3 things we learned as Gotham FC continues to win by beating Racing Louisville

On Sunday evening, NJ/NY Gotham FC welcomed Racing Louisville FC to New Jersey for the teams' first meeting of the 2026 season. The Bats were hoping to continue their good form since returning from the international break. And, they did. The team won 1-0 to win their third straight game.

With no change to the injury report, Juan Carlos Amorós went with the same Starting XI from last weekend’s game against Bay FC and Wednesday’s game against Chicago Stars FC. As the saying goes, if it is not broken, then why fix it? It is still impressive, despite Gotham FC’s missing defenders who are injured, that the Bats have done well defensively by keeping three clean sheets.

The NJ/NY side was not as threatening offensively compared to the last two matches. However, they were still dominant in the final third, outshooting Racing. And of course, the difference in the match was the goal, scored by Jaedyn Shaw. She secured the win via a tap-in, but the only reason she scored was due to the perfect pass from Jordynn Dudley.

Gotham FC is now at a point where the team should be. So, here are three things we learned from the Bats’ win over Racing Louisville.

History for Gotham FC

With the win against Racing Louisville, the NJ/NY team has made some club and NWSL history. By securing the clean sheet, this is now the second time in club history that Gotham FC has had three consecutive home clean sheets. It started with the draw with the Orlando Pride, and then the wins over Bay FC and now Racing.

In addition, Ann-Katrin Berger is now the first goalkeeper to secure six clean sheets in the first eight NWSL games in a season. This was absolutely incredible, especially since the backline over the last three games has included two forwards in Guro Reiten and Midge Purce. Unfortunately, the injury list is still full of defenders, and Lilly Reale might not have been ready to start.

Once again, Gotham FC has made history with Amorós in charge of the squad. And likely, they are not done in 2026.

Should Gotham FC keep the backline?

The defense for the Bats has been superb again this season. As mentioned, it is impressive what the backline has done over the last few games with so many defenders missing. At the same time, it makes it easy to wonder whether Gotham should stick with the backline of having Reiten and Purce play as fullbacks.

The NJ/NY side is unbeaten with them there and the rest of the lineup, for it has been the same. It might be easy to say yes with that in mind. However, rotation will be needed once players return, and how can one not have Emily Sonnett in the backline? Plus, there is a reason Reale was the Rookie of the Year in 2025.

The good news is that this is a good problem to have. And if Gotham does make the changes, and if the results are not good, then they could go back to this lineup if that is the best option.

Gotham needs more fans at games

Outside of what goes on the pitch, there is no question that the club should be having more fans at home matches. This is a team full of stars, and it was sad to only see a little over 6,100 in the stands. The game took place on a beautiful Sunday evening in May, and more supporters should have been willing to go.

Yes, attendance is better compared to previous seasons. However, when one sees other teams like the Washington Spirit and Portland Thorns FC having great attendance throughout the season, fans should want to see this occur at Sports Illustrated Stadium. There is the argument that they should play elsewhere, but that is home for now.

Gotham FC needs to figure out how to get more fans in the stadium. The good news is that more people should attend next week’s game, with some cheaper tickets sold for the match. Nevertheless, the Bats should have at least 10,000 or more every week.

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