Gotham FC continues their great form with a 2-1 win over Angel City FC

Despite worries that the international break might stifle their great form, NJ/NY Gotham FC managed a 2-1 victory over Angel City FC on Saturday afternoon. This marks their third win in a row and their seventh in a row without a loss.

This result sees them, albeit temporarily, jump into fourth in the standings, two points ahead of Portland Thorns FC who play the North Carolina Courage later tonight at 10:00 PM EST.

This was also the third game in a row that Gotham managed to score multiple goals, something they did not manage in their first eight games of the season.

Gotham FC started the goal scoring when despite Angel City goalkeeper DiDi Haracic managing to get a hand to the shot from Crystal Dunn. The USWNT player put just enough behind it to see the ball slowly roll over the line to give Gotham the lead in the 26th minute.

Gotham FC continued the offensive turnaround after a 2-1 win

Gotham FC managed to have the vast majority of offensive pressure in the first half until the dying embers when Angel City started to come alive and put on real pressure just before halftime.

That momentum carried over to the second half when in the 51st minute Angel City found the equalizer. Off of a throw-in, Clarisse Le Bihan served the ball into the box for Sydney Leroux. The ball missed Leroux, who managed to occupy the two Gotham defenders in the box, resulting in a bounce in an awkward position that ultimately went past Ann-Katrin Berger.

Gotham did not let this deter them. However, they managed to swing momentum back in their favor which culminated in a goal just eleven minutes later. Down the right-hand side, Rose Lavelle and Delanie Sheehan played a beautiful one-two that culminated in Lavelle banging home a near-post goal with her left foot on the edge of the six-yard box.

Despite some late-game chances from both teams, the goal from Lavelle managed to hold up as the game-winner.

This game was filled with good performances from the Bats today. Most notably, Lavelle looked like the Lavelle that many people expected to see when she signed in free agency. In addition to her goal, her confidence, skill, and technical ability on the ball were all on offer for everyone to see today. More often than not what Lavelle managed to do on the ball today elicited multiple "oohh's" and "aahh's" from the crowd.

Other standout performers include Berger, Jenna Nighswonger, (both of whom are coming off of being named to the NWSL Best XI for May), Delanie Sheehan, Yazmeen Ryan, and Dunn.

There are some notable points from the game. Lavelle went the full 90 minutes as a Gotham player. Dunn made her first start since exactly one month ago against the Houston Dash. Mandy Freeman started her first match of the season, at right-back no less. Katie Stengel made her return from injury and made her first appearance since May 4 against North Carolina. And for the first time since tearing her ACL against the San Diego Wave on August 19, 2023, McCall Zerboni made a 13-minute plus stoppage time cameo that saw her back on the field for the first in almost 10 months.

Lastly, today was also Gotham FC's Pride game which saw the biggest crowd since the season-opening Challenge Cup at 11,662. Attendance has been a bit of a struggle for the NJ/ NY team this season with the jump many people expected not quite materializing yet. Hopefully today's result with them not just winning but the two goals coming from Lavelle and Dunn, two of Gotham's most popular players, is the turning point attendance-wise this season.