Gotham FC's path to the Championship
As NJ/NY Gotham FC looks to win back-to-back National Women's Soccer League Championships, the squad will have to face top teams to earn their spot in the final
It’s that time of the year — the air gets chilly, the leaves fall to the ground, you consider swapping out your iced coffee for hot coffee (but you don’t), and you get ready for the National Women’s Soccer League playoffs.
This season, Gotham FC finished in third place, securing the team at least one home playoff match which will be on Sunday, November 10th at 3PM ET against the Portland Thorns.
Gotham enters the postseason with 17 wins, 5 draws, and 4 losses, the second-best win record in the league this year.
After a whirlwind 2023 season that saw Gotham squeak into the playoffs and make a storybook run to a championship, the NJ/NY side is looking to repeat.
So what does that look like for the defending champs? Let’s take a look.
Quarterfinals: Gotham v. Thorns
On Sunday, Gotham will host the Portland Thorns fresh off the visitor’s 3-0 thrashing of Angel City FC to end the regular season. The Thorns have had an up-and-down season, finishing 2024 with 10 wins, 4 draws, and 12 losses.
Ownership and coaching changes destabilized the team early on this year, but the Thorns have started to look more and more like themselves as the season came to a close.
In their two meetings this season, Gotham has bested the Thorns both times, winning 1-0 away in March (goal from Esther) and 2-0 at home in August (goals from Ella Stevens and Yazmeen Ryan).
However, the Thorns enter the postseason with a little bit extra to play for: a final championship for the retiring Canadian legend Christine Sinclair.
The Thorns’ struggles this season were not for a lack of an all-star roster. Gotham will have to contend with the likes of Sophia Smith, Sam Coffey, and Hina Sugita, just to name a few.
Should Gotham be victorious against the Thorns, it will once again come from the team’s high press, expert utilization of space on the wings, and creativity on the ball from some of the most technical players in the league.
Semifinal possibilities: Washington Spirit or Bay FC
Should Gotham win on Sunday, the next match will either take them to our nation’s capital to face second seeded Washington Spirit or allow them to stay at home and host California’s Bay FC.
Although the Spirit enter the postseason with 18 wins, 2 draws, and 6 losses — tied for most wins this year with Shield winners Orlando Pride.
Gotham has not beaten the Spirit during the regular season, falling to the D.C. side 2-0 in both matchups. However, Gotham did manage a win against the Spirit during the NWSL Summer Cup with a penalty scored by Yazmeen Ryan.
The Spirit have proven to be Gotham’s kryptonite this year. Gotham has taken points off the other top four teams (two draws against Kansas City, and one win against Orlando), but the Spirit has been an elusive win for the NJ/NY side.
Bay FC has also struggled against the Spirit, losing 2-1 in March and 3-0 in July. Gotham will certainly be hoping for an upset in this match as the team has bested Bay in both matches, 2-0 in May and more recently a 5-1 thrashing in October.
Championship matchup: ORL, CHI, KC, NC
It is too early to preview a possible Championship matchup. Much has to happen on the other side of the bracket. Orlando will take on Chicago and Kansas City will take on North Carolina.
Gotham has mixed results against many of the teams on this side of the bracket. In addition to the two draws against Kansas City and the one win/one loss against Orlando, Gotham has one win/one loss against North Carolina and two wins against the Chicago Red Stars.
Final Thoughts
Gotham enters the postseason with its best regular season record in club history, a roster that has finally started to get healthy after a year of lengthy injury reports, and a team hungry for a second championship.
The team has earned a reputation as a contender in knockout soccer and will look to once again asset their dominance in the playoffs.
still cannot believe our manager of the year candidate subbed out BOTH Yaz Ryan and Rose Lavelle at the start of ET in the semi final and replaced them with Silva and Kizer.
our two most important offensive players and primary creators - with one full weeks rest waiting before a potential final - and replaced them with zippy wingers who haven't passed 130 minutes played for Gotham this season.
we then get what we deserved - zero midfield control in ET and after the red card, Lynn Williams thrown at right back to finish off the game. imagine not wasting a pointless substitute at the break and then having actual options if Bru gets sent off rather than what happened?
media talked about depth all year long and then the manager sits our healthy stars down in the most consequential 30 minutes of our season and this is what we get. so disappointing from Juan & his answer in the post game was so mealy mouthed it's obvious there was no injuries which forced the switch.
he did it just to feel something while Rodman on the other side stayed on until the end and promptly got one of ours sent off. i wonder if she was tired at all too? maybe their manager understood the situation and knew he couldn't weaken his team by taking off one - let alone two! - of their best players and thus decided not to? just crazy in game management from our guy.
Match 1 against the Spirit - away early in the season when Gotham was already playing a depleted starting xi against a full strength Spirit and then lost Davidson to injury in the 20th minute.
Match 2 against the Spirit - for Gotham, this was the final game during a 3-day match week while the Spirit had a full weeks rest before traveling to NJ for a game that was played in 100 degree humidity where the team who was playing their third game in 7 days didn't quite look like themselves.
i welcome a fully rested match week with the Spirit this playoffs if we get it. it would be the first match played between the two teams this year that would be on equal footing in terms of fitness and availability. i expect Gotham to handle Portland this weekend as they have an enormous advantage matching up against the thorns backline and keeper options. gotham will know exactly how to mitigate Coffey and Smith and have the personnel to do it again this year.