Haley Hopkins has been quietly thriving in Kansas City. Or, at least she was, until last Saturday’s hat trick.
“It’s tremendous on the night for her. It’s nice to see a player like her get rewarded,” coach Chris Armas told reporters after the 4–1 Current win.
The 27-year-old forward joined the KC Current midway through the Shield-winning 2025 campaign, but only started three games. This year, however, Hopkins has come out of her shell and proven what she’s capable of, supporting an injury- and absence-laden front line.
She has started 15 of the 23 matches she’s played, scored eight goals and recorded three assists.
The timing of the hat trick was the confidence boost Hopkins needed at this point of the season, as she felt like she was going through a “mental block” the past few weeks. Her last goal before the hat trick came on Aug. 1, but she had 14 shots on goal since then that didn’t convert.
“I left a lot of chances on the field the last couple games, so that’s been a mental block and a physical block to get out of that slump. I feel like I have,” Hopkins said after the game.
What made the Sept. 26th game different for her? The balls just played perfectly for her, Hopkins explained in her post-game press conference.
“I thought our pressing was really good that game and put us in really great scoring positions,” Hopkins said. “It was one of the games where I think balls really bounced my way. I found myself in the right spots, and players fought hard to get the ball there.”
Hopkins’s hat trick celebration will be remembered alongside her standout game. She chose to “tip her hat” and “take a bow,” then “throw the hat.” The funny thing is, Hopkins didn’t even remember what celebration she did when speaking to reporters after the game. It was a perfect celebration for a “hat” trick, though.
She admitted that she “was feeling myself” and was so in the moment that she didn’t think about how she wanted to celebrate.
“You know what? I don’t know,” Hopkins told reporters after the match. “I think it was just like in that moment, I’m like, ‘All right, it’s a good moment to catch a breath.’ Also, I think it is important to celebrate in those moments. There’s moments when you can be cool, calm and collected, but like, I was proud of that and that was pretty cool.”
Hopkins’s hat trick attempt could’ve easily fallen short if it wasn’t for her teammate Temwa Chawinga. In the 56th minute, Chawinga chased down the ball and had a wide opening to score a goal to go up 3–1. However, Chawinga elected to pass the ball to Hopkins, who was on the other side of a defender. This “unselfish” act gave Hopkins her monumental hat trick.
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Chawinga, who is tied for the fourth-most goals in the league with 11 this season, decided to pass the ball to Hopkins in that moment because she trusted her teammate to deliver with a goal. The Current really needed a win in order to stay alive for the NWSL playoff picture, and it could’ve been easy for Chawinga to take the shot herself, but it just proves how strong of a player Hopkins has shaped into for her teammate to enlist trust in her.
“No matter what, I know that H is coming in my back and she finds me,” Chawinga said after the game. “So, I just need to [have] her score the goal because you need it to make the team win and to be in the playoffs. I’m really happy for the way she learned to make an effort to catch me, to be there to score.”
Armas gave props to Hopkins, of course, for recording the hat trick, but he also made sure to give Chawinga her flowers for this “unselfish” pass.
“It’s a big credit to Haley. She is known for her hard work, and grit, and work ethic, and I remind her that she’s a really good player and she has quality,” Armas said. “… I think give credit to her teammates that get her into good spots. Even you see how unselfish Temwa is. Can you imagine a player of her caliber that’s so unselfish to give a tap-in?”
Chawinga made her mark in the game, too, by scoring the team’s fourth goal about 20 minutes later.
There are four games left for the Current in the regular season, and it’s clear that Hopkins needs to remain a key part of the lineup as the playoffs near. The Current sit at seventh in the league standings with a 12–5–9 record, one spot above the playoff line.
