Sanchez scores late winner in Courage’s 3-2 comeback win over Current

By Canadian Press on April 26, 2025.

Ashley Sanchez scored in the third minute of stoppage time and the North Carolina Courage beat the Kansas City Current 3-2 in the National Women’s Soccer League on Saturday night.

Elsewhere in the NWSL, Gotham FC cruised past East Coast rivals the Washington Spirit 3-0, the San Diego Wave beat the Chicago Stars 3-0, and Bay FC edged the Seattle Reign 1-0.

Before the match on the road against the Courage, the Current had five wins in five games to start the season. The Courage were the last remaining winless team in the league.

Haley Hopkins scored the opening goal for the Current in the 39th minute. The strike was Hopkins’ first for Kansas City since she joined the club from the Courage in February.

Reigning NWSL MVP Temwa Chawinga was subbed off by the Current before the start of the second half due to an unspecified injury.

The Courage briefly tied the score with a goal from Ryan Williams in the 52nd minute, but Bia Zaneratto quickly restored the lead and made it 2-1 for the Current in the 57th.

With hope for a win fading heading into the final moments, Courage defender Kaleigh Kurtz scored the equalizer in the 90th minute. Then, Sanchez fired the ball into the corner for the game-winner in the 93rd.

The win was the first of the season for the Courage (1-3-2), and was enough to move them off the bottom of the standings and into 11th. Despite the loss, Kansas City (5-1-0) remained in first.

Gonzalez scores twice for Gotham

Esther Gonzalez scored two goals in seven first half minutes in Gotham’s road win over the Spirit.

Almost from the kickoff Gotham took charge. Rookie Sarah Schupansky slotted home her first NWSL goal to make it 1-0 in the third minute.

Gonzalez’s first goal was a converted penalty kick to make it 2-0 in the 32nd minute. The Spaniard then got Gotham’s third when she headed in a corner kick from Gabi Portilho.

The 32-year-old forward now leads the NWSL in goals with seven. All seven goals have come in Gotham’s last four matches.

The Spirit welcomed back Croix Bethune, who came off the bench in the second half to make her first appearance since injuring her meniscus last August.

Spirit head coach Jonatan Giráldez was shown a red card in the dying moments of the match for encroaching on Gotham’s coaching technical area.

Teenager Ascanio scores for Wave

Seventeen-year-old Kimmi Ascanio scored her first professional goal in stoppage team for the Wave’s win on the road.

With the game seemingly over, Ascanio produced an instinctive finish from inside the box to punctuate the win in the third minute of stoppage time.

Hanna Lundkvist rifled a shot into the net from 12 yards out in the 31st minute. Chicago defender Sam Staab turned the ball into her own net to make it 2-0 for San Diego in the 81st.

Although Chicago (1-5-0) outshot the guests 12-9, the Wave (3-1-2) did take one more shot on target (5) than the Stars (4).

Kundananji and Huitema score in draw

Racheal Kundananji found the breakthrough for Bay (2-2-2) in the 32nd minute. The Zambian latched onto a through ball from Caroline Conti, sprinted past Jordyn Bugg, and hooked the ball off the post and in. It was her first goal of the season.

Playing on the road, the Reign (2-2-2) equalized when Jordyn Huitema scored a header in the 50th minute. The goal came via a well-rehearsed short corner routine from Seattle, which culminated in Sam Meza crossing the ball for Huitema to flick into the net from close range.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Theo Lloyd-hughes, The Associated Press

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