Match Report: Quick Start Sends Kansas City Current to 4-2 Win Over Racing Louisville

KANSAS CITY (June 14, 2025) — The Kansas City Current (10-2-0, 30 pts., 1st place) returned to CPKC Stadium for the first time in over a month to earn a 4-2 victory over Racing Louisville FC (5-5-2, 17 pts., 6th place) Saturday night. A Louisville own goal, forced by a dangerous cross from forward Michelle Cooper, opened the scoring in the second minute before Cooper herself found the back of the net 13 minutes later. Forward Bia Zaneratto capped the first-half scoring flurry with a goal in the 19th minute on a historic assist from midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo to give the Current a three-goal advantage. The visitors found the back of the net twice in the second half but forward Temwa Chawinga notched the dagger in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time with an incredible solo run.

With the victory in front of their 18th consecutive home sellout crowd in NWSL regular season play, the Current remains at the top of the league leaderboard and is the first club to reach 10 wins this season. Kansas City has now won five straight matches, tied for the second longest streak in club history.

"It is electric [at CPKC Stadium],” said head coach Vlatko Andonovski. “I’ve said this before, I’m sure on the sides or in the stands you can feel it, you can hear it, but it’s so much different being on the field. Obviously being on the sideline, I can feel it, I’m sure the players can feel it too. They play off of it. And it’s so cool because it is very motivating for the players, but it is also motivating them to repay the fans back with a good show, good play and lots of goals.”

A week after becoming the fifth player in league history to reach 200 regular season appearances, DiBernardo made more history with her 31st regular season assist. She now shares a piece of the NWSL regular season assist record with three other players, only one who is active.

Kansas City wasted little time pulling ahead. Cooper nearly found the back of the net in the opening seconds when she broke free from the Racing Louisville FC defense and fired a left-footed strike from distance. However, Louisville goalkeeper Jordyn Bloomer dove to deny the opportunity and keep the match level.

Cooper capitalized on her next attacking opportunity to put the Current ahead. The forward latched onto the ball on the right side of the Louisville penalty area and weaved through multiple defenders before lofting a perfectly weighted cross across the goal line. Facing her own net, a Louisville defender nodded the ball into the side netting to give Kansas City a 1-0 advantage. The goal came in the second minute, which marked the third fastest goal in club history.

In the fourth minute, Cooper and Chawinga nearly connected to double Kansas City’s lead, but the assistant referee deemed Cooper’s initial run offside and the goal was chalked off.  
 
Cooper doubled the home team’s lead in the 15th minute as her fourth goal of the 2025 regular season capped a Current counterattack. Defender Hailie Mace started the move in her own defensive third, launching a forward pass for Cooper who timed her run perfectly behind the Louisville defense. With space to push forward, Cooper found herself with a one-on-one opportunity with Bloomer and fired the ball into the bottom corner of the net as Kansas City took a 2-0 advantage.

The goal marked Cooper’s 10th of her 2025 NWSL regular season career, nine of which have come in the first half. Now with 10, Mace extended her own club record for regular season assists.  
 
The Current found their third goal of the first half in short order. After receiving the ball in the Louisville penalty area, Zaneratto sent a quick backheel pass to DiBernardo whose volley deflected off a Louisville defender. Finding herself with possession once again, DiBernardo connected with Zaneratto, and her one-touch finish rolled into the lower left corner for Kansas City's third unanswered goal.

The Current now has a league-best 20 goals in the first half, and 12 of those have come in the opening 25 minutes of play. The club has scored a league-best 46 first half goals since the beginning of the 2024 campaign.

The visitors began to find momentum and forced a key save from Current goalkeeper Lorena in the 40th minute. Forward Janine Sonis fired a strike from distance that took a deflection off a Kansas City defender, but Lorena made a one-handed save after a quick reaction. Lorena’s key stop helped the Current take a 3-0 advantage into the break, the club’s fourth 3-0 halftime lead of the 2025 season.

Louisville ultimately broke through in the 62nd minute after a few chances in the opening stages of the second half. Louisville defender Lauren Milliet fired a cross for Sonis at the near post, who steered it past Lorena and into the back of the net for a goal. The visitors then cut the Current’s advantage to 3-2 in the 87th minute: Seconds after a diving stop by Lorena, Louisville’s Uchenna Kanu headed in a goal to the far post.

A moment of individual brilliance from Chawinga deep into stoppage time gave the Current an insurance goal. Forward Haley Hopkins launched a ball forward for Chawinga, who outpaced a Louisville defender before ultimately winning the loose ball and breaking free for a clean look at goal. Chawinga drove in across the top of the box to round Bloomer and multiple defenders before sending the ball into the lower corner of an empty net.

Chawinga’s goal marked her eighth of the 2025 season, tied for the second-highest total in the league, and was her fifth consecutive match with a goal. Chawinga has been involved in at least one goal in 16 of her 18 NWSL regular season contests at CPKC Stadium, totaling 21 goal contributions (17 goals, four assists). The assist marked the first of Hopkins’ career with the Current.  
 
In front of an energetic crowd on the club’s annual Pride Night, presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, the Current capped its 25th match at CPKC Stadium across all competitions. Kansas City improved its record to 21-1-3 all-time at CPKC Stadium and remains the only team in the NWSL without a loss or draw at home this season.

The Current returns to CPKC Stadium when they host Angel City FC next Friday, June 20, at 7 p.m. CT. The match will broadcast on Prime Video and fans in Kansas City can listen on 90.9 The Bridge. Current fans can also 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: Kansas City Current vs. Racing Louisville FC  
Date: June 14, 2025  
Venue: CPKC Stadium, Kansas City, MO
Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. ET 
Weather: 86 degrees, sunny 
Attendance: 11,500

Discipline
35’ Kansas City – R. Rodríguez (Yellow) 
36’ Louisville – Petersen (Yellow)
60’ Louisville – Flint (Yellow)
82’ Kansas City – Feist (Yellow)

Scoring  
2’ Kansas City – Own Goal
15’ Kansas City – Cooper (Mace)
19’ Kansas City – Zaneratto (DiBernardo)
62’ Louisville – Sonis (Milliet)
89’ Louisville – Kanu (Sonis) 
90+5’ Kansas City – Chawinga (Hopkins)

Scoring Summary 

Kansas City Current Lineup: Lorena, Mace, Ball, Sharples, I. Rodriguez, R. Rodríguez, DiBernardo © (70’ Feist), Hutton, Cooper (70’ Hopkins), Zaneratto (89’ Wheeler), Chawinga 
Unused Substitutes: Ivory, Steigleder, Long, Lacho, Scott, Jereko

Racing Louisville FC Lineup: Bloomer, Milliet, Wright ©, Jean, Petersen (87’ Kanu), DeMelo, Sonis, O’Kane (60’ Borges), Flint, Weber, Sears (60’ Hase)
Unused Substitutes: Rocque, Pikkujamsa, DiGrande, Baron, Kalitta, Baggett