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Gotham FC<\/a> secured its first Challenge Cup on Friday, defeating the Kansas City Current<\/a> 2-0 Friday in Columbus, Ohio.\u00a0<\/p>\n The rainy affair in ScottsMiracle-Gro Field marked the Buckeye State\u2019s first ever professional women\u2019s soccer game. Columbus will be home to the National Women\u2019s Soccer League\u2019s<\/a> 18th expansion side<\/a> in 2028.\u00a0<\/p>\n The annual Challenge Cup match features the reigning NWSL champion and Shield winners. This year\u2019s edition provided the league some action amidst a month-long hiatus for the ongoing World Cup.<\/p>\n Gotham and Kansas City currently sit side-by-side on the league table in 5th and 6th place, respectively.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n And for the latter side, the match was a chance to avenge the 2025 NWSL Playoff Quarterfinals. Then-eight seed Gotham upset the Shield winners 2-1 in an extra time thriller en route to the championship trophy.\u00a0<\/p>\n Indeed, Kansas City applied early pressure Friday, limiting Gotham\u2019s attack for the first 30 minutes of the match.\u00a0<\/p>\n But Gotham was dead-on for its only two shots on goal, starting with a penalty from Esther Gonz\u00e1lez<\/a> in the 37th minute that came from the Current\u2019s Lo\u2019eau LaBonta<\/a> foul on Jaelin Howell<\/a> in the box.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gotham\u2019s star rookie Jordynn Dudley<\/a> scored the game winner with a shot into the low left corner in the 79th minute, beating Current defender Kayla Sharples<\/a> 1-v-1 on the way.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWinning that ball back herself and driving forward and making something out of nothing came at a really critical point in the game and gave us some assurance,\u201d Gotham defender Tierna Davidson<\/a> said. \u201cIt\u2019s something we\u2019re not surprised by, but it\u2019s always very impressive.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Kansas City couldn\u2019t find the same converting success. The response to Gotham\u2019s penalty seemed to come from Temwa Chawinga<\/a>\u2019s strike in the 63rd minute, but the goal was ruled offside.\u00a0<\/p>\n For Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amor\u00f3s, the clean sheet was a credit to the team\u2019s defense.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe played arguably the best team at scoring goals over the last couple of years, and we were able to really limit their chances,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Along with Dudley\u2019s talent on offense, Amor\u00f3s said the rookie didn\u2019t shy away from pressing and making necessary tackles, preventing Kansas City from building momentum.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dudley is looking to do even more of that when the league resumes play next weekend.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019ll be really useful in future games knowing that we need to press and put pressure on the opposition\u2019s back line,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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