Debinha Moves to No. 2 on NWSL All-Time Scoring List as Current Rally Past Gotham 2-1

Kansas City had lost three straight, had just fallen behind at home, and was staring at a fourth. Then the Current dug in, punched back and let Michelle Cooper close the show.

The Kansas City Current beat Gotham FC 2-1 on Saturday afternoon at CPKC Stadium in front of 11,500 fans. Jaedyn Shaw gave Gotham a 29th-minute lead, Debinha leveled it eight minutes later with the 80th goal of her NWSL career across all competitions, and Cooper won it on the hour. Gotham had more of the ball and more shots. Kansas City had the moments that mattered.

Shaw Breaks the Drought, Debinha Breaks the Spell

The Current nearly scored inside five minutes, when a header off a Debinha cross after a corner smacked the crossbar. Gotham lost Kayla Duran to an injury in the 18th minute, with Tierna Davidson replacing her.

Gotham settled in after that and took control of the ball. Lorena pushed a Jaelin Howell shot over in the 20th minute, and Rose Lavelle headed a Lilly Reale cross wide four minutes later. In the 29th minute the pressure paid off. Savannah McCaskill found Shaw outside the box, and Shaw swiveled and sent a low right-footed shot from distance into the bottom right corner. It was Gotham's first goal since its opening-day win at Boston Legacy FC on March 14 after three straight scoreless matches.

Kansas City answered with the best move of the match. Croix Bethune spread a long ball out to Cooper on the right, Cooper carried it forward and whipped in a cross, and Temwa Chawinga's flick near the six-yard box dropped perfectly for Debinha arriving late. Debinha rolled it into the bottom left corner like she was passing to a friend. 1-1 in the 37th minute.

Chawinga, making her 2026 debut, was replaced by Haley Hopkins in the 41st minute. Gotham had a chance to retake the lead before the break, but Lorena held an Esther González header in stoppage time, and Shaw curled a left-footed effort just past the top left corner a minute later.

Cooper Takes the Wheel

Shaw did not return for the second half, with Jordynn Dudley coming on in her place, and Kansas City came out flying. Ann-Katrin Berger stopped Cooper in the 48th minute and pushed away a Bethune shot from outside the box two minutes after that.

The winner came in the 60th minute and it started with a mistake. Ally Sentnor jumped on a loose ball high up the field and found Cooper on the right. One touch set Cooper up just inside the box, and her low right-footed finish squeezed between a defender's legs and beat Berger to the bottom left corner. 2-1 Current.

Cooper did not get to enjoy it for long. Play was stopped for her in the 67th minute, and Amelia White replaced her two minutes later because of an injury. Gotham spent the last half hour throwing bodies forward. Izzy Rodriguez blocked a Sarah Schupansky shot in the 74th minute, Kayla Sharples slid in to block Dudley in the 83rd, and in the sixth minute of stoppage time Berger herself came up for a long-range shot that Lorena dove to save.

Debinha Climbs, Chawinga Delivers

Debinha's goal was her first of 2026, and the Current said the 80th goal of her NWSL career across all competitions moved her into sole possession of second on the league's all-time list, two shy of matching Lynn Biyendolo's record. Debinha is not chasing history. History is checking its rearview mirror.

Cooper finished with four shots, two on target, and the winner. Per the club, it was the 13th regular-season goal of her career, tied for the fourth-highest total in franchise history, and her fifth game-winning goal. Sentnor's assist was her first for Kansas City.

Then there was Chawinga, who lasted only until the 41st minute and still left a mark. Her assist made her the first player in club history with 10 or more regular-season goals and 10 or more regular-season assists, and it was the first time she had set up a Debinha goal in NWSL play.

For Gotham, Shaw's goal was the 18th of her regular-season career and her first of the season. McCaskill's assist was her first in her second stint with the club. Emily Sonnett became the 18th player and 14th field player in NWSL history to reach 15,000 regular-season minutes, finishing the day at 15,081.

The Sixty-Minute Swing

Gotham's acting coach, Shaun Harris, was honest about the afternoon. "We improved the areas that we worked on based on the last couple of games in getting more chances in and around the box," he said, before landing on the problem: "For us, we lacked concentration in two key moments and were punished for it."

The second of those moments was the 60th-minute turnover. Gotham owned the ball for long stretches, and one loose ball erased all of it. Kansas City only needed six shots on target to beat Berger twice.

Stats That Matter

• Possession: Gotham 63.6 percent, Kansas City 36.4 percent.
• Shots on target: Kansas City 6, Gotham 4, despite Gotham's 15 total shots to Kansas City's 14.
• Passes: Gotham 557, Kansas City 315.
• Corners: Kansas City 8, Gotham 3.
• Interceptions: Kansas City 15, Gotham 10.

What It Means

Kansas City improves to 2-0-3 with six points. The win snapped the Current's three-game losing streak, kept them perfect at home this season, and preserved their unbeaten all-time regular-season record against Gotham, per the club. "The way this team shows up every day, the belief they have in each other, the commitment to what we ask every day," head coach Chris Armas said, adding later, "Big win for our players and for our fans." The Current return to league play at the Washington Spirit on April 24.

Gotham drops to 1-2-2 with five points and is winless in four since that opener at Boston, with two scoreless home draws and a home loss to Denver Summit FC since. Per the club, Gotham has still scored in each of its last five away matches across all NWSL competitions, and it had a four-game winless spell last fall too, before its second championship run in three years. Gotham returns from the international break on April 25 against Bay FC.

Closing Take

This was billed as a rematch of last season's NWSL quarterfinal, and it delivered a sequel's worth of plot twists. Gotham had the ball, the territory and the early lead. Kansas City had Debinha, Cooper and a crowd that would not let the afternoon get away. As Armas put it, "With this team and our fans, you can see why this is a tough place to play for any team."

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and additional details from KansasCityCurrent.com and GothamFC.com.