Despite Own Goal, Lilly Reale Shines in Gotham FC Home Opener

The rookie had her debut on Sunday night, and turned a nightmare start into a story of resilience and professionalism

Photo provided by NJ/NY Gotham FC

In life, as on the pitch, things don’t always go as planned — as was the case for rookie defender Lilly Reale on Sunday night.

In the second minute of the match, trying to clear a free kick into the box from Marta, Reale accidentally ricocheted the ball off her outstretched foot into the net, securing the opening goal for the visiting Orlando Pride.

At 21 years old, in her first professional start, such an early error could understandably have rattled her, but not only was this not the case for Reale, she went on have among the best performances of any player on the pitch.

Reale managed two shots, one on target, the most of any player other than Jaelin Howell. She completed 22 passes, putting her in the top five of all Gotham players, including nine in the final third, which is third most on the team. She won five tackles, the most of any Gotham player, and made three recoveries — all in all, not a bad night for a rookie taking on one of the most lethal attacks in the National Women’s Soccer League.

After the match, as a surprise to media, Lilly Reale walked through the mixed zone. She took questions in stride, including those about her own goal to open the match.

“Obviously, it’s my first start. I think just an unideal situation, but it’s not the first time a mistake happen in a game,” Reale said to media after the match. “Things like that happen, so I was just trying to use my teammates around my, my coaches who are supporting, uplifting me, to bounce back and stay in the right headspace.”

Photo provided by NJ/NY Gotham FC

“It’s something that can happen to anybody, something that has has happened to pretty much every defender in the world, scoring an own goal,” said team captain Tierna Davidson after the match. “It’s unfortunate, but [after it happened] we’re on to the next play already. I think it’s finding the balance of supporting her but also not making a big deal out of it because quite frankly, whenever we concede a goal it’s never one person’s fault. She played a really good game form then on, so I’m really happy with how she kept her head in the game.”

In all, Gotham ended up having a solid match against Orlando, even with the 0-2 loss. The home side bested the Pride in possession (60% to 40%) and total shots (15 to 6) and matched them on xG (1.07 to 1.02), impressive given that the Pride’s second goal was a penalty kick to close out the first half.

As head coach Juan Carlos Amorós put it, the team, including Reale, showed personality and character, never letting the score line get in the way of them trying to win.

“[Reale] is a player that has not been a pro but is a pro already, you know? It’s amazing how she communicates and I think you could see that today,” Amorós said. “You work all your life to get your first start as a pro, and suddenly that happens in front of 10,000 people, it’s how you react to that. She was outstanding. She controlled the left hand side, she was creating chances, she’s been outstanding since preseason. I’m incredibly proud of her.”

Despite the loss, the importance of the home opener was not lost on Reale. It’s just one game of hopefully many, many more to come.

“That was definitely the most special part,” Reale said." “The last time I was here was just to watch a game, so it was a bit surreal being a player on that field and having as much support as we had, with players that I once looked up to that I’m now playing with, it’s just surreal. It’s an awesome home stadium and I’m so happy to be here.”