Gotham FC: 5 storylines to follow in 2024

2. Who makes the USWNT Olympic roster?

On Gotham's roster, there are currently eight players who are, to varying degrees, in the running for a spot on the USWNT Olympic roster. Davidson, Dunn, Lavelle, Nighswonger, O'Hara, Purce, Sonnett, and Williams have all been called up to the USWNT within the past 12 months.

NWSL play will play a big role in deciding who does and does not end up making this roster. With Gotham having a pretty stacked roster themselves, as well as a coach with a propensity to rotate and no loyalty to a specific lineup, these players will need to do their best while they're here to stick as starters and make the Olympic roster.

1. Can Gotham avoid another late season collapse?

As weird as it is to say about a team that won a championship, Gotham FC needs to avoid having a similar late-season collapse to what they had in 2023. After last year's World Cup, the Bats had only one win in their last seven games, going from third in the league and still in Shield contention, to just squeaking into the last playoff spot on a goal differential tiebreaker over the Orlando Pride.

As much as the performances in some of those games were necessarily bad, the 2-0 loss to the Houston Dash at home comes to mind. They need to find ways to win these games and stay consistent throughout the whole season. There are ten games left in the season after the league comes back from their Olympic break. That is more than enough time for Gotham FC to find their footing if they come back a little bit slower than others, or enough time to truly sink themselves and potentially miss the playoffs.