Two-time MVP and Golden Boot winner Temwa Chawinga’s aura charges KC Current

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If the National Women’s Soccer League had an award for aura, Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga would be a frontrunner. Why not add another trophy to the two MVP and Golden Boot awards she has collected in consecutive years since joining the league?

The 27-year-old Malawi international returned to the Current’s CPKC Stadium on Saturday afternoon for the first time since sustaining a hip adductor injury last October. Chawinga’s close-cropped fade is a revolving array of color, and for her 2026 NWSL debut, she opted for violet. The bright hue stood out from the Current’s fiery red kits and Gotham FC’s all-business black as she streaked across the pitch.

After 168 days, she needed just 40 minutes — 37, really, if we stop the clock at the saucy assist she provided to Debinha to bring the reigning NWSL shield winners level with the reigning NWSL champions — to remind us all of this week’s three words…

That Chawinga aura!​

A complete KC team goal


Croix Bethune Michelle Cooper Temwa Chawinga Debinha pic.twitter.com/akuuSErR2c


— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 4, 2026

Folks, it is still running strong, and it just might be enough to settle the Current’s rough start this season.

Chawinga did not score in her side’s 2-1 win on Saturday, but the force of her presence on the field, whether or not she had the ball, was as palpable as it was in her first two seasons and just as critical to unlocking the talent on the Current’s roster. As head coach Chris Armas said after the game on Saturday, it’s “the attention she draws from the opposition, the confidence she gives our players emotionally, the quality she brings onto the pitch, the threat in behind, but she’s also very smart with her runs and with the ball.”

Armas, who was hired in January to succeed Vlatko Andonovski as the Current’s manager, said it was his first time watching Chawinga play live, to which we say: “Welcome to the party.”

Chawinga’s NWSL homecoming hit different from those of other star players like the Portland Thorns’ Sophia Wilson or Gotham’s Tierna Davidson. The U.S. women’s national team striker and center back also returned to play recently, but each subbed on late in the second half of their respective games: Wilson in the 76th minute against the Washington Spirit in the season opener, and Davidson in the 61st on March 21 against the North Carolina Courage.

There is no denying that Wilson and Davidson were missed (Wilson was on maternity leave; Davidson was recovering from an ACL tear), but unlike the Thorns or Gotham, the Current did not have the luxury of time to get Chawinga back into the fold. They have suffered mightily without her, securing just one fairly narrow win over the Utah Royals and losing three straight matches this season heading into last weekend.

What better time to turn the Current’s tide than in a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal?

Last season, Gotham strolled into CPKC Stadium and eliminated any hope the Current had for a double trophy season, handing them their first home loss all year and dropping that infamous line about being underdogs. (And it aged well; Gotham went on to win the 2025 NWSL championship.)

Gotham’s quarterfinal win last year was deserved. It was also achieved without them needing to manage Chawinga. That wasn’t the case on Saturday; an intelligent ball from Current midfielder Croix Bethune in the 37th minute switched the point of attack and found winger Michelle Cooper with ample space down the right flank to whip in one of her signature crosses. Chawinga was on the prowl in the penalty box, flanked by two Gotham defenders, and still managed to get a foot on the ball, cushioning it graciously for Debinha to run onto and slot into the back of the net.

“Whenever Temwa’s on the field, for the opposition, it’s always going to be something or someone they’re gonna watch out for,” said Cooper, who scored the go-ahead goal in the 60th minute and has recently returned from an injury herself. “Your game plan completely changes when she’s on the field, and to be able to just have her presence back, it’s been really nice.”

It’s telling that Armas decided to start Chawinga and manage her minutes on the front end of the game. She subbed off in the 40th minute, a swap rarely seen for a player that hasn’t been injured or made a costly error. It doesn’t matter that Armas was not present for last year’s Gotham match. The Current could not afford to risk another home loss to the same team that crushed their title hopes.

“That was a big decision that we made to say let’s start Temwa, and from the start, let’s set a tone in this game,” he said. The Current staff had been monitoring Chawinga’s workload threshold, and Armas said she reached it around the 37th or 38th minute.

It is too early to start writing the names of 2026 MVP candidates down in permanent ink, but it is fun to start penciling in some candidates: Manaka Matsukubo of the Courage, Kennedy Fuller of Angel City and Dudinha of the San Diego Wave come to mind. The Current have plenty of work to do; they are still three spots below the playoff line in 11th place. Considering what Chawinga created from 40 minutes and 12 touches as she works her way back to total-90 match fitness, it’s easier to feel optimistic about the Current’s campaign — and her potential to become the first player in NWSL history to be crowned MVP three times.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Kansas City Current, NWSL

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