Wildfire smoke and stifling heat turned Gotham FC’s historic Queens Classic win into a stop-start affair Wednesday night, as the reigning NWSL champions edged the Washington Spirit 1-0 before a record crowd at Citi Field.
Rose Lavelle settled the match with a curling chip in the 37th minute. But her strike was slightly overshadowed by the orange haze hovering over Flushing’s night sky. A sellout crowd of 42,175 — a New York City women’s sports record — packed the MLB stadium for the event, watching through the smog as mandated hydration breaks repeatedly broke up the game.
Wildfire Smoke Filled New York Skies Ahead of Gotham FC Clash
The league monitored conditions all day before the 8 PM ET kickoff. Smoke from hundreds of wildfires across Canada and Minnesota had settled over the Northeast, prompting New York to issue a statewide air quality advisory. As if that wasn’t enough, near-100-degree temperatures added an extreme heat warning to the mix.
According to NWSL policy, an air quality index between 150 and 180 mandates two breaks per half, while anything above 180 triggers delays or cancellation. The AQI read 171 at kickoff, allowing the match to kick off but forcing players off the pitch for two hydration breaks per half. During one stoppage, Spirit star Trinity Rodman was spotted using an oxygen mask on the sidelines.
“Air quality was rough,” a frustrated Rodman said afterward. “Not to make excuses at all, but I think on both sides we were all like, ‘another break, another break, another break.’”
“If we have to have a hydration break every 15 minutes, then we shouldn’t be playing the game. That’s my opinion,” she continued. “But at the end of the day, there’s 40,000 people. It’s a whole event. So it was a hard situation for everybody.”
The interruptions put both benches on edge. Washington head coach Adrián González didn’t mince words postmatch. He called the breaks a momentum-killer even as he acknowledged their necessity.
“Can I be honest? I don’t like them,” González said. “I think it kills the game. But I understand it, so I need to accept it.” He added that solving problems on the fly is “part of the beauty,” and providing mid-match feedback interrupted that rhythm.
Players Debate NWSL Hydration Break Pros and Cons
Spirit midfielder Andi Sullivan took the conditions in stride. She suggested the extra water breaks may have actually helped her hold up physically across her longest outing since returning from maternity leave. However, she suggested incorporating a single break earlier on might be more effective for maintaining flow.
“I didn’t mind it too much,” said the NWSL veteran. “I would be curious to do one water break at 20 minutes instead of waiting until 30. That would be a good compromise, so that the game doesn’t become too chopped up.”
Washington defender Tara Rudd suspected the hype surrounding the Queens Classic influenced the decision to play despite air quality concerns.
“I think if it were different circumstances, maybe the game would have been pushed,” she told reporters. “But because there’s so many people here… It’s not an excuse, but the water breaks [were] disrupting the game.”
The debate mirrors a broader one at the Men’s World Cup, where warm summer weather ushered in the tournament’s first-ever hydration breaks. Sunday’s final between Spain and Argentina is slated to be played at MetLife Stadium, about 22 miles from Citi Field. However, forecasters expect the air quality to improve by the end of the week.
“Times are changing, and we need to adjust, and we need to accept it,” González concluded.
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