Match Report: Kansas City Current Rides Strong Second Half to 2-0 Victory Over Racing Louisville FC

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (August 1, 2025) — The Kansas City Current (12-2-0, 36 pts., 1st place) began the second half of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) regular season on a strong note Friday night, defeating Racing Louisville FC (6-6-2, 20 pts., 7th place), 2-0, at Lynn Family Stadium. After a scoreless first half, forward Temwa Chawinga broke the deadlock in the 65th minute with her ninth goal of the year and 29th career regular season goal for the club. Seven minutes later, defender Elizabeth Ball headed home a free kick to double the Current’s advantage, marking Ball’s first goal of the season in her 100th career NWSL regular season appearance. Kansas City’s second-half scoring flurry proved enough to see out a shutout victory for goalkeeper Laurel Ivory.

Ivory, who made her NWSL regular season debut for the Current, faced five shots as Kansas City earned its league-leading seventh shutout victory of the 2025 season. Midfielder Debinha returned to action as a second-half sub and made her 150th career regular season appearance, becoming the 44th player in league history and first Brazilian to reach the milestone. The victory marked the Current’s seventh consecutive win as the club now holds an 11-point advantage atop the NWSL table.

"It was very important; I told the players after the game that I was very proud of them,” said head coach Vlatko Andonovski. “Because obviously we had this break, and it takes a little bit of time to pick up the pace when you have your first game on the road. But I thought that we picked up right where we left it and we came up with a big win away, and now we go back to Kansas City and get ready for the next one.”

The first half played out to a scoreless stalemate with both defenses taking control throughout the opening stanza. Kansas City recorded the first shot on target in the eighth minute when Chawinga fired an effort from distance that Louisville goalkeeper Jordyn Bloomer comfortably corralled. Five minutes later, Bloomer held a long-range effort from forward Bia Zaneratto.

In the final moments of the first half, Ivory was called into action with two crucial interventions in the same sequence. Racing forward Ella Hase drove down the left wing in the 45th minute and sent a threatening cross into the penalty area that required a full extension dive from Ivory. The ensuing loose ball fell to Louisville midfielder Katie O’Kane at the back post, who took a touch and fired a shot on goal. However, Ivory recovered well and raced back to the near post to meet the shot, punching it away to keep the match scoreless.

Midfielder Flora Marta Lacho had a shot blocked following a Current free kick in the third minute of first-half stoppage time, marking the final action of the first half.

Kansas City wasted little time trying to take the lead as the match resumed, with Lacho sending a strike just wide seconds into the second half. Moments later, midfielder Claire Hutton uncorked a shot from distance that sailed inches high. In the 52nd minute, forward Michelle Cooper played an angled diagonal ball across the Louisville penalty area for defender Izzy Rodriguez, but Rodriguez’s effort from the top of the 18-yard box was partially blocked by a Louisville defender.

The Current’s breakthrough finally came in the 65th minute following a well-worked team move. Ball began the sequence near midfield, curling a pass into the attacking third for Hutton who proceeded to poke the ball forward for Chawinga. Chawinga turned past a Louisville defender and found Lacho on the top of the Louisville penalty area, who held the ball up just long enough to allow for an overlapping run from Cooper. From the right side of the penalty area, Cooper fizzed a ball across the face of goal that Chawinga slammed into an empty net as Kansas City took a 1-0 lead.

Chawinga’s strike, which ultimately stood as the game-winning goal, marked her ninth of the 2025 regular season, sitting one behind Gotham FC forward Esther González in the Golden Boot race. She is now just one goal away from becoming the first Current player to score 30 NWSL regular season goals and would become just the 15th player to do so for a single club. Cooper provided her third assist of the season on the opening goal.  
 
Shortly after the Current opened the scoring, Debinha took the pitch for her first action in 77 days. The Brazilian quickly got involved by rolling a pass forward for Cooper in the 71st minute that Cooper took on frame, but Bloomer made a diving stop to keep the match at 1-0.

The Current doubled their lead two minutes later on a set piece opportunity. On a free kick from the right sideline, Rodriguez curled a perfectly weighted cross to the top of the six-yard box that found Ball in space. With her back to goal, Ball deftly redirected the header past Bloomer to give Kansas City a 2-0 lead that would stand as the final score.

The goal was Ball’s first of the 2025 regular season and the third regular season goal of her career, the last which came on May 25, 2024. She also became the 115th player in NWSL history to reach the century mark for regular season appearances. Rodriguez earned her fourth assist of the season, which is tied for second in league standings. She is now tied with defender Hailie Mace for the club record with nine regular season assists.

Another milestone was achieved Friday night as Debinha became the 44th player all-time to reach 150 appearances, and the first Brazilian to do so. Debinha also hit 50 regular season appearances for the club, the ninth Kansas City player to do so.

The visitors saw the match out to earn the 2-0 victory as the final whistle blew, marking the club’s 16th victory in its last 18 regular season matches. The Current now has 12 regular season wins following Friday night’s result and sits just four wins shy of equaling the franchise record for regular season victories.

Kansas City returns to action on Aug. 8 when the team visits the Utah Royals. Next Friday’s match kicks off at 9 p.m. CT (8 p.m. MT) from America First Field in Sandy, Utah, and will broadcast nationally on Prime Video. Fans in Kansas City can listen to the action on 90.9 The Bridge or tune in on the KC Current App to listen to the match in English, Spanish or Portuguese.

Limited single-match tickets for 2025 regular season home matches are now on sale to the general public. The best way to ensure you won’t miss a second of the action at CPKC Stadium is by joining the Current Club, the Current’s trailblazing fan membership experience. Focused on ensuring fans continue to be able to access exclusive opportunities, members can unlock special benefits like priority access to single match tickets, members-only gifts and discounts, access to live and virtual events, exclusive content and more. 2025 Season Ticket Member Account Holders are already enrolled in Current Club at no additional cost. Click  HERE for more information about the Current Club.

NWSL Match Report  
Match: Racing Louisville FC vs. Kansas City Current  
Date: August 1, 2025  
Venue: Lynn Family Stadium, Louisville, KY
Kickoff: 8:10 p.m. CT/7:10 p.m. CT 
Weather: 76 degrees, sunny 
Attendance: 8,113

Discipline  
57’ Louisville – Fischer (Yellow)
83’ Louisville – Hase (Yellow)
90+3’ Kansas City – Hopkins (Yellow) 

Scoring  
65’ Kansas City – Chawinga (Cooper)
72’ Kansas City – Ball (I. Rodriguez)

Scoring Summary

Racing Louisville FC Lineup: Bloomer, Wright ©, Jean, Petersen, Hase (87’ Kanu), DeMelo, Sonis, O’Kane (80’ DiGrande), Flint, Fischer (58’ Weber), Sears 
Unused Substitutes: Roque, Baggett, Kalitta, White, Balcer

Kansas City Current Lineup: Ivory, Mace, Ball, Sharples, I. Rodriguez, LaBonta ©, Hutton (80’ R. Rodríguez), Lacho (66’ Debinha), Cooper (80’ Long), Zaneratto (80’ Hopkins), Chawinga (87’ Prince)
Unused Substitutes: Gordon, Steigleder, Wheeler, Feist