Ella Stevens shines in 1-1 draw at San Diego
Gotham FC took points off San Diego Wave for the first time in club history
Gotham has a complicated relationship with Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. The same field that brought the team two season-ending injuries in 2023 also brought them a National Women’s Soccer League championship just a few months later.
Capping off a three games in nine days, NJ/NY Gotham FC with an 1-1 draw against San Diego Wave FC on Sunday night.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the team,” said head coach Juan Carlos Amorós after the match. “It was an amazing effort this week, getting out of here with a point, but it is a bit bittersweet because there were moments in the game where we could have sealed it, but we didn’t. We are now unbeaten in four, conceding only one goal in three games, fantastic job from everyone.”
Including the 2024 Challenge Cup Final, Gotham and San Diego have met a total of five times prior to Sunday, and Gotham had never won — or even drawn — against the Southern California side in that time. In Fact, Sunday’s match, their 6th meeting, marked only the second time Gotham has scored on San Diego in all competitions.
Ella Stevens was ready to change that.
The first half saw multiple chances for Gotham, including two off-target shots from Stevens. In the 25th minute, Stevens found her mark.
After midfielder Delanie Sheehan expertly controlled a wayward ball in San Diego’s box, she passed it back to fullback Jenna Nighswonger. The defender served the ball into the box to the feet of Stevens who pulled off a turn-and-shoot to get the ball past Wave keeper Kailen Sheridan.
“Ella brings this component of being able to hold the ball up for us and as a midfielder I love to play off my forwards, so that's huge for me,” said Sheehan after the match. “Her presence in the box [and ability to finish chances] is very clear, and she definitely helps a lot in the build up.”
According to Stevens, her growing connection with Nighswonger was paramount to tonight’s goal.
“Jenna’s really been finding me, and credit to her,” Stevens said. “She works on that ball into the box every day after training. She found me in the box [tonight].”
For Amorós, Stevens is constantly growing, hard working, and has an understanding of the concepts behind Gotham’s distinctive style of play.
“She’s a clear example of commitment, hard work, growth, and adding value to her game and to the team,” Amorós said. “Definitely today that goal was special for her, special for us, and [gets] us a point.”
An important point in a three-game week
Both the Wave and Gotham came into Sunday’s match with a slate of injuries impacting the team. With Alex Morgan and Naomi Girma out for the Wave and Tierna Davidson and Katie Stengel out for Gotham, each teams had to rely on their depth both up top and on the back line to get the job done.
In particular, Gotham had to take advantage of a deep roster for necessary rotation during a three-game week which included two back-to-back road games.
“It has not been easy because there are a lot of players that are not available, we don’t have a lot of days to train, and we have to play three games in a week — those things are difficult for the players,” Amorós said. “We have a lot of players that when we were getting to the end of the game were already close to 300 minutes with the extra time in a week. That’s a lot, but they kept fighting and were going for a win.”
Stevens came off in the second half — the striker had made three consecutive starts in the nine-day game stretch — but she was replaced by none other than Rose Lavelle. The swap moved Esther into the 9, a role that Stevens occupied during the first half, allowing Lavelle to work her patented magic in the midfield.
With Esther forcing a save from Sheridan in the 53rd minute and Lavelle making a play at goal just a couple minutes later, Gotham seemed to be knocking on the door for a second goal, including a long-rage shot on target from Lynn Williams in the 56th minute. Despite the chances, the second goal never materialized.
“It was quite clear that we wanted that second goal,” Amorós said. “We had a few chances to kill the game, but we didn’t.”
Gotham’s newest keeper Ann-Katrin Berger did her part in getting the result for the team, coming up big for the team with a save in 60th minute from a free kick off the foot of the dangerous María Sánchez.
Gotham’s missed chances would come back to haunt them as Wave found their equalizer via defender Hanna Lundkvist’s header in the 64th minute from a corner kick.
“Obviously, San Diego is a fantastic team, playing at home, and they get the equalizer on the set piece,” Amorós said.
Gotham would see out the 1-1 draw, adding to a four-game undefeated streak.
“This point is big time for us,” Sheehan said. “We haven’t gotten points off of [San Diego] ever, and every game we’ve come out of it feeling a bit disappointed because we do compete with them. So getting a point out of this game is big, especially at the end of a long week.”
Next up, Gotham will host the Chicago Red Stars at home on Sunday, May 19th at 5PM ET.