Temwa Chawinga. Photos Credit: Kansas City Media.
The United States’ National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) started in familiar fashion for Malawian Temwa Chawinga after she scored to put Kansas City on the path to a 3-1 victory over Portland Thorns on Saturday.
Temwa scored after two minutes before team mates Michelle Cooper and Deborah Oliviera cushioned the lead in between Olivia Moultrie’s consolation for the visitors.
Temwa is continuing from where she left off last season when she won the NWSL Most Valuable Player Award following her stellar debut campaign with Kansas City, shrugging off competition from other finalists for the award including Barbra Banda.
The 2023 Cosafa Women’s Championship top scorer netted a record 20 league goals and six assists after having joined Kansas City from Wuhan University Women’s FC this season.
The 26-year-old also overtook the previous record of 18 goals in a single NWSL season, which Chicago Red Stars player Sam Kerr held since 2019.
The Malawian is the first player in current franchise history to earn MVP. She finished with the overall 24 goals and eight assists across all competitions.
On Saturday, Angolan forward Flora Marta Lacho, who joined Kansas City from TP Mazembe, on Friday, made the playing squad but watched proceedings from the bench.
The result saw Kansas City join Orlando Pride, who started the season with an emphatic 6-0 rout of Chicago Stars 6-0 on Friday, at the summit of the 14-member log table. Zambian Barbra Banda was among the scorers for Orlando after bagging a brace.
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