5 things on Gotham FC's to-do list this offseason

2. The Bats need depth at fullback

In both playoff games, head coach Juan Carlos Amorós started Mandy Freeman at left-back and Jess Carter at right-back. Both players are natural center-backs but Amorós felt the need to start them over Jenna Nighswonger and Bruninha, the only healthy natural fullbacks left on the roster come the end of the season.

Ultimately these were tactical decisions made by the head coach that he felt gave the team the best chance to win and were less so indictments of Nighswonger and Bruninha as players. Nighswonger was named to the NWSL Best XI for the regular season after all.

But despite Nighswonger and Bruninha being full internationals with the USWNT and Brazil respectively, as well as their impeccable play in last year's playoffs, they are still the two youngest players on the roster. And for as much as this team had depth, the fullback positions were probably their weakest spot. And that already weak depth got weaker as they lost Kelley O'Hara to injury for most of the season, and then traded away 2024 first-round pick Maycee Bell.

This lack of depth ultimately bit them hard in their loss to the Washington Spirit as Amorós felt that starting two center-backs as the two fullbacks gave them the best chance to win and it ultimately changed the way they played almost to a fault.

While Freeman and Carter are good players and performed admirably in their roles, Freeman especially played well and potentially earned herself a contract extension. Having actual fullbacks as fullback depth will make this team a world of good. Hopefully, it will not require such a big change in playing style when Nighswonger or Bruninha aren't in the starting lineup.

1. Add depth in the Gotham FC midfield

While Gotham FC had their fair share of injuries this year, miraculously their starting midfielders went through the season relatively unscathed. Lavelle, who has a known injury history, played the most NWSL regular season matches in her entire career at 23. Known stalwarts Martin and Sheehan played 25 and 26 matches respectively.

Similar to the fullback depth, a lot of this depth either dissipated throughout the season or was made up of players playing out of position.

Sonnett ended up at center-back after starting the season in midfield, Sinead Farrelly retired because of injury early in the season, and Maitane López has seemingly fallen out of favor with Amorós after being a key piece in their 2023 playoff run, albeit as a defender. There is also McCall Zerboni who missed the first half of the season due to injury and Yazmeen Ryan has seemingly solidified herself as a forward after spending a lot of time last season in midfield.

With Dunn's future up in the air, López and Zerboni being pending free agents, and the impending free agency of Sheehan mentioned in the first point, adding depth in midfield should also be a priority with the fullback position. In addition to potentially losing Sheehan in free agency, there is no guarantee that Lavelle will have another year health-wise similar to what she had this year.

Moreover, there is the risk of burnout with some of these players. Gotham FC played more games than any other NWSL team across all competitions in 2024 and is on track to be near the top of that list again in 2025. And while Amorós does a good job of utilizing every player at his disposal, this midfield trio can only play so many minutes before it starts to catch up to them.