Debinha scores 50th NWSL goal in KC Current win. See highlights vs. San Diego

Debinha continued a torrid start to her 2025 NWSL season, scoring her third goal of the year en route to a 2-0 road win over the San Diego Wave on Saturday night at Snapdragon Stadium.

Lo LaBonta added a penalty kick to pace the Kansas City Current to a 4-0-0 start. KC, as a team, has scored 10 goals, only conceding one.

KC goalkeeper Lorena had little to no work in the first half, but made four saves in the second half to keep a third straight clean sheet.

“We showed maturity throughout the game,” head coach Vlatko Andonovski said in his postgame news conference. “We didn’t allow the game to get chaotic at any point in time. We didn’t panic at any point in time. We literally closed it down, very, very composed.”

Debinha opened the scoring in the 16th minute, taking a cross from Izzy Rodriguez down with a touch off her right foot and instantly side-footing a volley back across goal into the bottom corner past Kailen Sheridan.

“It was a great ball by Izzy,” Debinha told ION during a post-match interview. “First, I thought about volleying (first time), but then (Nichelle Prince) talked to me and was like, ‘You have time.’ So I just (took) the touch and then finished.”

Debinha’s strike marked her 50th career goal in the NWSL regular season. She is the fifth player in NWSL history to record 50 goals and 25 assists in her career, joining Lynn Biyendolo (previously Williams), Alex Morgan, Jessica McDonald and Megan Rapinoe.

Rodriguez said Prince’s near-post run helped force the San Diego Wave defensive line to drop deeper, allowing for Debinha to sit behind them in space, wide open for the cross.

“We worked the whole week on crossing and finishing, where the spots are going to be open, and reading when they drop in, where the gaps are going to be,” Rodriguez said. “Deb put herself in really good positions.”

Minutes later, Claire Hutton’s shot struck the arm of a San Diego defender in the penalty area. After a review, KC was awarded a penalty kick.

LaBonta stepped up and converted her second penalty kick goal of the season to give the Current a 2-0 lead after 25 minutes.

LaBonta has converted 11 of her 12 penalty kick attempts as a pro, good for the fifth most penalty kicks converted in NWSL history. The only one she had saved came in 2022 on the road in San Diego — against Sheridan.

The Current didn’t record a shot in the second half and mostly played on cruise control.

Lorena really only needed to worry about two of the chances she faced in the second half. One was a long-range shot from Delphine Cascarino; Lorena recorded a diving save. The other was a brilliant kick save from point-blank range on Adriana Leon to keep the clean sheet.

“Lorena’s mental fitness is something that is incredible,” Andonovski said. “Throughout the game, she doesn’t get called on a lot. But when she does, she seems ready and she executes very well.”

Up next: The Current hosts the Houston Dash on Saturday, April 19, in a 6:30 p.m. kickoff from CPKC Stadium.

Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.

This story was originally published April 12, 2025 at 11:35 PM.