Temwa Chawinga scored her league-leading 16th goal on Friday night and the Kansas City Current beat the Washington Spirit 3-0 to clinch a playoff spot.
Chawinga, celebrating her 26th birthday, got on the end of Debinha’s cutback pass and finished from close range in the 69th minute to make it 3-0 and move within two goals of tying Sam Kerr’s single-season scoring record of 18 set in 2019.
Michelle Cooper beat her defender into the box and cut the ball across for Nichelle Prince to redirect into the goal with the slightest of touches in the fourth minute to give the Current (12-3-6) the early lead before a sellout crowd at CPKC Stadium.
Lo’eau LaBonta doubled the Current’s lead in the 31st on a solo effort. With nobody closing down on her as she dribbled toward the corner of the 18-yard box, LaBonta slid her shot into the far-post corner for her sixth goal of the season.
The Current have scored 32 goals at home this year, the most in a National Women’s Soccer League season.
The Spirit (14-5-2) lost Trinity Rodman in the 79th minute with an apparent recurrence of a back injury. Lena Silano was sent off for a straight red card in the 99th minute for sliding with her cleats up into goalkeeper Almuth Schult.
The Current joined the Spirit and the Orlando Pride as the only teams to clinch playoffs spots so far.
Pride 1, Bay 0
Barbra Banda scored her 13th goal of the season in the 84th minute to give the Orlando Pride a 1-0 road win over Bay FC at PayPal Park.
Banda headed in Carson Pickett’s cross as the Pride (15-0-6) extended their unbeaten streak to a league-record 22 games, dating to last year.
Bay FC (8-12-1) put the Pride under a lot of pressure, getting six of their 13 shots on target, but they couldn’t get one past Anna Moorhouse, who made six saves and earned her 12th shutout of the season, an NWSL record.
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