Red Bull Arena | Harrison, New Jersey – Sunday, October 15 at 5:00 PM ET
Players to watch:
Gotham forward Lynn Williams leads the NWSL in regular season shots this year with 77, two more than Portland forward Sophia Smith’s total. Williams also has 46 tackles this season, making her the first player to have 75+ shots and 40+ tackles in a single regular season since Crystal Dunn did as much in 2018.
Six different Current players scored in the team’s 6-3 win over Chicago, including leading scorers in midfielder Debinha (9) and forward Cece Kizer (6), both of whom are the only Kansas City players to have tallied more than three goals on the year. The goal was also the third consecutive game that Debinha had scored in, matching her longest streak of the season after she scored in three straight from April 16-30 this year.
Match facts: It has all come down to this… one final regular season weekend left, and four playoff positions up for grabs with all six NWSL matches kicking off at 5 PM ET on Paramount+ and other outlets. For most details on the league’s broadcast plan, check out where to view expanded coverage here.
Gotham FC can guarantee a playoff position with a win, but sitting in 4th place on 30 points in a three-way tie means that a loss or even draw against the now-eliminated Kansas City Current could cost them a spot in the postseason. For Kansas City, though the club was eliminated from playoff contention with a 2-1 loss at Washington at the end of September, it will look to capitalize off a thrilling 6-3 win over Chicago last week to end the season strong.
Gotham has lost its last two matches, losing 2-0 at home to Houston before falling 1-0 to Portland last Saturday evening. However, the 22 goals the club has now conceded in league play this season is still good for the second best season on record (21 – 2021) with the team allowing 22 goals in league play after just 11 games last season.
In their victory over the Red Stars on Sunday, the Current scored three goals in both the first and second half for a remarkable six total on the night. Prior to that occasion, the last NWSL team to do so in a match in all competitions was the North Carolina Courage, who did so twice in September 2019. Though expectations for the Current were high this season, playing spoiler to Gotham on Sunday night could spark momentum even into next year.
Kansas City has won three straight matches against Gotham and is undefeated all-time in the fixture (W3 D2). Each of those three wins came in shutouts, the longest streak of shutout wins against a single opponent in league play in Current history.
