Match Preview: Kansas City Current start three-match road swing at Orlando Pride

KANSAS CITY (May 15, 2025) – A highly-anticipated rematch of the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) semifinals will take place between the Kansas City Current (6-2-0, 18 pts., 1st place) and the Orlando Pride (5-2-1, 15 pts., 2nd place) on Friday, May 16. The battle between the two teams at the top of the NWSL table is set to kick off at 7 p.m. CT (8 p.m. ET) at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Fla.

The contest will be broadcast on Prime Video with Mike Watts and Lori Lindsey on the call as well as on NWSL+ with Maura Sheridan and Jamie Kyle Watson calling the match. Jillian Carroll Letrinko and Dave Borchardt will have all the action on 90.9 The Bridge, and fans can tune in to hear the match in English, Spanish or Portuguese on the KC Current App.

TOP OF THE TABLE
Kansas City remains at the top of the NWSL table for the fourth week in a row with 18 points behind a 6-2-0 record. Prior to April 21, the last time the club was No. 1 was June 2024 at the end of Week 15, a spot it held for one week. The Current is 14-3-2 in its last 19 games across all competitions.

On April 19, the Current became the second team in NWSL history to win its first five matches of the season – and the only team to do so by 2+ goals in each contest. Kansas City remains the only team in the NWSL without a loss or a draw at home this year. May 11 marked the club’s 20th win at CPKC Stadium across all competitions.

GOALS GALORE
The Current has scored 18 goals across eight matches in 2025. Thirteen of those goals have been in the first half with seven of those coming in the opening 25 minutes. Kansas City has scored first in 11 of its last 12 regular season contests since Oct. 5, 2024. Since the start of the 2024 season, the Current have 16 regular season wins by 2+ goals, four more than any other team in that time. Most recently, the team’s 4-1 win over Bay FC on May 11 was the eighth time in the club’s last 10 regular season contest winning by a margin of two or more goals. In fact, it was the ninth time the club had scored 4+ goals across all competitions.

Entering Week Nine, eight players in the league have scored 4+ goals, including midfielder Debinha (5) and forward Temwa Chawinga (4). A pair of Kansas City forwards have also scored two of the three fastest goals in the NWSL year: Bia Zaneratto (3’ vs. Bay FC) and Chawinga (4’ vs. Portland).

NWSL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Midfielder Debinha was voted the NWSL Player of the Week for Week Eight, as announced by the league on May 13. The honor came after her brace against Bay FC on May 11 with goals in the 33rd and 38th minutes. It was the fourth brace of her NWSL regular season career. It marked her 51st and 52nd regular season career goals, which surpassed Megan Rapinoe for seventh all-time in the NWSL record book. Debinha’s NWSL Player of the Week award is the first such honor for the Current this season. She was also named to the NWSL Best XI of the Month in March and April. Her 15 career Best XI selections are a league record.

DEBINHA DOMINATION
Midfielder Debinha is tied for second in the Golden Boot race with five goals heading into Week Nine. She is one of eight players in the NWSL who has recorded at least one brace this year following her impressive performance on May 11. It was Debinha’s fourth career regular season brace, and second with Kansas City. Her goal in the 38th minute to make it a brace was her fourth direct free kick goal across all competitions, which ranks third all-time.

At San Diego on April 12, the Brazilian solidified her spot as the eighth player in NWSL history to notch 50 regular season career goals. She also became just the fifth player in NWSL history to hit the 50 goal-25 assist milestone, and the second active player to do so along with Lynn Biyendolo. Across all competitions, (regular season, playoffs, Challenge Cup, 2020 Fall Series, Summer Cup), Debinha currently ranks fourth among goal leaders in NWSL history with 76 goals.

With 52 goals and 25 assists on her resume, no other player has recorded more goal contributions in regular season NWSL play than Debinha since her league debut in 2017. She ranks third among active leading scorers in the NWSL regular season with 52, trailing only Biyendolo (69) and Ashley Hatch (57). Currently with 19, Debinha is one game-winning goal away from becoming the third player in league history to notch 20. Debinha is also two regular season appearances away from 150 and is on pace to become the first Brazilian to reach that milestone.

HISTORY ON THE HORIZON
After becoming the 12th player in NWSL history to reach 15,000 minutes played, more history is on the horizon for midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo. She is one assist away from sharing a piece of the NWSL regular season assist record. With 30, she is currently one behind Lynn Biyendolo, Sophia Huerta and Jess McDonald who co-own the record with 31. DiBernardo also owns the Kansas City Current club record for NWSL regular season assists with eight.

DiBernardo is also one shy of 400 regular season corner kicks. She will become the first player in NWSL regular season history to take 400 corner kicks as she surpassed Megan Rapinoe (retired, 389) in Week Six. A veteran of the league, DiBernardo is three games away from reaching 200 regular season appearances. She is on track to become the fifth player – and the second youngest player – in NWSL history to reach that milestone.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Kansas City defender Hailie Mace – Mace had two goal contributions in Kansas City’s dominant 4-1 victory over Bay FC on May 11 by dishing out a pair of assists. It was her second multi-assist game of her career, and she became just the second player in the NWSL to have two or more assists in a game this season. Mace has appeared in seven games and has earned a spot in the starting lineup in the last two. The defender logged all but two minutes across three meetings with the Orlando Pride a season ago, reaching 5,000 regular season career minutes during the matchup in July.

Orlando forward Barbra Banda – Banda leads the Pride with four goals and one assist, having logged all but one minute in Orlando’s eight games so far this season. She is one of eight NWSL players who have scored four or more goals this year, and she was voted the league’s Player of the Week during Week One after a brace in the Pride’s season opener against the Chicago Stars. Banda totaled two goals and an assist in three meetings with the Current during the 2024 campaign.

AVAILABILITY REPORT
OUT: Gabrielle Robinson (SEI – Knee), Alex Pfeiffer (SEI – Knee), Kristen Hamilton (Hip), Michelle Cooper (Lower Leg)
QUESTIONABLE: None
INTERNATIONAL DUTY: None 

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