Gotham FC beats the Red Stars in a penalty kick shootout to begin the Summer Cup

On Saturday, NJ/NY Gotham FC began their NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup journey against the Chicago Red Stars.  Due to the Paris Olympics, the NWSL season was paused and seven players are and will be away with their national teams over the next few weeks.

As such, the Bats are a little thin depth-wise with their roster.  They did sign a few replacement players to help bolster the team, but there would be less talent coming off the bench.  Juan Carlos Amorós still fielded a talented Starting XI, as seen with players like Bruninha, Yazmeen Ryan, and Ella Stevens.

The Red Stars are also talented, so it was a challenge to play in their home stadium.  Gotham FC was not guaranteed to win as they did in the NWSL season.  Plus, the team, which has been struggling to score more than two goals, sometimes runs into goal-scoring problems.  With four out of 20 teams moving on to the semifinals, the pressure was on the highest level to earn a win within the 90 minutes of play and earn all three points.

Unfortunately, the match ended in a 0-0 draw, resulting in a penalty kick shootout.  Every game will go straight into the shootout in the Summer Cup if it is tied after 90 minutes.  Gotham FC thankfully won in the penalty kick shootout 5-4, earning two points after the first match of the group round.  It was not ideal, but at least they did not lose.

Gotham FC secures points after a penalty kick shootout

The match started with Gotham FC’s high energy, outplaying the Red Stars.  The visitors were clearly hungry for goals but struggled to get their shots on target.  Ryan was notorious for this in the first half, managing three shots while struggling to produce a clinical finish.  That was a problem throughout 2024 so far, for the forward should have more than one goal in the regular season.

One of the best chances in the first half came in the 29th minute when Ryan took a free kick.  The forward shot the ball toward the right side of the goal, but it hit the post and deflected away toward the left side of the box.  There is a huge likelihood the ball would have gone into the back of the net if it was a few inches to the left.

Ryan and Gotham continued to be an attacking threat in the second half, picking up where they left off in the first 45 minutes.  The winger led the team with six shots out of the team’s 17 total throughout the game.  This was one of those frustrating games to watch, for the Bats outplayed Chicago, but lacked the clinical finish.  They almost had a goal from Katie Stengel, but it was called off since the forward was offside.

However, with their thin roster, Gotham FC had a setback late in the second half.  Maitane López denied a goal-scoring opportunity, subsequently receiving a red card.  This means they will be without the Spaniard for the match against the Washington Spirit.

Despite the fact Gotham was the better team, they failed to win within the 90 minutes of play.  As such, they went into a penalty kick shootout.

Ryan, Stevens, Delanie Sheehan, and Stengel all capitalized on their penalty kicks.  Cassie Miller made a stop on one of the five Chicago kicks, putting the pressure on Kristen Edmonds.  The player stepped up to the spot though, and dealt with the pressure easily.  She converted her penalty kick, giving Gotham a 5-4 win in the shootout.

Meanwhile, Miller stepped back into goal as if she had never left.  The goalkeeper had four saves during the 90 minutes of play, providing defensive help for the team.  She did not show any rust, which is exactly what was needed since she became the backup keeper to Ann-Katrin Berger.  Plus, she made the one save during the shootout.

This was not the result Gotham FC needed though.  Sadly, it is easy to think that the Bats will not make it into the semifinals.  Anything could happen in the beautiful game.  However, they will play the Spirit next, and the D.C. team has gotten the better of the NJ/NY side this year.  Miracles would have to happen for the ladies to move on to the semifinals.