KC Current Takes Top Ranking While Pride Falls to Third
Volume 02 | Issue 03 | May 2025
KC Current Takes Top Ranking While Pride Falls to Third
The Kansas City Current beat the Orlando Pride 1-0 in the teams’s first face-off of the season, bumping the Pride out of the top of the rankings.
Temwa Chawinga clinched the winning goal for the Current, firing the ball into the back of the net in the 52nd minute. Chawinga won the 2024 NWSL Most Valuable Player award and the 2024 NWSL Golden Boot.
The Pride pushed through a rough month of May, also losing to the Portland Thorns and tying the North Carolina Courage. Orlando found a win against the Utah Royals in the last match of the month; however, it was not enough to pull them up from third place in the rankings.
The San Diego Wave went undefeated in May, advancing to second place in the standings. The Wave beat Bay FC, NJ/NY Gotham FC, and the Courage and tied the Thorns.
The NWSL shield is awarded to the team with the best record at the end of regular season play.
The Current finished out the 2024 NWSL regular season with a record of 16-3-7.
nwsl News
Banda Pulls to Front of Race for NWSL Golden Boot
Barbra Banda scored a hat trick for the Orlando Pride in its match against Utah Royals FC, notching three more goals to her season tally.
Banda took the lead in the race for the NWSL Golden Boot with seven goals and one assist.
Esther González trailed behind Banda by just one assist, also scoring seven goals so far this season.
Temwa Chawinga won the 2024 NWSL Golden Boot with 20 goals and six assists during the regular season.
May NWSL News
NWSL Player Achievements
Christen Press scored her first goal back with Angel City FC after managing a long recovery from an ACL tear in June 2022.
Midge Purce earned her first start of the season with NJ/NY Gotham FC on May 9 after recovering from a knee injury. Purce’s start came just a little over a week after she made her Broadway debut, delivering the opening monologue in “Chicago” on May 1.
Croix Bethune returned to the starting lineup for the Washington Spirit in mid-May and scored her first goal of the season in the Spirit’s last match of the month. Bethune tore her meniscus throwing out the first pitch at an MLB game last August.
Giselle Thompson scored her first professional goal with an assist from her sister, Alyssa. The point for Angel City FC was the first time in NWSL history that two sisters combined for a goal.
KK Ream became the youngest player to appear in an NWSL starting XI at 15 years, 9 months, and 26 days. Mak Whitman earned the title of the youngest player to appear in an NWSL regular-season match earlier in the season, entering the game at 14 years and 8 months.
Emily Sonnett made her 150th NWSL appearance on May 9 in Gotham FC’s game against Racing Louisville FC.
League Updates
The NWSL re-evaluates its emergency protocol in the aftermath of a medical emergency during the Angel City FC versus Utah Royals FC match.
Angel City player Savy King collapsed on the field due to a heart abnormality and was treated by medical staff for ten minutes before being taken to a local hospital.
“In no world should that game have continued,” said Trinity Rodman in a post on Instagram. Rodman’s words represented the sentiments of other players and fans alike after the distressing event.
The NWSL announced that it is reviewing its current protocols and will make revisions to prioritize the well-being of the players, staff, and fans.
Denver City Council approved the NWSL stadium agreement, allowing the $70 million project to move forward. In other Denver NWSL news, Mikaela Shiffrin, a professional alpine skier, joined the ownership group, and Curt Johnson was named General Manager.
Alex Morgan returned to the spotlight with the announcement of becoming the latest minority investor of her former team, San Diego Wave FC.
USWNT News
USWNT Beats China PR 3-0
The USWNT beat China PR 3-0 at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota on May 31.
The US was up 2-0 at halftime with goals by Catarina Macario and Sam Coffey. Captain Lindsey Heaps scored the third goal for the USWNT in the second half.
Goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce earned her second clean sheet in her second cap for the USWNT in the game against China.
Lo’eau LaBonta earned her first cap for the USWNT as the oldest player to do so at 32 years, 2 months, and 13 days.
USWNT head coach Emma Hayes took the opportunity to try new players on the field in her efforts to home in on the core squad for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup and 2028 Olympic Games.
Hayes called 24 players up to camp, including
Goalkeepers (3): Claudia Dickey, Mandy McGlynn, and Phallon Tullis-Joyce
Defenders (8): Kerry Abello, Crystal Dunn, Emily Fox, Naomi Girma, Tara McKeown, Avery Patterson, Emily Sams, Emily Sonnett
Midfielders (6): Sam Coffey, Lindsey Heaps, Claire Hutton, Lo’eau LaBonta, Olivia Moultrie, Lily Yohannes
Forwards (7): Lynn Biyendolo, Michelle Cooper, Catarina Macario, Emma Sears, Ally Sentnor, Alyssa Thompson, Gisele Thompson
Three players (Dickey, Abello, and LaBonta) joined the USWNT camp with no caps under their belt, and seven players were called up with under five caps (McGlynn, Tullis-Joyce, Patterson, Sams, Hutton, Cooper, G Thompson).
The USWNT’s next match is against Jamaica on June 3.
Visit www.ussoccer.com for the full USWNT schedule.
Graphic images created with Adobe Generative AI.