Match Preview: No. 1 Kansas City Current Begins 2025 NWSL Playoffs, Pres. by Google Pixel, At Home Against No. 8 Gotham FC

KANSAS CITY (Nov. 8, 2025) – The 2025 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Playoffs, presented by Google Pixel, have officially arrived, which means it’s Teal Time in Kansas City. The Kansas City Current (21-3-2, 65 pts., 1st place), which earned the No. 1 seed after winning its first-ever NWSL Shield, will host No. 8 Gotham FC (9-8-8, 36 pts., 8th place) on Sunday, Nov. 9. Kickoff for the second home postseason match in both Current and CPKC Stadium history is set for 11:30 a.m. CT.

Limited playoff tickets are still available for purchase HERE. Parking passes can be purchased HERE or by calling 913-374-0233.

The match will broadcast nationally on ABC with Jenn Hildreth and Lianne Sanderson on the call, as well as on the World Feed with JP Dellacamera and Merritt Mathias. 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.

TEAL TIME
The Kansas City Current is celebrating the next iteration of its Teal Time campaign, reminding both Kansas City and the world that playoff time is Teal Time. Throughout the duration of the Current’s postseason run, fans can look forward to a Teal Mobile Tour, unique giveaways and activations and the launch of the Kansas City Current’s own newspaper: The Teal Times. The first edition of The Teal Times was delivered with the Kansas City Star on Nov. 2 with subsequent issues set to release each Monday ahead of Current playoff matches at four newsstands throughout the KC Metro. More information about the Current’s Teal Time campaign can be found HERE.

KANSAS CITY IN THE NWSL PLAYOFFS
Kansas City will be making its third playoff appearance in franchise history, having now done so in back-to-back seasons with head coach Vlatko Andonovski at the helm. The team locked in the fourth seed in the 2024 NWSL Playoffs and hosted North Carolina in the first home playoff match in both Current and CPKC Stadium history on Nov. 9, 2024, resulting in a 1-0 win over the fifth-seeded Courage. Kansas City’s 2024 season ended with a narrow 3-2 defeat in the semifinals vs. the top-ranked Orlando Pride.

The club’s first postseason berth was in 2022 as the fifth seed with its inaugural playoff victory coming on Oct. 16, 2022, after a 2-1 win over the No. 4 Houston Dash in the quarterfinals. The Current took down top-seed OL Reign (now known as Seattle Reign FC) in the semifinal to book a spot in the championship match where they ultimately concluded their historic season with a 2-0 loss to No. 2 Portland Thorns.

CURRENT VS. GOTHAM 
With an unblemished record of 6-0-5 across all competitions, Kansas City remains unbeaten in the all-time series with Gotham FC. The only longer unbeaten run from the beginning of a rivalry in NWSL play was Chicago’s 15 straight victories over Gotham FC, then known as Sky Blue, from 2013-18. Sunday will be the first time the Current and Gotham will meet in the NWSL Playoffs. The only non-regular season matchup between the two sides was a 2-0 win for Kansas City in the 2024 NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup Championship in San Antonio, Texas.

The most recent meeting between the two clubs was on Oct. 11 at CPKC Stadium which saw the Current run away with a 2-0 shutout. The win marked the Current’s 20th regular season win of the year and brought the team’s point total to 62, the first team in NWSL history to reach either milestone. Kansas City later extended those records to 21 wins and 65 points. Forward Bia Zaneratto opened the scoring in the 34th minute with an assist from defender Izzy Rodriguez. Zaneratto then assisted forward Temwa Chawinga’s league-leading 15th goal in the 51st minute.

GOLDEN GIRL
For the second year in a row – and in both years she has played in the NWSL – forward Temwa Chawinga is golden. Chawinga won the 2025 NWSL Golden Boot, awarded annually to the highest goal scorer during the regular season. She finished with 15 goals and three assists across her 23 regular season appearances. The Malawi native also claimed the Golden Boot in 2024 during her first season in the NWSL. Chawinga is now the second player in the league’s 13-year history to win the award multiple times, joining Sam Kerr who won it in three consecutive seasons from 2017-19.

A year after her record-breaking debut NWSL season, Chawinga continued to rewrite the history books in 2025. She became the fastest player to score 25 regular season goals, doing so in six fewer matches than anyone else in what was her 34th appearance. She then needed just 40 games to score 30 regular season goals – 11 fewer than any other player in. She became the first player in NWSL history to score in each of her first four regular season matches against two different clubs, and she is the first in the league to have ever scored in seven consecutive regular season road matches.

RECORD BREAKERS
The KC Current set several NWSL records during the regular season, including:

• Points (65) 
• Wins (21) 
• Consecutive wins (9) 
• Home wins (11) 
• Road wins (9) 
• Shutouts (16) 
• Consecutive shutouts (9) 
• Consecutive shutout minutes (869) 
• Shutouts at home (8) 
• Multi-goal games (18) 
• Multi-goal wins (15) 
• Fewest goals conceded (13) 
• Fewest minutes trailing (109)

SHE IZ ONE OF THE BEST
Defender Izzy Rodriguez landed on the season’s final NWSL Best XI of the Month, receiving the recognition for her impressive performances during October and November. This marks the third time this year, and fourth time in her career, Rodriguez has earned Best XI of the Month praise. She also collected the monthly award in May and August. Kansas City garnered a league-leading 19 Best XI selections this year, the most by any club over a full regular season in NWSL history.

A staple on the Current’s stalwart back line, Rodriguez helped anchor a defensive unit which conceded a league-record 13 goals during the entire regular season. She dished out her league-leading sixth assist against Gotham FC on Oct. 11 to equal the club single-season record for regular season assists. Rodriguez also tied the franchise record for career regular season assists with 11. That game against Gotham was also her 50th career regular season start for Kansas City, the fifth player to hit that milestone for the club.

CELLY QUEEN IS HERE TO STAY
Midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta, who has been part of the club since its inception in 2021, signed a three-year contract extension to keep her in Kansas City through the 2028 season. A dynamic midfielder and captain for the Current, LaBonta was initially drafted by Sky Blue FC in 2015 out of Stanford University and later played for FC Kansas City and the Utah Royals before returning to Kansas City in 2021. With 180, she is one of 48 players in NWSL history with over 150 regular season appearances and became the 26th player to ever make 150 career regular season starts. She has also logged over 13,000 regular season minutes.

LaBonta, known for her leadership and goal celebrations, has over 120 appearances for the KC Current with more than 10,000 minutes across all competitions. She has recorded 21 goals and seven assists in the regular season with the Current. LaBonta solidified herself as the league’s all-time great from the penalty spot on Sept. 26 when she converted her 14th career regular season penalty kick. That moved her up to be tied with Megan Rapinoe for first in NWSL history for most regular season PKs.

DEBINHA DOMINATION
On Nov. 2, midfielder Debinha closed out the historic regular season with a bang by scoring the equalizer in the 54th minute to kickstart the comeback win. It was her 20th regular season goal scored for the Current, becoming the 32nd player in NWSL history with 20 for the same club. It was her 55th career regular season goal, moving her to sole possession of No. 6 all-time in league history. She now has 79 goals across all competitions which moves her to be tied for second all-time. She has now scored eight or more goals in five of her eight NWSL regular seasons.

Debinha has scored four career goals in the NWSL Playoffs, with only Amy Rodriguez (6) and Crystal Dunn (5) having more in the postseason. Debinha has totaled 12 career goal contributions against Gotham FC behind nine goals and three assists across all competitions. She is 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 was recently named one of 26 finalists for the 2025 FIFPRO Women’s World 11.

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. It was the first time in franchise history the Current won the Shield, which is awarded to the club with the best record during the regular season. Kansas City became the fastest club to win the Shield in NWSL history, doing so with five regular season games left. 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, added the NWSL Shield to his decorated resume for the first time in his career.

PLAYERS TO WATCH 
Kansas City forward Haley Hopkins – Hopkins dished out the game-winning assist to fellow forward Nichelle Prince in the Current’s come-from-behind win on Nov. 2. That was her third assist of the 2025 regular season, and her second in her last three appearances. Her first goal for Kansas City was on April 26 against her former club, North Carolina. During the NWSL break, Hopkins was named MVP of the inaugural Teal Rising Cup for bagging a brace against Palmeiras on July 12. She has appeared in 20 regular season games this year with three starts and is the Current’s most-used game changer off the bench.

Gotham midfielder Rose Lavelle – With five goals and two assists, Lavelle has contributed to seven goals in her last nine games. That equals Paige Monaghan for the most goal contributions in the NWSL over the final nine matchdays of a regular season. Lavelle has also contributed to a goal in three of her last four playoff appearances, with two goals and one assist. During the most recent international call-up, Lavelle captained the USWNT on Oct. 29 against New Zealand, which was played at CPKC Stadium, and scored in the 44th minute. She also scored 33 seconds into a match vs. Portugal on Oct. 23, the seventh fastest goal in USWNT history.

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