Match Preview: Kansas City Current Wraps Up Regular Season at Home Against San Diego Wave

KANSAS CITY (Nov. 1, 2025) – The final regular season match of what has been the most decorated season in club history thus far takes place Sunday, Nov. 2, when the Kansas City Current (20-3-2, 1st place, 62 pts.) hosts the San Diego Wave (10-8-7, 5th place, 37 pts) for Week 26 of National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) action. The NWSL Decision Day contest kicks off at 2 p.m. CT at CPKC Stadium. The game will serve as Fan Appreciation Day and limited tickets are available for purchase HERE.

The match will broadcast nationally on ESPN with Jordan Angeli and Mark Donaldson on the call as well as on the World Feed with Jessica Charman and Gary Bailey. Fans in Kansas City can tune in to 90.9 The Bridge to hear Jillian Carroll Letrinko and Dave Borchardt call the action and the KC Current App will also have an audio stream of the match in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

HONORING HAMMY
Kansas City Current forward Kristen Hamilton has announced her retirement from professional soccer, capping off a remarkable career which has included three NWSL championships and four NWSL Shields. Hamilton, who has been with Kansas City since its inaugural season in 2021, will hang up her boots at the conclusion of the 2025 campaign. The Current will celebrate Hamilton’s illustrious career on Nov. 2 at CPKC Stadium during a post-match ceremony.

A decorated veteran of the league, Hamilton has logged over 10,200 career minutes across all competitions, including 5,344 with the Current. She has 41 career goals and 14 assists in 184 appearances across all competitions. Twenty-six goals and 12 assists have been recorded in her 147 career regular season appearances, highlighted by 10 goals and two assists in 53 regular season games for Kansas City. Hamilton is one of four players in NWSL history who have been on four Shield-winning teams and she ranks second all-time with eight total NWSL trophies. She was also the first of only two players in league history to have played in five NWSL championship finals.

WATER WAR
Sunday will be the eighth edition of the “Water War” between the Current and the Wave with Kansas City leading the series at 5-1-1. Kansas City has won the last four meetings with San Diego and is 2-1 at home. The Wave is one of seven teams the Current has an active regular season winning streak of three or more matches against along with Angel City FC, Bay FC, Chicago Stars, Racing Louisville FC, Portland Thorns and Utah Royals FC.

The last meeting between the two sides was a 2-0 Current win in San Diego on April 12 for the club’s first-ever shutout over the Wave. Midfielder Debinha scored her 50th career regular season goal in the 16th minute off an assist from defender Izzy Rodriguez before midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta converted her penalty kick nine minutes later.

TOP-RANKED JUNIOR  
Midfielder Claire Hutton was recently ranked No. 1 on ESPN’s list of top Under-19 players in the NWSL. As stated in the article, “Hutton is a brave, two-way midfielder who can protect the back line with crunching tackles and spark the attack with progressive passes. Get ready to see her at the 2027 World Cup and beyond for the USWNT.” At 19 years old, Hutton is in her second year as a professional and has played in all but one regular season matches this year. She currently ranks sixth on the team with 1,739 minutes and leads the roster with 41 tackles won, having also dished out a pair of assists. She was one of three teenagers called up by the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) for the latest FIFA international window, and the only teen to appear in all three matches.

DEBINHA DOMINATION
Midfielder Debinha was named to the short list for the 2025 FIFPRO Women’s World 11, the only global football award decided exclusive by professional footballers. She is one of 26 women’s finalists who received the most votes from their peers for their performances from Aug. 11, 2024, to Aug. 3, 2025, with a minimum of 20 matches played. In that time period, Debinha has amassed nine goals and five assists for the Kansas City Current. She became one of four players in NWSL history to be on four Shield-winning teams, and she ranks second all-time with eight NWSL trophies. The Brazilian is tied for third among all goal scorers across all competititons in NWSL history with 78 goals. The final World 11 list will be announced on Monday, Nov. 3.

TOP OF THE TABLE 
The Current remains at the top of the NWSL table for the 21st week in a row with 62 points and a 20-3-2 record. The club’s 19th win of the regular season on Oct. 6 set a new NWSL record, snapping the previous mark of 18 from Orlando and Washington in 2024. Kansas City then became the first team to reach the 20-win threshold on Oct. 11. The win over Gotham FC on Oct. 11 also brought the Current’s point total up to 62 in the NWSL standings, officially breaking the Orlando Pride’s record of 60 from 2024 for most points in a single regular season. Kansas City is averaging 2.48 points per match through Week 25 and is on track to eclipse North Carolina’s NWSL record for most points per match in a regular season of 2.38 set in 2018. The Current also checked in at No. 5 in the latest Opta Power Rankings from Oct. 30 with a score of 92.2. The next closest NWSL team, Gotham, was ranked 10th with a score of 87.6.

DYNAMITE DEFENSE
Kansas City has conceded just 12 goals with one regular season match left to play. No team in NWSL history has allowed fewer than 17 goals over a full year, regardless of season length. The Current has allowed 0.48 goals per game through Week 25. The only other team that is conceding less than one goal per game on average is Gotham FC, which has given up 0.88 goals per game. Kansas City’s stalwart defense is anchored by Brazilian netminder Lorena, whose 14th clean sheet on Oct. 11 broke Orlando’s Anna Moorhouse’s NWSL record of 13 for most goalkeeper shutouts in a single regular season. Lorena’s 14 clean sheets not only extend her own single-season franchise record but set a new club mark for regular season career shutouts. The previous career mark was set over four years, and Lorena’s in her first season with the Current.

INTERNATIONAL ROUNDUP
Several KC Current players were busy during the October FIFA international window. Forward Nichelle Prince subbed in during the 76th minute in Canada’s 1-0 loss to Switzerland on Oct. 24 and played the last 25 minutes in a 1-0 defeat to the Netherlands four days later. Forward Bia Zaneratto scored the opening goal in the ninth minute before dishing out the game-winning assist nine minutes later during Brazil’s 2-1 win vs. England on Oct. 25 before goalkeeper Lorena secured a 1-0 shutout over Italy on Oct. 28. Lorena started both matches in net and made a combined seven saves while Zaneratto started the first contest and subbed in during the second.

Four Current players represented the U.S. Women’s National Team during the break. In a 2-1 loss to Portugal on Oct. 23, forward Michelle Cooper started and logged 69 minutes while midfielder Claire Hutton subbed in during the second half. The Stars and Stripes responded on Oct. 26 with a 3-1 win over Portugal. Forward/midfielder Ally Sentnor registered her third career assist in the 82nd minute and played a full match as Hutton joined the starting lineup and logged 77 minutes. The first-ever USWNT match at CPKC Stadium took place Oct. 29 vs. New Zealand for a 6-0 U.S. win which saw Cooper and Hutton in the Starting XI logging 67 and 46 minutes, respectively. Cooper served up a pair of assists and midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta entered the match for the final 23 minutes.

Additionally, a trio of young KC Current players in forwards Mary Long and Alex Pfeiffer along with defender Katie Scott participated in a U.S. Under-20 National Team training camp during the international break. The training camp was held in Kansas City at The University of Kansas Health System Training Center, the Current’s training site.

2025 NWSL SHIELD WINNERS
The KC Current made history on Sept. 20 by winning the 2025 NWSL Shield, presented by CarMax, following its 2-0 win over Seattle Reign FC at CPKC Stadium. This is the first time in franchise history the Current has won the Shield, which is awarded to the club with the best record during the regular season. The Current has remained at the top of the table since Week 6, and now no other team can surpass Kansas City in the league standings.

Kansas City became the fastest club to win the Shield in NWSL history, doing so with five regular season games left in the 2025 campaign. The previous record for fastest to clinch was with four matches remaining done by Seattle in 2014, North Carolina in 2018 and Portland in 2021. The Current is the seventh different Shield winner in the league’s 13-year history. Head coach Vlatko Andonovski, who has won two NWSL championships and has twice been named the NWSL Coach of the Year, has now added the NWSL Shield to his decorated resume for the first time in his career.

AVAILABILITY REPORT
OUT: Alana Cook (SEI-Knee), Clare Gagne (SEI-Head), Kristen Hamilton (Hip), Vanessa DiBernardo (Maternity Leave), Temwa Chawinga (Hip)
QUESTIONABLE: None
INTERNATIONAL DUTY: None

PLAYERS TO WATCH 
Kansas City defender Izzy Rodriguez – Rodriguez is tied for the league lead with six assists on the year. Her next regular season assist would set a new club single season record with seven and a new club record for career assists with 12. She is the only player on the roster who has appeared in all 25 matches and, if she plays Sunday, could become the first Kansas City Current player to ever play 26 matches in a season. Rodriguez, who scored her first goal of the year in Week 18, also leads the Current with 25 successful open play crosses and 54 corners. Her 1,986 minutes is third on the squad.

San Diego forward Delphine Cascarino – Cascarino paces San Diego with 11 goal contributions behind a team-leading five goals and six assists, the latter which is tied for first in the NWSL and set a new club record. She has had a goal contribution in three straight matches for the second time this season, equaling the longest single season streak in Wave history. She is the only San Diego player to contribute a goal in four consecutive regular season matches overall, doing so spanning the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Cascarino has started 22 of her 23 matches this season and ranks fifth on the roster with 1,896 minutes.

FAN APPRECIATION MATCH  
As the 2025 regular season draws to a close, the Current will celebrate the best fans in the NWSL during Fan Appreciation Day on Nov. 2 with special merchandise opportunities and giveaways. Upon entry, the first 5,000 fans in attendance will receive a signature Temwa Chawinga bobblehead presented of H&R Block. Additionally, Nuuly will be giving away branded items and have a photobooth available prior to kickoff. Nuuly has also independently partnered with Pitchside Coffee to create a special drink for the match.

2025 NWSL PLAYOFF TICKETS
Having now clinched the Shield, the Current will enter the 2025 NWSL Playoffs, presented by Google Pixel, as the No. 1 overall seed. Kansas City will host a guaranteed quarterfinal match against the No. 8 seed in addition to a home semifinal match if the team advances. The NWSL quarterfinal game will be held the weekend of Nov. 7-9 with a potential semifinal game the weekend of Nov. 14-16 at CPKC Stadium.

Playoff tickets are available for purchase HERE. Parking passes can be purchased HERE or by calling 913-374-0233. The NWSL regular season concludes Sunday, Nov. 2, and times and dates for playoff matches will be finalized after the last matchday.