the Kansas City Current officially became the first NWSL team to secure their spot in the 2025 NWS Playoffs following a 2-0 win against North Carolina Courage
Kansas City Current
On Saturday night, the Kansas City Current officially became the first NWSL team to secure their spot in the 2025 NWS Playoffs. With a 2-0 win against the North Carolina Courage, this officially marks their third playoff appearance.
“We’re playing in a good form, we’re winning games in different ways,” said Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski. “Our goal is to come out as a group and to be the best that we possibly can be in every game we play. We’ve operated like that for a year and a half and we’re only focused on being the best we can be in this game.”
Current secure sixth consecutive shutout
The win against the Courage marked Kansas City’s sixth consecutive shutout, which ties the league record. The Current reached the benchmark with 46 points, which also equalizes the Orlando Pride, who were the first team to reach the milestone last year.
The Current finally found a breakthrough in the 31’ minute as they pressured the Courage through several set piece plays. From outside the box, Izzy Rodriguez launched the ball to the net where it soared past the defense to give them a 1-0 lead.
Although the Current continued to create chances in the box through their top goal scorer Temwa Chawinga, Kansas City was ultimately issued with a penalty kick in the 41’ minute. From the top of the spot stood none other than Lo’eau Labonta, who is tied third for all-time in NWSL history for converted penalties.
At the top of the spot, Labonta swiftly used a right-footed ball to sweep past Courage goalkeeper Casey Murphy and ultimately doubled the lead 2-0 for the Current.
“The job’s not finished”
The Current are No. 1 in NWSL standings for the most goals scored with 36 in the NWSL regular season. Overall, Chawinga sits at the No. 2 spot of goal scorers from across the league with 11.
“We’re excited but the job’s not finished,” said Claire Hutton. “We have a lot to do, I think we have eight games left in the league and we want to finish out, winning every single game. Whether we’re at home or away and we’re here to win a championship we’re not here just to win the league, we’re not here just to make playoffs, we’re making a difference this year.”
Kansas City has eight more games in the 2025 NWSL regular season and currently hold a 15-1-2 (wins, draws, losses) record.
Kansas City Current
The Current locked in their first playoff spot in 2022 where they went on to play in the 2022 NWSL Championship and fell 2-0 to the Portland Thorns. The club also secured the fourth seed in the 2024 NWSL Playoffs and after a win against the Courage at CPKC Stadium, they eventually fell in the semifinals to the Orlando Pride, who are the reigning champions.
Kansas City has eight more games in the 2025 NWSL regular season and currently hold a 15-1-2 (wins, draws, losses) record.
The next match up for Kansas City will be Bay FC as they take on their opponents at PayPal Park in San Jose, CA on Saturday, September 6 at 7pm PT/10pm ET.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackiegutierrez/2025/08/30/kansas-city-current-mark-first-nwsl-team-to-clinch-spot-in-playoffs/
