There is no perfect way to start a playoff game, but a fifth-minute penalty kick opportunity is pretty close.

Kristen Hamilton earned it, in a sequence where the Kansas City forward appeared to get fouled more than once as she entered the 18-yard box in the Current’s 2-1 quarterfinal win over the Houston Dash on Sunday. When Lo’eau Labonta roofed the kick from the spot to give the Current a very early lead, the proverbial trumpets of destiny sounded.

All season, the Current have been game-state tacticians, uniting around an ethos to achieve a short-term goal. At times, that has meant either chasing a lead, fighting from a goal down or simply testing the waters in an even competition. The result is a cohesive sort of chaos, wherein Kansas City tries to disrupt the status quo to win, despite giving up goals more than they’d like to on the other end.

The best way to describe the Current is as a team full of gamers. They probably don’t relish putting themselves in a position to have to rise to the occasion, but it’s not a role they’re afraid of either.

From the opening whistle on Sunday, both teams pushed the tempo in an effort to come out on top of the transitional battle. The Dash couldn’t quite execute their chances early on, which left room for the Current on the counterattack.

Kansas City’s penalty evoked a scene from the 2020 Challenge Cup final, when Houston’s own penalty kick goal in the fifth minute set the stage for their 2-0 win and the first trophy in club history.

The Dash made more history in 2022, appearing in the playoffs for the first time. What they found in the postseason was an incredibly difficult task, with a result that hangs in the balance of the smallest of margins.

It's celly time! An icy PK finish from @L0momma gives KC an early lead!#TealRising | @thekccurrent pic.twitter.com/rNTRos9AU9

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) October 16, 2022

Kansas City’s go-ahead goal and subsequent Rockefeller-style kick-line celebration lent an air of inevitability to their victory, but Houston didn’t forget their own principles in the moment. In front of a record crowd at PNC Stadium, the Dash’s comfort on the ball was evident, particularly with María Sánchez taking defenders on with confidence.

At the same time, Houston was forced into some positional adjustments, including slotting in Natalie Jacobs on the right flank. In the first half, the Dash didn’t always seem on the same page, and the Current’s hyper-talented left wing of Hamilton and Hailie Mace made life difficult. But Sanchez was undeniable, wearing Kansas City down on Houston’s own left flank to earn a corner that led to Sophie Schmidt’s half-volley equalizer in the 21st minute.

What a hit from @sophieschmidt13 to tie it up!!! 🔥@HoustonDash | #HoldItDown pic.twitter.com/LQ5Vb157TE

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) October 16, 2022

From there, momentum started to bend in the direction of the Dash. Houston, however, finished the match with 20 shots but only five on goal, while Kansas City had six total shots and three on goal. Goalkeeper of the Year frontrunner AD Franch came up huge for the away team to keep Houston off the board. Dash manager Juan Carlos Amorós also made a questionable substitute in the 76th minute, replacing star striker Ebony Salmon with Elizabeth Eddy in what he later described as a tactical choice.

It’s easy to focus on Houston’s inability to break the deadlock, but the story of the second half lies within the margins of Kansas City’s off-the-ball defense. Kristen Edmonds proved essential as a 1v1 defender in key moments, backed up by Franch and Elizabeth Ball. The Current’s preferred three-back formation leaves outside center-backs vulnerable to individual battles with attackers, and the defenders’ willingness to try different tactics and put their bodies on the line bled into the Kansas City midfield on Sunday.

With Desiree Scott serving a red-card suspension, rookie Alex Loera had another strong match in the defensive midfield and fellow rookie Elyse Bennett acclimated well after Claire Lavogez exited with an injury. Lavogez couldn’t put weight on her leg as she came off in the 51st minute, and her injury seemed indicative of Kansas City’s experience even in victory.

Head coach Matt Potter decided to ride the game out with the players who had gotten the team this far, and outside of a number of excellent individual efforts, the Current struggled physically as the minutes ticked by. They squeaked out the win, but perhaps at a price for their semifinal matchup next Sunday against Shield winners OL Reign.

The quarterfinal contest looked destined for extra time, when Kate Del Fava stunningly put the game away in the 10th minute of stoppage time. In the last kick of the game (and the latest regulation goal in NWSL history), Del Fava ushered her team into the semifinals and left Houston with more questions about their quest to get over the top.

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! Kansas City wins it in stoppage time!!!#TealRising | @thekccurrent pic.twitter.com/LzzpTKeKRI

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) October 16, 2022

All season, the Current have seemed like dark-horse NWSL championship candidates, and getting through a game as tricky as this one could be step one to completing the fairytale.

Kansas City paid physically for this win, but they also did just enough to give themselves a chance at their next upset. When you’ve got a team that can handle anything, there’s likely very little that will make their opponent feel comfortable — all the way to the last minute of stoppage time.

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

The Naomi Osaka comeback tour at the 2025 US Open has ended, as the two-time New York Grand Slam champion and world No. 24 star ceded her Thursday semifinal to No. 9 Amanda Anisimova, who battled back to claim the 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-3 victory.

"Naomi is playing amazing tennis," the 23-year-old said of Osaka's US Open run. "She's back where she belongs. I told her I'm so proud of her after having a baby and playing at this level — it's insane."

With her Thursday win, Anisimova is now the only player to ever defeat Osaka in a Grand Slam quarterfinal, semifinal, or final — ending the Japanese fan-favorite's 13-0 run in the later rounds of tennis's major tournaments.

Anisimova's US Open success is even more impressive considering the result of her first-ever Grand Slam final — a brutal 6-0, 6-0 loss at Wimbledon in July.

In a massive turnaround, Anisimova handed No. 2 Iga Świątek, the 2025 Wimbledon champion, a redemptive straight-set loss in Wednesday's US Open quarterfinals en route to reaching this weekend's championship match.

Anisimova's victory means that a US player has now competed in every women's Grand Slam final dating back to the 2024 US Open, extending the country's championship-match streak to five straight Slams.

With even more history on the line, the US rising star now has a second shot at joining No. 6 Madison Keys and No. 3 Coco Gauff in hoisting a 2025 Grand Slam trophy for the US — a feat not accomplished by any single country since Serena Williams won the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon in 2015.

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How to watch the 2025 US Open championship match

Just like Keys and Gauff, Anisimova will have to defeat Aryna Sabalenka to claim her own 2025 Grand Slam trophy — with the hard-hitting US finalist holding a 6-3 all-time record against the world No. 1 player, most recently downing the 2024 US Open champion in this year's Wimbledon semifinals.

Anisimova will battle Sabalenka in for the 2025 US Open crown on Saturday, with live coverage of the championship match beginning at 4 PM ET on ESPN.

The sale saga of the Connecticut Sun added a new chapter this week, as the state of Connecticut submitted a bid proposal on Thursday that would see the WNBA team remain in-state.

Owned by the Mohegan Tribe since 2003, the state is just the latest entrant into an ongoing bidding war for the franchise, with Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca, ex-Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, and the WNBA itself all making offers ranging from $250 to $325 million in recent weeks.

Unlike previous relocation bids, the state's proposed sale plan sees the Connecticut Sun splitting home games between their current Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville and Hartford's larger PeoplesBank Arena, while also promising a new practice facility in the state capital.

Despite winding down 2025 in 12th place, the Sun have amassed a loyal local following, selling out their 10,000-capacity arena four times this year in a state buoyed by NCAA basketball powerhouse and current national champion UConn located less than an hour away.

"The best place for the Connecticut Sun is Connecticut because we have this very fierce fan base for women's basketball," Connecticut Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz told ESPN. "We love the [UConn] Huskies. We love watching the Sun… and we've seen that the Connecticut Sun players have been great community leaders and role models."

The Chicago Sky reportedly held a team meeting to address the explosive Chicago Tribune interview of Angel Reese this week, after the star forward put the already-eliminated WNBA team on blast.

"We are aware of [Reese's comments]," Sky head coach Tyler Marsh said on Wednesday. "We're addressing it in-house as currently speaking. That's where we'll stay right now."

"Angel has shown a commitment to wanting to be here," he continued. "We as an organization continue to show a commitment that we want people that want to be here."

Reese focused much of her critique on the team's leadership and roster construction, expressing disappointment as the Chicago Sky closes in on back-to-back losing seasons.

"We can't rely on Courtney to come back at the age that she's at," the 23-year-old Reese said of veteran Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot, following the 36-year-old's season-ending ACL tear in early June. "I know she'll be a great asset for us, but we can't rely on that."

"We need someone probably a little younger with some experience, somebody who's been playing the game and is willing to compete for a championship and has done it before," Reese added.

Notably, Vandersloot helped the Chicago Sky snag the 2021 WNBA title before taking the New York Liberty to a franchise-first championship last season.

A high-stakes coastal clash tops this weekend's NWSL bill, with results directly impacting the increasingly tight league standings as No. 8 Gotham tries to hold off a No. 9 Angel City side sitting just one point outside of postseason positioning.

The pair last met in April, when Gotham shutout ACFC 4-0 at LA's BMO Stadium behind a brace from the NWSL's current Golden Boot leader Esther González.

"That's the key — everyone knows their role, their responsibilities, and they're willing to sacrifice for the team defensively while also bringing their quality in attack," Gotham manager Juan Carlos Amorós said earlier this week.

As they try to rise above the crowded mid-table traffic, both teams have seen positive results in recent weeks — along with challenging levels of upheaval.

Angel City recently lost defender Alanna Kennedy, midfielder Katie Zelem, and star forward Alyssa Thompson to midseason overseas transfers, while Gotham's had little room to breathe after defeating Concacaf W Champions Cup opponent Alianza 2-0 in El Salvador on Tuesday.

"You need to be loyal to your style, cement it, and make sure the players know it," said Amorós. "That's critical when you're playing three games in seven days and traveling almost around the world."

How to watch Gotham vs. Angel City this NWSL weekend

No. 8 Gotham will host No. 9 Angel City this Sunday, kicking off live at 5 PM ET on ESPN.