Temwa Chawinga shot a ball into the river. Then she set the KC Current goals record

The Kansas City Current struggled to find a breakthrough for more than 75 minutes of Friday night’s match against the Houston Dash.

But Temwa Chawinga ensured the Current broke the record for the NWSL’s longest unbeaten streak while breaking a record of her own. Two, actually.

Chawinga scored two goals, three minutes apart, to give the Current a 2-0 victory. That win keeps the Current atop the NWSL standings and extends the club’s unbeaten streak to a record-breaking 17 games. The Current have 10 wins, 5 draws, 0 losses this season and were unbeaten in their final two matches of 2023.

Even so, manager Vlatko Andonovski said the team isn’t focused on that piece of history.

“No one talks about it,” Andonovski said. “No one cares about it. That’s something that our media department is really happy about, and the fans, too. We’re gonna try whatever it takes to keep winning for them.”

On Friday, that’s exactly what the Current did at CPKC Stadium.

Chawinga’s goals in the 77th and 80th minute also set the record for most goals by a Current player in the NWSL regular season at 11 (and counting). And it’s only taken her 15 matches.

“Her stats speak for itself,” Andonovski said. “She’s been amazing for us. She scores goals, she assists on goals. She has been very impactful in the games, even when she doesn’t score.”

The two goals also put her atop the Golden Boot (leading scorer) race in the NWSL, with one more goal than Barbra Banda and Sophia Smith, who each have 10.

Banda and Smith command global attention as stars, and Chawinga is just beginning to become a star within the league. While seeing her name next to the others brings her pride, she credits her teammates for helping her get there.

“Maybe I’m making a name for myself, but I’m not making my name by myself,” Chawinga said. “It’s my teammates who help me to make my name.”

For a while on Friday, it wasn’t a given those goals would come.

The Kansas City Current didn’t play their tightest first half of soccer. Sure, the Current still put up 17 shot attempts, with six shots on target to test Houston goalkeeper Jane Campbell. But the decision-making in the final third was lacking, and players were not making runs where a passer thought they would be.

One highlight of the first half, though, was Chawinga’s other first. She became the first KC Current player to blast a ball into the Missouri River.

The crowd roared with cheers for the errant shot as it was displayed on the jumbotron.

“If she missed, she might as well miss in style,” Andonovski joked.

As for the sloppy half...

“In the first half, we found so many chances but we missed,” Chawinga said. “But the second half comes — we tried our best to score and to win this game.”

The disjointed ball and player movement continued until Chawinga struck in the 77th minute.

The Current played a simple ball over the top, and Dash defender Tarciane slipped and landed on it, which pushed the ball into Chawinga’s path. Campbell saved an initial tapped shot, but Chawinga deposited the rebound.

Three minutes later, Chawinga went in one-on-one with Campbell. She dribbled the ball around the goalkeeper and put it into the empty net for her second.

Next on the KC Current’s docket is a match between the two unbeaten teams in the NWSL. The Orlando Pride visit CPKC Stadium on July 6 for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff.

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