Photo courtesy of Portland Thorns
Week 17 saw the dramatic return of Caiya Hanks, an historic win for Racing Louisville, and a Gotham match with a lot to talk about.
Here are 11 thoughts from the weekend. We’ll do this every Monday following NWSL match weeks. Some points will be factual, some will be opinion based. And some will just be random statements or observations.
Let’s dig in!
I – It’s still Gotham’s world
Gotham won for the fourth time in a row despite going down 1-0 to the Current after 24 seconds. In a performance that typifies the Juan Carlos Amoros era, they brushed themselves off, got to work, and did what they had to do to get the result. Unlike a week earlier when they led the Wave and choked the match into oblivion, this time they opened it up a bit and were ahead 2-1 by halftime. That’s how it finished.
Sam Kerr has fit in beautifully and mitigated the absence of Esther Gonzalez. Early returns on life without Emily Sonnett have been positive. Even with Amoros in Europe on paternity leave and Shaun Harris at the controls, Gotham has not missed a beat. They appear to be taking the playoff mentality of 2023 and 2025 and finally applying it to the regular season.
The Spirit’s 1-1 draw two days later means Gotham now lead the Shield race by six points. Since 2023, they have two NWSL Championships, a Concacaf W Champions Cup and a Challenge Cup. But Gotham have never finished higher than 4th. That seems about to change.
II – Early goal not enough for struggling Current
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