HARRISON, NJÂ – NJ/NY Gotham FC gets its third straight NWSL regular season win, defeating the Utah Royals 1-0. With the victory, Gotham FC also secured a spot in the 2024 NWSL Playoffs.Â
It took just three minutes for Gotham FC to get on the board first. Forward Lynn Williams delivered a precise pass across the box to midfielder Yazmeen Ryan, who took one touch before firing it into the net for the opening goal. Ryan scored the fastest goal for the club this season.
Gotham FC almost doubled its lead in the 32nd minute. Williams set herself up at the top of the box and shot a curling ball that nearly snuck in the goal, but Royals keeper Mandy Haught made the leaping tip to keep the score 1-0.
In the first half, Gotham FC showed offensive dominance. The club paced Utah in shots (10-6), shots on goal (7-2), possession (60%-40%), and total passes (283-190).
On the defensive end, Gotham FC also shined. Utah had a chance to level the score in the 71st minute, but a strong play from defender Tierna Davidson blocked the path of a clear shot to keep the lead in Gotham FC’s favor.
Neither team secured a goal in the second half, leaving the score with a 1-0 Gotham FC victory. The team also secured its 8th clean sheet of the season, which ranks second behind only the Orlando Pride.
Gotham FC will travel to Kansas City Saturday, Sept 28 to face the Current at 1:00 p.m. EST. Fans can catch the game on CBS and Paramount+.
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KEY NOTES
- Gotham FC clinches a playoff spot for the fourth time, joining the 2013, 2021 and 2023 teams. It’s the first time GFC has made the playoffs in consecutive seasons. The club is in third place and currently in position to host a playoff match for the first time in club history, which would be earned with a top-4 finish.
- Gotham FC is now 13-0-2 when scoring first this year, 9-1 in games decided by one goal and undefeated in its last 23 games when they’ve led at the half (20-0-3 during the streak and 10-0-1 this year).
- Gotham FC has shut out 15 of 21 opponents in the first half this season.
- Lynn Williams made her first NWSL start since May 19 and picked up her 30th regular season assist on Ryan’s goal. She is the third player in league history to reach 30 and is one behind the league record of 31 shared by Sofia Huerta and Jess McDonald. The assist was also her 36th in all NWSL competitions, second-best behind McDonald’s 38. She also went over 12,000 career regular season minutes, reaching 12,044.
- Yazmeen Ryan’s goal at 2:06 is the fifth-earliest in club history in the regular season and the earliest since 2017. She has a goal or an assist in the last three GFC regular season home games.
- Ann-Katrin Berger recorded her seventh shutout of the season, moving past Kailen Sheridan in 2021 for sole possession of second place in single-season clean sheets for GFC. Brittany Cameron, in the club’s inaugural 2013 campaign, holds the record with eight. Berger also extended her club record with her 12th win of the season.
- Rose Lavelle appeared in her 75th career NWSL match.
QUOTES
Gotham FC Head Coach Juan Carlos Amoros
On Kelley O’Hara’s season ending injury…
Yeah, it’s been a very difficult year for a lot of different reasons. We have had at the beginning of the year with Sinead, with Midge, and and now with Kelley. I always say that it’s not about being sad because it’s finished, but happy because it happened. She’s a winner. She was the first one out there celebrating with a smile.
On clinching a spot in the playoffs and pressure of winning back to back championships…
Pressure is something very tangible, how you go about every day, the players that we have here, the stuff that we have here. We are extremely demanding with ourselves, and that pressure comes from within.
Gotham FC Midfielder Yazmeen Ryan
On the team’s 3-game week schedule…
Yeah, I mean, this is our second or third 3-game week, so we kind of knew what to expect going into it. It’s like clockwork at this point, but we definitely are still tired, but amped up that we got the win and were able to clinch playoffs and 3 clean sheets throughout the whole time. So that’s awesome for us.
On the team’s mentality after her early goal…
Yeah, it could be tough. It’s important not to relax, and not to think that anything is going to come easy. After that it only puts a little bit more pressure to keep going. Wish we could have got more goals, but so proud of us for keeping that clean sheet and making that goal worth it. So yeah, it can be tough. But we did a good job.
MATCH SUMMARY
Gotham FC vs. Utah Royals
September 22, 2024 – Red Bull Arena
Goals by Half 1 2 F
Gotham FC 1 0 1
Utah Royals 0 0 0
Scoring Summary:
GFC: Yazmeen Ryan (Lynn Williams, 3′)
Misconduct Summary:
UTAH: YC: Cloé Lacasse (44′), Hannah Betfort (88′)
Lineups:
GFC: Ann-Katrin Berger, Jenna Nighswonger (Mandy Freeman 87′), Tierna Davidson, Emily Sonnett, Jess Carter, Delanie Sheehan (McCall Zerboni 87′), Lynn Williams (Crystal Dunn 63′), Ella Stevens (Cece Kizer 63′), Rose Lavelle, Yazmeen Ryan, Esther (Bruninha 89′)
UTAH: Mandy Haught, Zoe Burns (Madison Pogarch 75′), Kaleigh Riehl, Kate Del Fava, Olivia Griffitts, Dana Foederer (Agnes Nyberg 89′), Claudia Zornoza (Mikayla Cluff 65′), Cameron Tucker (Michele Vasconcelos 65′), Paige Monaghan, Cloé Lacasse, Hannah Betfort
