The NJ/NY Gotham FC squad took their 1-0 lead into the 9th minute of 2nd half added time, only to settle for a draw against the visiting Seattle Reign. The club, which had gone 7-1-1 since the start of May struggled slightly out of the gate, giving up several turnovers toward the end of the first half, giving Seattle 2 shots on net & the possibility of taking a 1-0 lead into halftime in the muggy Sunday weather.
The second half saw Gotham come out of the gate almost immediately, needing just 2 minutes into the half after a one timer from Ella Stevens across the box found Midfielder Rose LaVelle for an early 2nd half 1-0. The team continued a second half press for the next 15 minutes but unable to double the lead. At the 70th minute however Seattle came as close as a team was able without knotting it up, bringing a shot over Goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger’s right shoulder but off the right end of the crossbar and rebounding to Bethany Balcer whose shot was saved by Berger inches away from crossing the line.
However, in a slightly surprising 9 minutes of added time the score finally shifted as Seattle picked up the equalizer, after a set piece from nearly midfield by Quinn went towards the box, it was accidently headered in by Midfielder Nealy Martin for the unexpected Seattle equalizer.
In the end, it’s a draw and a point, but really it’s a loss of 2 points. The team stays a point ahead of the Portland Thorns for 4th place but remain 4 points behind Washington with a match still in hand. Next up for the squad is a west coast trip to LA for a match against Angel City, but then a full 7 week break for the International Friendlies and Olympics then back at the end of August.
5 STATS
1) Rose Lavelle’s goal was her 4th this year, putting her in the second spot for goals on the season for Gotham. It’s been a good month for Lavelle, with 3 goals in 5 matches this month.
2) With the 1 goal allowed today the team has allowed 12 this season. This keeps them 2nd in the league in goals allowed, 1 behind 2nd place Orlando.
3) The Own Goal by Gotham was their first since October 2023, a 2-2 against Kansas City.
4) Going into this match Gotham was 6th in the league in shots on goal with 61 through 14 matches for 4.36 shots per game, slightly below this match’s 5 on goal.
5) Facing Angel City before the break the Bats are 3-1-1 against the team from LA, including 2W-0L-0D on the road and the team’s only loss coming in a 3-1 final back in 2022.
About the author – Scott Churchson has been an actor in every way for the past 14 years, from BG to stand in to stunts and principal, a sports writer for the past 4 and is one of the people that created Stream Punk Entertainment. He’s married to a veterinarian, has a cat with three working legs, a mother-in-law who just moved in and is just a simple man trying to make his way in the universe.