Chawinga Sinks Boston Legacy 1-0 as KC Current Set NWSL Record With 23 Straight Home Games Unbeaten

Boston Legacy FC had two chances to stop it in the 69th minute. Casey Murphy saved Croix Bethune's shot. Jorelyn Carabalí blocked Chawinga's first rebound attempt on the goal line. And then the ball came back to Chawinga a second time, because of course it did, and she smashed it into the roof of the net.

That was the only goal of the afternoon, and the Kansas City Current beat Boston 1-0 on Saturday at CPKC Stadium in front of 11,500 fans. The result pushed Kansas City's home unbeaten run to 23 matches, which the club says is the longest run in NWSL history, and extended its league-record regular-season home winning streak to 10.

A Long, Even First Half

This was not a coronation. For long stretches it was Boston, an expansion side with nine points to its name, that looked more comfortable on the ball.

Kansas City lost a defender almost immediately. Kayla Sharples headed a second-minute corner wide, needed treatment right after and was replaced by Gabrielle Robinson in the ninth minute because of an injury. Boston settled in, and Alba Caño produced the first shot on target in the 14th minute, a left-footed drive from distance that Lorena saved. Caño tried again from outside the box in the 21st and sent it over.

The Current's best first-half look came in the 32nd minute, when Bayley Feist slipped Chawinga into the center of the box and Murphy saved in the bottom right corner. Along the way, Michelle Cooper became the sixth player in club history to reach 5,000 regular-season minutes, according to Kansas City.

Then came a strange nine minutes of first-half stoppage time, and Boston owned them. Amanda Gutierres had two shots blocked and Nichelle Prince forced Lorena into a save from distance. By the break the visitors had put two shots on target to Kansas City's one.

The Turning Point: Chaos, Then Chawinga

The start of the second half belonged to Boston. Halftime substitutes Sammy Smith and Aleigh Gambone gave the Legacy fresh legs, Gambone tested Lorena in the 53rd minute, and Gutierres and Annie Karich had shots blocked three minutes later. Kansas City lost Ally Sentnor to injury on the hour, with Haley Hopkins coming on.

Then the Current did what the Current does. Izzy Rodriguez charged forward to win a loose ball in the attacking third, Lo'eau LaBonta flicked it on to Bethune, and Bethune slalomed toward goal before Murphy saved her shot from near the penalty spot. Two rebounds later, Chawinga had her goal.

Boston never recovered its rhythm. According to ESPN's play-by-play, the Legacy did not register a single attempt after Gutierres headed wide in the 57th minute. Eight minutes of second-half stoppage time came and went with Kansas City comfortably in control, and the streak lived on.

"It's a win for us, which was important. It was a shutout. We want to carry momentum into the break and see our national team players go and do their thing," Current head coach Chris Armas said. "Real positive feelings around the club."

Star Turns

Temwa Chawinga had three shots, put all three on target and scored on the one that mattered. The Current said it was her seventh goal of the season and that all seven have come in the last five matches, a stretch that included a hat trick against the Chicago Stars and two goals against the Houston Dash. The club also noted it was her 27th regular-season goal at CPKC Stadium, the second-highest regular-season total by any NWSL player at a single venue in league history, behind only Christine Sinclair's 41 at Providence Park.

Croix Bethune created the goal with a dribble that cut through Boston's shape and finished with three shots of her own.

Lorena made three saves for the clean sheet, which the club said was her 17th since the start of 2025, the second-most in that span.

Casey Murphy made two saves and kept Boston level for 68 minutes. Carabalí's goal-line block deserves a mention too, even if it only delayed the inevitable.

Alba Caño was Boston's most dangerous midfielder, with two shots and the first on-target attempt of the match. Sophia Lowenberg also made her NWSL debut off the bench, per the Legacy.

Stats That Matter

• Possession: Boston 56.3 percent, Kansas City 43.7 percent.
• Shots: Boston edged it 12 to 11, but Kansas City had the better of the on-target count, 4 to 3.
• Interceptions: Kansas City made 16 to Boston's eight, the stat that best explains the winning goal.
• Discipline: Boston committed nine fouls and picked up two yellow cards. The Current committed four fouls and picked up no cards.

What It Means

Kansas City moved to 7-0-5 with 21 points and is now a perfect 6-0-0 at home this season. The Current have won two straight and four of their last five, with the only loss in that run coming at Angel City FC. The club said it was its third shutout of the season. The Current's home unbeaten run began on Sept. 7, 2024, and has produced a 20-0-3 record, per the club.

Boston fell to 2-3-7 with nine points after a second straight loss, following a 2-1 home defeat to the Seattle Reign on May 22. The Legacy are winless in three and are still searching for their first road win, with two draws and three losses away from home this season. They return on July 5 against Bay FC at Centreville Bank Stadium. Kansas City's next game is a June 26 NWSL Challenge Cup meeting with Gotham FC in Columbus, Ohio, before the regular season resumes in July.

The Closing Take

Boston did a lot of things right in Kansas City. It had more of the ball, more shots and more stoppage-time energy than anyone expected. But playing the Current at home right now is like trying to beat the house in Vegas. You can win a few hands. The house still goes home with your chips.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and club notes as reported by the Kansas City Current and Boston Legacy FC.