Jordynn Dudley powers Gotham FC past North Carolina in a physical encounter

Make it two road wins in a row for NJ/NY Gotham FC, who pulled off a great 2-1 victory over the North Carolina Courage. The win puts them six points above the second-placed San Diego Wave FC, and it means that they'll maintain at least a five-point advantage over the Washington Spirit.

This was a big win not just in making sure they maintain their points lead at the top of the table, but also given the team they were playing. North Carolina is the league's top scorers, and they have not been held to just one goal at home in 10 games. It was one thing getting a victory over a Racing Louisville FC team last week that's near the bottom of the table, but doing so against a great attacking and very good overall side like the Courage on the road was a real statement of intent on Gotham's part.

Now, North Carolina has lost three of their last four matches, all against fellow playoff-bound sides. They remain in a solid spot with a couple of teams between them and the playoff cut-off line, but it's close points-wise, with just three points separating them from ninth-placed Angel City FC.

There were some worries amongst fans that, after the loss to the Denver Summit a few weeks ago, it might be the beginning of a run of bad results, with Gotham's Shield chances dwindling if that were to come about. The club has since responded with two consecutive away wins, with both games seeing them score early, concede an equalizer, then find a winner in the second half.

A double for Dudley in Gotham FC's win

For the second game in a row, Gotham scored the opening goal in the eighth minute of play. A great bit of build-up play involving Jordynn Dudley, Midge Purce, and Jess Carter resulted in Sam Kerr receiving the ball and attracting no less than six Courage players before she found Dudley with a simple pass.

The rookie subsequently took the ball with a burst of speed and went 1v1 with Kailen Sheridan in the Courage goal, with the rookie beating the Canadian international. The ball took a deflection off Sheridan on the way in, but that shouldn't take anything away from the build-up or finish by Dudley.

This was Dudley's first goal since the Challenge Cup on June 26 and her first in NWSL play since a 1-0 win over the Houston Dash on May 31. For as good as Dudley has been this season, this was only her seventh goal contribution. She has made this sort of run plenty of times, with her unable to find the back of the net at the end of them for one reason or another.

If she can figure out how to finish these runs on goal, then that adds another dangerous dimension to this Gotham attack that really does need another X-factor from time to time.

It looked like North Carolina found an equalizer just seven minutes later when Evelyn Ijeh scored off a poor giveaway from Guro Reiten, who held the ball for too long. However, Ijeh was deemed to be offside on the pass from new Courage player Gianna Paul.

From then on, it was a defensive masterclass in the first half from Gotham, holding the Courage, and perhaps more crucially, Ashley Sanchez, quiet. North Carolina made a late push in the closing minutes of the half, where they put on some pressure, but failed to create anything dangerous.

Coming out of the break, North Carolina seemed to have found an equalizer via Sanchez's record-tying 20th goal of the season. A great ball from right-back Ryan Williams found Sanchez on a beautifully timed run before the forward cut inside and finished past goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger. However, VAR intervened and found Paul to be offside in the build-up, and the goal was ruled out.

But eventually, North Carolina found an equalizer in the 69th minute off of a corner kick. The initial ball was cleared away by Carter before Feli Rauch let off a rocket of a shot that was saved by Berger, but she was unable to get to the second shot from Natalia Staude, who scored her first-ever NWSL goal.

The momentum shifted in North Carolina's favor following their equalizer, with the majority of play from then until stoppage time coming in their attacking half. That was until the second minute of stoppage time when Dudley, who had become public enemy number one on the night in Cary, scored her second of the game. A cross from second-half sub Bruninha found the head of Kerr in a crowded 18-yard box, with her looping header finding Rose Lavelle on the far side of the goal.

Courage goalkeeper Sheridan was caught halfway as she came out of her goal but couldn't manage to catch the ball. Lavelle did brilliantly to head the ball back in front of goal, where Dudley managed to bundle it home to give Gotham a late 2-1 lead and give her her first multi-goal game in NWSL, and Lavelle's first assist of the season.

And that would be the last main piece of action of the game. It was a gutsy performance from Gotham to come back and get the win in a hostile road environment against a very good team.

Undoubtedly, the NJ/NY team will be happy with the result and the overall performance. Also, they may feel a little lucky that two of North Carolina's goals were called offside, and rightfully so.

A big story coming from this game was the physicality. In addition to her two goals, Dudley was also the most fouled player on both teams with six, and twice she felt like she was the victim of a hair pull by Feli Rauch and Dani Weatherholt.

It did not seem like VAR intervened on either occasion, so they may be subject to further review by the league. Dudley spoke postgame about how understanding to control her emotions going forward is important as she committed three fouls of her own, the second most in the game.

But playing on the edge and being involved in the game seems to be a big part of what gets her going and allows her to play at her best. Some of the lashing out and extras after coming together must be addressed, but hopefully she doesn't have the fire and aggression she plays with diminished, as that is a big part of what makes her so effective for Gotham FC.

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