Temwa Chawinga added to her record-breaking season, scoring her 20th of the year as the Kansas City Current cruised to a 4-1 home win against the San Diego Wave on Saturday.
Chawinga increased her already NWSL-record single-season scoring total. She also became the first NWSL player to score against all 13 active teams in a single season.
Michelle Cooper scored the first goal for Kansas City (15-3-7, 52 points), Debinha had the last, and the hosts also benefited from an own goal.
In the 54th minute, the Courage’s Nichelle Prince fought off two Wave defenders before sending a pass to the feet of Chawinga. The prolific scorer sent a rocket into the top of the net from the top of the 6-yard box. The play was close to offside, but VAR confirmed the goal after a lengthy review.
Late in the match, Debinha added a fourth goal for Kansas City, and with the match out of reach, Delphine Cascarino scored the lone goal for San Diego (5-13-7, 22 points).
The Current extended their streak to seven matches without a loss (5-0-2). The Wave were eliminated from contention for the 2024 NWSL playoffs.
Racing Louisville 1, Thorns 0
Taylor Flint scored off a corner kick in the 88th minute to push Louisville past visiting Portland.
Janine Beckie curled the corner kick toward the near post, and Flint, standing with her back to the net, headed it out of the reach of Thorns keeper Shelby Hogan and in for her third goal of the season.
Katie Lund made six saves for Racing Louisville (7-11-7, 28 points) in the shutout. Hogan finished with three for Portland (9-12-4, 31 points), including a nice diving stop of Savannah DeMelo’s free kick in the 30th minute.
Bay 1, Courage 0
Abby Dahlkemper’s 83rd-minute goal was all Bay FC needed to defeat visiting North Carolina in San Jose, Calif.
Caprice Dydasco won a free kick for Bay FC (10-14-1, 31 points) and Racheal Kundananji sent the kick to the center of the box. Dahlkemper stuck a foot out and redirected it to the right as Courage goalkeeper Casey Murphy (three saves) lunged the other way.
Katelyn Rowland made two saves, one during second-half stoppage time, to help put Bay FC back in the eighth and final playoff spot with one match remaining. The Courage (12-10-3, 39 points) are locked into the fifth seed for the postseason.
–Field Level Media