Kansas City’s season, although disappointing in comparison to last year, isn’t quite in shambles yet. Despite a season filled with injury and changing lineups, the team has managed to maintain a position in the middle of the pack for the majority of the season. However, after slipping into tenth prior to the match against Denver on Saturday, the Current were faced with a do or die situation.
As the rainy Saturday rolled around for CPKC to host the 50th match in stadium history, the team was once again dilapidated. Laney Rouse, receiving two yellow cards the week prior, was suspended for the game, Croix Bethune was still nursing a hip injury, and several other players were dealing with illness spreading around the team.
Play opened with Denver finding many opportunities early. Despite the Current having a few chances of their own, it was only a matter of time before Lindsey Heaps scored the opening goal of the game. In just the thirteenth minute, a series of quick touches and tackles resulted in a ball at Heaps’ feet, an easy goal from the PK spot for the former USWNT captain. The game continued to go back and forth before Temwa Chawinga earned her team a PK in the 32nd minute. Debinha then lined up behind the ball as the crowd went wild. Debinha aimed for the lower left corner, but Abby Smith followed and made the save, keeping the Summit ahead. Haley Hopkins took matters into her own hands just minutes later. As Vanessa DiBernardo sent a ball deep into the right side of Denver’s box to Michelle Cooper, Haley Hopkins darted across the PK spot at full tilt. All Cooper had to do was play a ball in front of her, and Hopkins deflected the ball off of goalkeeper Abby Smith and into the back of the net. The first half ended in a tie, but the scoring was far from over.
Hopkins gets riled up after scoring the tying goal
Only a few minutes into the second half, Hopkins struck again. Chasing down a ball from Gabrielle Robinson back into Denver’s defensive third, the midfielder found herself in a footrace with the Summit goalkeeper. Hopkins then won the tackle against Smith, dribbling to the top of the 18 yard box before taking a shot into the unprotected net to take the lead.
Hopkins’ long distance strike to tally her second goal
The midfielder still wasn’t done, and after a few more chances, completed the hat trick. Following a chaotic sequence in the Current’s own box, Izzy Rodriguez cleared the ball all the way to the halfway line. Temwa Chawinga gave chase, drawing one defender and beating another as she carried down the field and into the opposing 18. With only one Summit defender behind the ball, all Chawinga had to do was lay it off to Hopkins for an easy goal.
Kansas City closed out the scoring in the 76th as Vanessa DiBernardo played a cheeky backheel pass to a perfectly positioned Chawinga. The forward cut to her right, took a shot, and watched as the deflection trickled past Smith in goal. It took several minutes to officially rule Chawinga as onside, as Dibernardo’s pass could not have been more perfectly timed. The assist locked in the midfielder’s sole possession of second place in all-time NWSL regular season assists with 32.
Chawinga fires away as surrounding defenders ask for an offside call
The 4-1 win is the same result that the team achieved exactly one year ago, a 4-1 win on September 26th, but versus Chicago. And to be honest, that game wasn’t nearly as crucial as Saturday’s win against Denver. Whereas the 2026 team is still in danger of missing playoffs with 41 points and a 12-9-5 record, the 2025 team already had 56 points with an 18-2-2 record. At this point last year, the Current had clinched playoffs almost a month ago. On August 30th, 2025, the Current became the fastest team to clinch playoffs following a 2-0 win over North Carolina. The club had 46 points and was 15 points ahead of the second place team.
It’s easy to say that luck runs out eventually, especially considering Kansas City’s shell-shocking loss to Gotham in the first round of the NWSL championship. But it’s more important to understand that there’s more to it than that. The team suffered two massive changes in the offseason: the loss of Claire Hutton and the loss of Vlatko Andonovski as a head coach. Hutton was and is a pivotal player in the league, and is one of the youngest players to ever wear the captain’s band for the national team. Andonovski had a deep connection with the city, first leading FC Kansas City to back to back NWSL titles in 2013 and 2014, and then coming back to coach for the Current in 2023, leading to the historic 2025 season. Of course, both losses were replaced, as Croix Bethune was brought to Kansas City to fill the void left by Hutton, as has held her own so far, leading the league in assists and scoring a few goals as well. But again, Bethune is currently injured, and it's difficult to replace a player like Hutton. On the other hand, Chris Armas has not quite lived up to his predecessor as the team struggles to stay healthy, barely wins on the road, and allows early goals.
Sure, there are numerous issues to highlight as reasons for the Current’s fall from last year’s glory, but there are also plenty of factors that have helped the team stay in contention. Two of the last four games of the season take place in CPKC. If trends continue, that’s almost guaranteed points. Even better, Temwa Chawinga is looking even more like herself game after game, with players like Hopkins, Debinha, and Cooper rounding out the formidable attack. DiBernardo, the team’s only reliable true defensive midfielder, is fully back from maternity leave and making her mark when it counts. Additionally, a return of a healthy Croix Bethune could easily be the missing piece that the team needs to finish out the season successfully.
Dibernardo, wearing the captain’s band, embraces Chawinga after the team’s fourth goal
The team has a week to recover before hosting Bay FC at home on Saturday, October 3rd. As the Current teeter on the edge of playoff contention, every result counts.
Written by Emilie Bartlett
