Gotham FC clinch home quarterfinal playoff game with win against Chicago Red Stars

Saturday afternoon saw NJ/NY Gotham FC travel to Chicago to take on the Chicago Red Stars in their third to last game of the NWSL regular season. This was the Bats’ second visit to the Windy City this season after previously getting the better of the Red Stars in a penalty shootout in the NWSL X Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup back in July.

While Chicago was hoping to clinch a playoff spot with a win in front of their home fans, they will have to wait a little bit longer as Gotham were the victors with a 2-0 win. This marks the team’s fifth win in their last six NWSL games, and sixth in their last eight since the league returned from the Olympic break.

Going into this game, many viewed it as a good test for Gotham FC before the playoffs. While there is a big difference in points and standings between the two sides, this is a hungry Chicago team that was looking to solidify itself into a playoff spot. There is also the aspect that these two teams could end up meeting in the first round of the playoffs, albeit in New Jersey instead of Chicago.

Ultimately, Gotham did their job in going on the road and getting a win in what was a tough and at times frustrating game. A result like this should fill players and fans with confidence that another deep playoff run is on the cards.

The match was a stereotypical Gotham FC game

The story of the game though was Gotham FC’s dominance from a statistical perspective. While a 2-0 scoreline makes that seem like an obvious conclusion to come to for someone who did not watch the game live, it was not quite as straightforward as the final result might make it seem.

While this has been by far Gotham FC's best season in its NWSL history, they have been fairly frustrating to watch at times. The Bats are near the top of many offensive statistical categories but they struggle to score goals compared to other top teams in the league. And while there was hope that after last week's 5-1 win over Bay FC, those issues might have rectified themselves, the first 85 minutes of this game felt like more of the same.

Gotham had full control of the game in the first half, with the exception of a few Red Star counterattacks from Mallory Swanson and Ludmila, which ultimately resulted in nothing for the home side. The first half ended scoreless despite the Bats having 68% possession, outshooting the home side 7-1, completing 144 passes more than Chicago, and having 26 touches in the opposition's box compared to the Red Stars' two.

The second half looked to be a lot more of the same although Chicago saw more of the ball and had more sustained attacks compared to the first half. That then changed though when VAR awarded a penalty kick to the NJ/NY team after a foul in the box on Ella Stevens. Lynn Williams subsequently stepped up and slotted the ball underneath Alyssa Naeher's left hand to give Gotham a 1-0 advantage.

The game was then put on ice thanks to an Esther González goal in the eighth minute of second half stoppage time. The ball came into the box from a Jéssica Silva cross and after taking a few touches, Esther slotted the ball home in a similar spot to Williams' penalty. This marks Silva's first assist since joining Gotham in the summer.

This win means Gotham will finish in the top four in the regular season standings. This then guarantees the ladies at least one home playoff in the first round. The win also, at least temporarily, puts Gotham in second in the table, three points ahead of the Washington Spirit in third, and four points ahead of Kansas City Current in fourth. Both teams still have a game to play this weekend at the time of writing.

It was not all smooth sailing for Gotham FC though with two big negatives coming from today. Late in the first half, Tierna Davidson looked to suffer a tweak to her right hamstring. She managed to finish the first half but was taken out at halftime. The defender injured the same hamstring back in April against Washington which kept her out for around a month. Hopefully, this was precautionary for Davidson as this will be a big blow for Gotham if this keeps her out for even just a few weeks with the playoffs right around the corner.

Additionally, head coach Juan Carlos Amorós received a red card just before Lynn Williams scored her penalty kick. While an official explanation hasn't been offered yet, early speculation is that
Amorós may have entered the field of play before the penalty was called. This could mean he will miss their next match at home to the Orlando Pride next Sunday.

Despite these negatives, it was an overall good day for Gotham FC as they moved one step closer to their ultimate goal of repeating as champions. And while this was a typically frustrating goal scoring performance from the NJ/NY side, they ultimately got the job done just as they have done for pretty much all of 2024.