Temwa Chawinga and Michelle Cooper each racked up a goal and an assist to lift the Kansas City Current to a 2-1 win over host Gotham FC on Saturday in rainy Harrison, N.J.
Cooper scored in the third minute and Chawinga doubled the Current’s lead eight minutes later with her seventh goal of the season, tying Gotham’s Esther Gonzalez and Orlando’s Barbra Banda for the league lead.
It marked the fourth straight win for Kansas City (9-2-0, 27 points) and the third consecutive loss for Gotham (3-5-3, 12 points).
Lorena was moments away from her sixth clean sheet of the season, but amid a Gotham attack, Kansas City’s Vanessa DiBernardo accidentally booted the ball into the back of her own net in the 11th minute of second-half stoppage time.
Lorena made two saves, while Ann-Katrin Berger had three saves for Gotham.
The Current forced a turnover by Gotham’s back line early in the game. Chawinga picked up the ball and found Cooper in the box for an easy strike.
On a fast break in the 11th, Cooper sent a low cross into the box and Chawinga reached the ball a split second before a diving Berger. Chawinga scored into the open net.
Gotham FC thought they had a goal early in the second half when Emily Sonnett headed a corner kick into the net. But VAR showed that Sonnett got her advantage from a two-handed shove to a Current player’s back, and it was overturned.
U.S. women’s national team midfielder Rose Lavelle, who had offseason ankle surgery, made her season debut for Gotham as a substitute in the 74th minute.
–Field Level Media
