Temwa Chawinga netted her eighth goal of the season, leading the Kansas City Current to their fifth consecutive victory with a 4-2 triumph over Racing Louisville in the National Women’s Soccer League on Saturday night.
In other NWSL action, the Chicago Stars ended their match in a 2-2 draw against the Seattle Reign, while the North Carolina Courage secured a narrow 2-1 victory over Angel City.
The Current (10-2-0) dominated Louisville (5-5-2) right from the start, establishing a 3-0 advantage by the 19th minute. Louisville defender Lauren Millet inadvertently steered the ball into her own net for the opening goal just two minutes in. Michelle Cooper capitalized on a counterattack to score at the near post in the 15th minute, followed by Bia Zaneratto hammering in the third goal from the center of the box in the 19th minute.
Louisville’s Janine Sonis managed to pull one back, capitalizing on a cross from Millet in the 62nd minute to narrow the score to 3-1. Uchenna Kanu added another with a header from a corner in the 88th minute, bringing the score to 3-2.
Chawinga sealed the victory with her goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time, maintaining her streak of scoring in each match of the winning run.
Over at Soldier Field, Chicago, Ludmila found the back of the net twice for the Stars, yet the Reign rallied late with two goals in the closing moments to tie the game. The Stars (1-8-3) surrendered a 2-0 lead as the clock wound down, allowing the Reign (5-4-2) to escape with a point.
Ludmila’s first goal was a solo masterpiece in the 11th minute, as she retrieved the ball in her own half, dribbled an impressive 60 yards, and beat Claudia Dickey. Her second came just minutes later in the 13th, following a precise long ball over the Reign defense that left her one-on-one with Dickey.
Lynn Biyendolo brought Seattle back with a goal in the 87th minute, and Jordyn Bugg clinched the equalizer in the 89th. The match drew nearly 27,000 fans, who also stayed for the Major League Soccer clash featuring the Chicago Fire.
In Los Angeles, substitute Brianna Pinto’s timely strike clinched a 2-1 win for the North Carolina Courage against Angel City. This victory marked the Courage’s (4-5-3) first positive result at BMO Stadium, historically a challenging venue for them.
Cortnee Vine initiated the scoring for the Courage in the opening minute, sliding the ball past the keeper from a Manaka Matsukubo cross. Angel City (4-5-3) drew level in the 11th minute when Riley Tiernan, tallying her seventh of the season, successfully headed Gisele Thompson’s delivery to equalize.
The decider came during stoppage time, following a chaotic scene in front of the goal. After Angel City’s Miyabi Moriya managed a goal-line block, Pinto was in the right place to slot it home from five yards out, securing all three points for her team.