Gotham FC ends first part of the NWSL season with victory over the Houston Dash

NJ/NY Gotham FC get a much-needed win at Sports Illustrated Stadium after last week's disappointing CONCACAF W Champions Cup results, thanks to a 1-0 victory over the Houston Dash. The win means the team has five wins in their last six NWSL matches and will head into the break tied on points, sitting fifth in the table.

Hence, Gotham FC will go on the break on a high note after their less-than-ideal results in Mexico. While it was not the attacking masterclass they would have maybe wanted, it was very much a classic Gotham match under Juan Carlos Amorós. There was a lot of possession, they controlled large portions of the match, they were strong defensively, and they did just enough to get the three points.

The Bats took advantage of Houston after what's been an up-and-down season that recently saw the visitors on the upswing; they go into the break with a defeat. While they do go into the break outside of the playoff spots, they are still within touching distance of the playoffs. Perhaps things will be different when the teams meet next.

In the meantime, after this weekend, the NWSL is going on a four-week break for all teams before coming back on Friday, June 26, for the Challenge Cup. The league is restarting as a whole July 4th weekend. This gives Gotham FC plenty of time to regroup and rest as a team and for players like Ann-Katrin Berger, Mandy Freeman, and Bruninha to get healthy and back onto the field.

Gotham FC is going into the break on a high

After a quiet opening 10 minutes, both teams began to find their rhythm and start to put shots on frame. Houston had two chances early on, with Avery Patterson first missing the net before a long-range effort from Leah Klenke was saved pretty comfortably by Shelby Hogan.

It was then Gotham FC's turn, with both Jordynn Dudley and Esther González having their attempts on goal before Dudley managed to find the breakthrough shortly thereafter.

A long over-the-top ball from Tierna Davidson found a streaking Dudley down the right wing. She was then able to cut inside, out-muscle Dash defender Lisa Boattin, and then unleash a powerful left-footed shot that went right over the head of Houston goalkeeper Jane Campbell. This was Davidson's first-ever NWSL assist and the first time she had ever registered goal contributions in back-to-back league matches.

From that point on, it was all Gotham in the first half, with attempts from Jaedyn Shaw, Jaelin Howell, and González all threatening the Houston goal. While the home team maintained control of the game going into halftime, they will feel slightly hard done by not finding a second goal in the opening 45 minutes.

As the second half got going, it was Houston who took the initiative in the opening 15 or so minutes. While they did try to pile on the pressure and find the equalizer, Gotham's defense did a very good job of minimizing their opportunities to get off shots. Perhaps the Dash's best chance of the half came in the 73rd minute when a bouncing ball found its way to forward Maggie Graham, who got a shot off, but it was comfortably saved by Hogan.

It looked like Gotham doubled their lead 10 minutes later when Midge Purce went off on one of her trademark down-the-wing and up the byline runs before feeding second-half sub Rose Lavelle for an easy tap-in. The goal was, however, ruled out as the ball ended up going out of bounds as Purce was carrying the ball down by the end line, ruling out what would have been a much-needed insurance tally.

It ended up not mattering, for Gotham held on to the 1-0 lead and will head into the summer break on a six-match unbeaten run and their eighth clean sheet of the season. Hogan got her first clean sheet of the season in her first start in NWSL play and her second start in all competitions.

This win means they are now in a three-way tie with the Washington Spirit and Kansas City Current with 21 points. The Spirit holds the tiebreaker with the best goal differential at +9, before Gotham with +7, and then KC at +1, putting the Bats in fifth place. Crucially, they only sit four points off of the first-place San Diego Wave FC with one or two games in hand on the three teams ahead of them in the table.

Add us as a preferred source on Google