growth opportunity and I’m glad that we were able to secure a win.”
Utah, who entered Saturday’s contest with a four-match winning streak across all competitions, had plenty of dangerous scoring opportunities throughout the first half. The visitors recorded the first shot on target of the match in the 12th minute with a shot from forward Mina Tanaka that Schult snared.
The Current recorded some early chances of its own. Chawinga fired a shot just wide of goal in the sixth minute, and midfielder Debinha ripped a shot from distance in the 13th minute that just sailed high of goal.
In the 20th minute, Schult was called into action again. Utah forward Paige Monaghan dashed down the left side of the Current’s defense and slid a diagonal cross to the penalty spot. Tanaka had a clean look at goal, but Schult made a sprawling save to deny the close-range effort. The ball found its way to Royals forward Cloé Lacasse at the back post, but Schult stood tall with a kick save to keep the match level.
Schult made another crucial stop in the 40th minute. From the end line, Monaghan rolled a cross to a wide-open Lacasse at the back post. Lacasse’s slow-moving shot allowed Schult to scramble across her line to stop the effort just before it crossed the goal line.
The Current nearly went ahead before the first half ended. Utah goalkeeper Mandy Haught made a pair of saves to deny shots inside the penalty area from Chawinga and Debinha, respectively, in the 44th minute that helped keep the match level. Despite 15 combined shots in the opening frame, the match entered halftime…