KC Present declare inaugural Summer season Cup title

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Kansas City Current ahead Temwa Chawinga scored twice within the first half on Friday at Toyota Discipline to raise her crew previous NJ/NY Gotham FC, 2-0 within the remaining of the inaugural NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer season Cup.

The brace was Chawinga’s fourth in all competitions this yr. She not too long ago broke the Nationwide Girls’s Soccer League’s single-season scoring report. She has scored 20 objectives in 25 video games, with one sport left within the season.

She opened the scoring on Friday within the twenty fifth minute when she obtained in behind Gotham’s protection and chipped a shot over goalkeeper Cassie Miller.

Twelve minutes later, Chawinga struck once more on one other sequence that began with midfielders Claire Hutton and Lo’eau LaBonta. Replays confirmed that Chawinga appeared offside on the second purpose, however video overview was not utilized for the Summer season Cup.

“She is a finisher,” LaBonta stated about Chawinga. “You already know that she’s the Golden Boot chief, in all probability about to be the winner. You simply give her the ball and she or he works magical issues.”

The Summer season Cup was held primarily through the summer season Olympic break for the NWSL and featured all 14 groups from the U.S. prime flight competing with six groups from Mexico’s first division. Gotham FC and Kansas Metropolis received their respective teams earlier than profitable the semifinals in August. All 4 semifinalists have been from the NWSL.

“There’s something to it, constructing a profitable mentality,” Present head coach Vlatko Andonovski stated. “You possibly can’t win a giant trophy when you do not win the small ones. … It is a good behavior to have. Successful is a behavior.”

An introduced crowd of three,668 followers turned up in San Antonio, which isn’t house to an NWSL or skilled ladies’s soccer crew. Toyota Discipline ‘s capability is round 8,000.

Gotham FC and Kansas Metropolis are third and fourth within the NWSL regular-season standings and are separated by just one level heading into the ultimate spherical of play. Kansas Metropolis began most of its normal beginning lineup on Friday, together with Chawinga, who was subbed off at halftime.

Gotham’s roster was stretched skinny by accidents and private commitments, in addition to worldwide absences through the FIFA window. Gotham signed seven nationwide crew substitute gamers forward of the match simply to fill out a full gameday roster. Amongst them was Mana Shim, who was a part of the crew’s NWSL Championship run final yr, and 14-year-old McKenna “Mak” Whitham.