NEW YORK — If Gotham FC were looking for a sign that Queens would be a fitting new home, it got one on Wednesday.
Citi Field was temporarily transformed from the home grounds for the New York Mets of to the stage for the Queens Classic, a regular season match between top NWSL contenders Gotham and Washington Spirit. Citi Field is just next door to Etihad Park, which Gotham will call home come 2028.
Having been to a Mets game, this felt different. The ballpark felt alive, the thump of the drum from the Cloud 9 supporters’ group its heartbeat. Chants of “Let’s go Gotham” started in the supporters’ section and spread across the stadium.
Despite the brief spell of rain prior to the game, intense heat, and haze of grayish-orange smoke that I could feel in my eyes, Gotham came away with an electric win in front of 42,175 fans — the most to ever attend a sporting event in New York City, and the second-most to attend an NWSL match.
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Wednesday night’s game was a great chance to build up Gotham’s fanbase in the city; while there were many Gotham and USWNT jerseys, many fans came to witness history and experience their first NWSL game.
After being in the thick of the men’s World Cup this summer, it was refreshing to get back to some NWSL action. As my friend said, “I like how I haven’t seen anyone fall on the ground yet.”
Many key demographics made their presence known. I was sitting around lots of groups of young girls with their soccer teammates who enthusiastically led cheers and participated in the wave. Queer folks were also well-represented; as a friend noted, “I think that every gay person in the city is going to the game.”
Appearances from Julie Foudy, Abby Wambach, Sam Mewis, Donovan Mitchell, Sue Bird, New York Sirens players, and others added to the celebratory feeling of the match.
Rose Lavelle Shines, Sam Kerr Returns
The match was the first time the two sides faced each other since the 2025 NWSL Championship, which Gotham won 1-0 behind a slick Rose Lavelle goal.
Gotham got off to a strong start, maintaining a majority of possession at the onset of the game. Gotham forwards Jordynn Dudley, Jaedyn Shaw, and Esther González provided dangerous playmaking in the final third, while the midfield shut down any ball that the Spirit received in the middle of the pitch.
Gotham’s pressure paid off in the 37th minute, with Gotham midfielder Jaelin Howell stealing the ball away from Hal Hershfelt and passing on to Lavelle just outside of the box.
In typical Lavelle fashion, she used a bit of magic footwork to put the ball through Spirit defender Tara Rudd’s legs, then chipped the ball in an audacious shot that was absolutely out of the reach of Sandy MacIver but curved beautifully so that it made it into the far side of the net.
The goal made an already active crowd get on their feet.
Gotham fans were teased with Sam Kerr’s 2026 debut at the outset of the game, and they were rewarded in the second half. Kerr received a well-earned standing ovation when she entered the pitch in the 64th minute. Within a minute, the NWSL leading goalscorer had already chased down the ball from the Spirit defense and took a shot from distance, forcing MacIver to make the save. She didn’t score, but it didn’t matter for the home crowd; witnessing Kerr back on the pitch for the NY/NJ side for the first time in eight years was more than enough.
A second half spark came from Spirit winger Claudia Martínez, with the youngster at one point carrying the ball halfway up the pitch before passing it off. She added some speed and energy to a weary Spirit attack, and was able to combine with Trinity Rodman and Leicy Santos for some dangerous attempts at goal.
Rodman looked dangerous all night, making penetrating runs up the left wing and thereafter putting in cross after cross into the box but narrowly missed her targets.
Gotham keeper Ann-Katrin Berger shined, playing a flawless game and proving why she is one of the best goalkeepers in the world. A Spirit attack in the 93rd minute saw Berger make three saves in a row, each more impressive than the last, and earning some MVP chants from the crowd.
It’s clear that Berger is a favorite with Gotham fans; in the final minutes of the game, following her heroism in goal, she raised her arms to amp up the fans. They answered her call, coming alive for one of the loudest cheers of the night in an otherwise quieter half, when the lateness of the hour was getting to fans young and old.
Smoky air over a patchwork pitch
While the East Coast rivalry has increased in power in recent years, the playing conditions were the bigger talking point on Wednesday.
Part of the pitch overlapped with the baseball diamond, which featured a different color grass than the rest of the field. This comes after uncertainty about why the NWSL continues to use baseball stadiums for big games. However, the abnormalities in the pitch didn’t seem to cause the players any harm or difficulty.
While many came into the match concerned about the heat, the real concern turned out to be the air quality. Smoke from Canadian wildfires descended over the city throughout the day, accumulating to 171 AQI at kickoff and into the second half. This led the game officials to implement two water breaks a half, at fifteen minute intervals, per NWSL safety precautions.
Spirit coach Adrián González was not a fan of the water breaks, arguing that they disrupted the flow of the game. “Can I be honest?” he said after the game. “I don’t like them.”
Neither did Rodman. “If we have to have a hydration break every 15 minutes, then we shouldn’t be playing the game, and that’s my opinion,” she said. “But at the end of the day, there’s 40,000 people. It’s a whole event, so it’s really tough. It’s just a really hard situation for everyone to work around.”
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However, given the risk that the air quality posed to players, fans, and staff — Rodman at one point needed an intake of oxygen on the sideline — it is questionable whether the match should’ve occurred in the first place. Even more questionable was the continued use of fireworks throughout the breaks in the game.
It didn’t seem to dampen the occasion for the home side. Veteran defender Mandy Freeman valued the experience of playing at Citi Field, remarking, “It was kind of a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and not one that will be repeated. Being able to play in front of all those fans and have them really be the 12th player for us was incredible. It was a crazy environment, and we really needed that push with the elements that were against us today.”
A new Queens home
The match on Wednesday night came on the heels of Gotham FC announcing that they would be playing at the new Etihad Park in Queens beginning in the 2028 season. The team currently plays at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey.
While it was a contentious decision for the club due to its longtime supporter base in New Jersey, the decision reflects the caliber of the club and their future direction.
As Freeman noted prior to the match, “It’s a great starting point. We want to average this amount of fans. We want to be breaking records every single time we play in New York because that’s the amount of fans that we’re capable of having at games. It’s nice to be able to have this being the starting point and really a vibe check.”
Gotham is one of the best teams in the NWSL but consistently sits in the middle of the league in terms of fan attendance, averaging 8,500 fans per game during the last two seasons. If Wednesday is any indication, moving their homebase within the bounds of NYC may increase their match-by-match attendance significantly.
Looking Ahead
With the win, Washington and Gotham both sit at 27 points, good enough for second and fourth place, respectively, considering goal differential. Given that both the Spirit and Gotham played last weekend in addition to Wednesday, the upcoming weekend’s matches will test the endurance and versatility of both sides.
The Spirit continue their East Coast tour, heading to Rhode Island to face a hot Boston Legacy team that is coming off a 1-0 win over the Orlando Pride.
Gotham move to their next New York City location, facing an unpredictable Seattle Reign side at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island.
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