HARRISON, NJ — Expectations were high for Sunday afternoon’s matchup between Gotham, the NWSL leaders, and Angel City, who arrived at a mist-covered Sports Illustrated Stadium on a six-game unbeaten run.
Each team had skin in the game. Gotham, who had already clinched a playoff spot, would secure a home quarterfinal with a win or draw. The club would surely like to keep that advantage, as it is currently undefeated in its last 11 regular season home matches. Results would also bring the coveted NWSL Shield ever-closer.
While Angel City came into the match below Gotham in the standings, a win for the home side was far from a given outcome. The west coast visitors were flying high with just two losses in 15 games since the summer break. The reverse fixture ended in a scoreless draw on August 23. The players seemed to have found their stride under interim head coach Leif Smerud.
In the opening minutes of the game, the sides traded chances, appearing fairly evenly matched. Neither side looked particularly sharp in the attack.
At the half hour mark, Sam Kerr squandered a huge chance. The Australian striker got an open ball from midfielder Denise O’Sullvian right in front of the goal, but missed the net entirely with her shot. Kerr overall did a good job creating offense with her teammates, but her individual finishing was lacking on Sunday.
Angel City soon had a golden opportunity of their own. Prisca Chilufya and Sveindís Jónsdóttir ran at Gotham’s goal in a 2-1 breakaway, but Chilufya’s shot ultimately went wide.
The match stayed nil-nil until Jaedyn Shaw scored for the home side in the 65th minute, her tenth of the season. The youngster is on a tear, making it no surprise when she slammed home a pass from Rose Lavelle that had been bypassed by Kerr in a clever dummy move.
The Shaw, Lavelle, and Kerr trio led Gotham’s attack all game. Shaw and Kerr have been a goalscoring machine in this second half of the season, the two having contributed to 15 of Gotham’s last 19 goals.
For Angel City, Evelyn Shores looked incredibly strong on the left side, connecting several long balls with Chilufya and holding down a crafty Midge Purce. Shores is looking to maintain this level of confidence heading into her first senior U.S. women’s national team call-up over the upcoming international break.
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She had motivation to impress: USWNT head coach Emma Hayes was in attendance on Sunday. Hayes made headlines with her roster selection for the upcoming friendlies against Spain. She opted to send Shaw and Ally Sentnor — both of whom played well in Sunday’s match — to play with the under-23 camp in order to open up space to see new faces, like Shores, in the senior team environment.
While Angel City had moments of sparks, things were looking grim for the visitors, who reached 90 minutes without a response.
Enter Taylor Suarez. Gisele Thompson connected with Emily Sams, who then passed a great ball in the box to an incoming Suarez. The rookie just inched it by Ann-Katrin Berger in the near post to net the last goal of the game. Suarez added to her tally of late goals as a substitute so far this season, marking her third goal in four appearances.
Following the match, Smerud spoke about Suarez’s development this season, praising her ability to contribute to her team’s success coming off the bench. “Several players are developing and [Suarez] is really doing that,” he said. “To have players in a squad where people work for each other and know we can leave everything on the pitch, and then we can make a sub to bring on fresh legs that can score goals — she’s been amazing the last games.”
While Gotham would have liked to come away with three points in their quest for the Shield, they did ensure a top four finish, guaranteeing a home-side advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Angel City, despite their recent success, is in a less secure position. After the weekend’s games, the Los Angeles side currently sit at sixth in the standings, just three points above the Seattle Reign, the first team below the playoff line. The league enters an uneasy pause for the international break, and will return with a three-matchday sprint to the end of the regular season. Only Gotham and San Diego Wave have clinched a playoff spot. For Angel City, there is everything to play for.
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