KANSAS CITY (July 31, 2025) – The Kansas City Current (11-2-0, 1st place, 33 pts.) will pay a visit to Racing Louisville FC (6-5-2, 7th place, 20 pts.) as the second half of the 2025 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) regular season resumes on Friday, Aug. 1. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. CT (8 p.m. ET) at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Ky.
The match will broadcast nationally on Prime Video with Lori Lindsey and Mike Watts on the call. Jillian Carroll Letrinko and Dave Borchardt will call the game on 90.9 The Bridge, and fans can also tune in to hear the match in English, Spanish or Portuguese on the KC Current App.
TOP OF THE TABLE
The Current remains at the top of the NWSL table for the ninth week in a row heading into the second half of the regular season. The club currently has 33 points, eight points of separation from Orlando Pride which sits in second with 25 points. Kansas City finished the first portion of the regular season with a plus-19 goal difference, nine more than the next closest team (Orlando Pride, plus-10). The Current also scored a league-leading 29 goals in the first 13 regular season matches.
Kansas City has won 15 of its last 17 regular season matches dating back to October 2024, the first team in NWSL history to record 15 wins in a span of 17 league matches. Eleven of those 15 wins have been by a margin of at least two goals. Entering Week 14, the Current is at 48 wins in 107 regular season games played in club history. The team is on track to be one of the fastest teams to reach 50; They could equal Seattle’s performance if they win their next two games.
FIRST HALF WRAPPED
At the halfway point of the 2025 NWSL regular season, the Kansas City Current remains atop the league leaderboard – a place it has been for nine consecutive weeks – with 33 points and an 11-2-0 record. The club’s 11 victories through 13 matches are already the second highest regular season win total in franchise history. The team closed the first half of the regular season with a 1-0 victory over Angel City FC on June 20, which marked the club’s sixth consecutive win for the second longest regular season winning streak in franchise history.
Kansas City has scored 29 goals across its 13 regular season matches so far in 2025. Twenty of those 29 goals this season have been in the first half, with 12 of those coming in the opening 25 minutes. The Current has scored first in all but one of its games this year and is 11-1-0 when converting first. Four of the seven fastest goals in the NWSL this year have been by Current forwards: Bia Zaneratto (3’ vs. Bay FC, May 11), Michelle Cooper (3’ at Gotham FC, June 7) and Temwa Chawinga (4’ vs. Portland Thorns, March 15), plus an own goal by Racing Louisville FC on June 14 in the second minute.
Chawinga, last year’s NWSL MVP and Golden Boot winner, is currently second in this season’s Golden Boot race with eight goals and two assists while defender Hailie Mace’s four assists also rank second in the league. Kansas City boasts a plus-19 goal difference, nine better than the next closest team. On the defensive end, Kansas City’s six clean sheets – all credited to goalkeeper Lorena – lead the league. Lorena is also now the outright owner of the club record for regular season shutouts. The team has allowed just 10 goals through its first 13 regular season games, tied for the fewest in the NWSL.
TEAL RISING CUP RECAP
The inaugural Teal Rising Cup, presented by Visit Missouri and hosted by the Kansas City Current at CPKC Stadium, was held on July 12 and 15. The four-team tournament included the Current, fellow NWSL team Chicago Stars FC and Brazilian Serie A1 clubs Corinthians SC and Palmeiras. Kansas City was crowned the inaugural Teal Rising Cup champion, marking the club’s third-ever trophy and second trophy won at CPKC Stadium. Forward Haley Hopkins was named the Teal Rising Cup Most Valuable Player (MVP) for leading all players with two goals.
The hosts opened the tournament with a 3-0 shutout win over Palmeiras on July 12. Hopkins bagged a brace with goals in the 34th and 44th minutes – both which were assisted by midfielder Bayley Feist – before an own goal in the forced by midfielder Flora Marta Lacho in the 50th minute. Goalkeeper Laurel Ivory was credited with the clean sheet. Kansas City then prevailed for a 2-1 win in the championship game vs. Corinthians SC. Midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta assisted forward Michelle Cooper’s opening goal in the third minute. Cooper then assisted forward Mary Long’s game-winning goal in the 23rd minute, enough to withstand Corinthians putting one back in the 25th minute.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
Several Kansas City Current players experienced firsts during the summer break. At the start of the break, defender Izzy Rodriguez earned her first United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) call-up. Rodriguez made her debut vs. Ireland on June 29 and scored her first senior national team goal in the contest, becoming the 23rd player in the USWNT’s 40-year history to score in their first cap. Along with forward Michelle Cooper, midfielder Claire Hutton joined Rodriguez on that USWNT roster: Hutton recorded her first USWNT assist vs. Ireland on June 29 and notched her first career goal vs. Canada on July 2.
In the Teal Rising Cup, goalkeeper Laurel Ivory, forward Mary Long and defender Katie Scott debuted in the starting lineup. Ivory made her first appearance for the club and earned her first clean sheet for KC on July 12, Scott made her professional debut and Long scored her first game-winning goal to seal the Current’s Teal Rising Cup trophy. Forward Haley Hopkins had a brace for her first multi-goal game with the Current, and both goals were assisted by midfielder Bayley Feist who notched the first multi-assist match of her Kansas City tenure. Additionally, defender Kayla Sharples donned the captain’s band for the first time as a member of the KC Current vs. Palmeiras and forward Alex Pfeiffer returned to the pitch for the first time in 379 days after being removed from the season ending injury (SEI) list on July 11.
HERE TO STAY
Three Current standouts, forward Michelle Cooper and defenders Izzy Rodriguez and Kayla Sharples, recently re-signed deals with the club. Michigan natives Cooper and Rodriguez, who were part of the most recent USWNT camp together and have played their entire professional careers with the Current, inked three-year deals with the club to them in Kansas City through the 2028 season. Sharples signed a two-year contract extension through the 2027 season with a mutual option for 2028.
Cooper first signed with the Current in February 2023 after being the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft. She has had 65 appearances, 54 starts, 13 goals, nine assists and over 5,500 minutes across all competitions for the Current. Rodriguez first signed with the Current ahead of the 2022 season after being selected in the fourth round of the 2022 NWSL Draft. She then re-signed a two-year deal with the Current in 2023. She has 95 appearances, 53 starts, four goals, 10 assists and over 5,100 minutes across all competitions. Sharples joined the KC Current in August 2024 via a trade with Bay FC, inking her initial contract with the Current through 2025. She has started all 24 games she has appeared in across all competitions since joining the Current and has logged over 2,100 minutes in that span.
MILESTONE TRACKER
On Friday, defender Elizabeth Ball could become the 115th player in NWSL history to reach 100 regular season appearances. Midfielder Debinha is one game away from becoming the 44th player in league history to reach 150 regular season appearances, and the first Brazilian to do so. She is also one appearance from becoming the ninth player in Kansas City Current history to have 50 regular season appearances for the club. Other milestones on the horizon include: Forward Haley Hopkins is two games away from 50 regular season appearances, head coach Vlatko Andonovski is three games away from having coached 200 regular season games and defender Hailie Mace is six games from her 100th regular season appearance.
PERSONNEL UPDATES
Midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo announced her pregnancy on July 30 and has been placed on maternity leave. The Current announced on July 18 that midfielder Jereko would be loaned to HB Køge Women in Denmark ahead of its upcoming 2025-26 season. Additionally, Kansas City signed Grace Gordon as a goalkeeper replacement player ahead of the Teal Rising Cup, and she will remain with the team for its match against Racing Louisville FC on Aug. 1.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Kansas City goalkeeper Laurel Ivory – Ivory will be making her NWSL regular season debut in a Kansas City Current uniform on Friday. She made her first appearance as a member of the Current in the Teal Rising Cup where she logged a full 90 between the posts in both matches. Ivory finished the tournament with one save and a clean sheet against Palmeiras on July 12 before another impressive save vs. Corinthians on July 15 as the Current lifted the trophy. She joined the Current in December 2024 from Seattle Reign. With the Reign, she made nine appearances and started eight matches while making a career-high six saves in a 0-0 draw against Kansas City on May 8, 2024.
Louisville defender Arin Wright – Wright, Louisville’s captain, scored the game-winning goal against Orlando Pride on June 20, which was her first goal as a Racing player. The Kentucky native became the fifth different Racing player to score the winning goal in Louisville’s last seven matches, which includes five wins in that span. Wright, who is one of two ironwomen for the club, also leads the team with 73 clearances and ranks second with two assists. She dished out an assist in The Women’s Cup championship match on July 24; Louisville went on to win the trophy for the second time in club history.
AVAILABILITY REPORT
OUT: Gabrielle Robinson (SEI–Knee), Alana Cook (SEI-Knee), Kristen Hamilton (Hip), Vanessa DiBernardo (Maternity Leave), Clare Gagne (Head)
QUESTIONABLE: Debinha (Knee)
INTERNATIONAL DUTY: Lorena (Brazil)
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