Temwa Chawinga scores (in 3 minutes) to lead Kansas City Current to season-opening win
The very first match at CPKC Stadium — the 2024 opener between the Portland Thorns and Kansas City Current — was a goalfest. It was only fitting that the 2025 season opener, a year later, followed suit.
The Current won much more comfortably this time. Temwa Chawinga scored three minutes in, and Michelle Cooper and Debinha each added a goal before halftime. The Current went on to win 3-1.
With her hair dyed teal, an important color for the club, reigning NWSL MVP Chawinga opened the scoring right around three minutes in. She expertly timed a run in behind and received a chipped pass from Debinha before scoring.
“This is something we talked about in the locker room before the game,” head coach Vlatko Andonovski said. “We knew that there is going to be an energy coming from the fans, and we just wanted to take advantage of it. We wanted to match that energy and capitalize on it.”
Michelle Cooper doubled the lead in the 23rd minute, unleashing a pinpoint shot with her right foot into the upper corner.
“You could tell by my shock, I was like, ‘Holy crap, I can’t believe it got over,’” Cooper said. “The window was so narrow between her hand and the crossbar.”
Debinha roofed a loose ball into the net in the 36th minute to give the Current a 3-0 lead at halftime.
Olivia Moultrie scored three minutes into the second half to make it 3-1. Moultrie nearly made it 3-2 after a penalty kick was awarded to the Thorns in the 84th minute following a video review. But she blasted it off the bar to keep the scoreline at 3-1.
Overall, the Current largely resembled the team fans fell in love with in 2024. But there are reasons to think this team could have a more complete attack.
During stretches of last season, the team relied heavily on Chawinga to score. Despite a record number of different individual goal scorers, only three other players bagged more than five goals. The attack was sometimes centered on getting Chawinga free first and foremost.
It worked — and made sense. Chawinga bagged 20 goals. But Saturday, it was a fluid system where opportunities were spread around and capitalized on.
“Temwa is still impacting the game so much, and we knew that she’s going to be a focal point for lots of opponents’ defenses,” Andonovski said. “We worked on how to get the other players involved and put them in good situations to score. I’m glad it worked out well and we took advantage.”
One of those players was Debinha, who played as a striker in the attack. She looked close to the best version of herself since arriving at the Current in 2023.
“Every time she touched the ball, something happened,” Andonovski said. “She scores, gets an assist and puts people in dangerous spaces. Very happy for her. I hope this is just a beginning and we can see the same form, or even better, going forward.”
Up next: Kansas City hits the road for a big test in Washington, D.C., facing the 2024 NWSL runner-up Spirit on the road. That match kicks off at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.
This story was originally published March 15, 2025 at 2:05 PM.