Gotham FC’s goalscoring woes disappeared on Saturday at a soggy and wet Saturday Sports Illustrated Stadium.
The Bats would cruise to a 3-0 victory over Bay FC in front of a brave crowd who arrived in rain jackets and packed their umbrellas and ponchos.
“We’re very happy to have scored three goals and keep a clean sheet,” captain Tierna Davidson said. “That’s something that we’ve been looking to do — get a lot of shots on goal, make their goalkeeper work, and at the same time limit their chances.”
Juan Carlos Amorós Returns After Birth of Second Child
Head coach Juan Carlos Amorós returned after briefly leaving training duties in the hands of lead assistant head coach Shaun Harris and his technical staff. Amorós and his family welcomed their second child.
Harris and head of analysis Zoë Mattheson joined Amorós during the post-match press conference as Amorós wished to highlight the importance of his technical staff.
Amorós: ‘I’m Privileged To Work With the Best Technical Staff in the World’
“For a very long time, I’ve been doing this job and been around coaches a lot, and I’m privileged to work with, for me, the best staff and technical staff in the league and in the world,” Amorós said. “You have been seeing Shaun on the press conferences, in the game facing Kansas City last time, or in the preparation to this game, and then Zoë is the brains behind the operation, and they represent the rest of the technical team that I’m privileged to have.”
From the match’s opening minute, Gotham controlled territory, and they would unleash a plethora of shots in the direction of Bay FC goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz.
The Bats’ attack constantly invaded the final third. Their crafty passing sequences forced the visitors into conceding a 20th-minute own goal. It was Gotham’s first home goal of the season after the club got off to a slow offensive start.
Twenty minutes later, promising rookie Jordynn Dudley twisted and turned inside the box before assisting Rose Lavelle’s goal that doubled Gotham’s advantage to 2-0.
Esther Gonzalez converted a 51st-minute penalty just before the sides went to half. Her penalty was expertly put away with precision.
It was all the goals that the defending NWSL champions would need on the day.
Debuting Reiten, Purce Forced Into Wing-Back Duty
A slew of injuries forced Gotham into starting Midge Purce and Guro Reiten as wing-backs.
Reiten looked impressive and comfortable in her Gotham debut despite playing in an unnatural position. She was replaced by versatile rookie Andrea Kitahata to open the second half.
“It was a lot of information to take in, but I had to go out there and do my best,” Reiten said following the match in the mixed zone. “My team has been unbelievable. They have been supporting me and helping me in the training sessions and in the game today. My experience with left-back is minimal.”
Davidson Continues To Build Minutes
Davidson is continuing to build up her minutes in her fifth appearance for the club following an 11-month absence due to a torn ACL. The Gotham captain played for 65 minutes before being substituted in a double change that brought on Sarah Schupansky and Sophia Cook as Davidson and Lavelle were replaced.
“I’m happy to reach this benchmark,” Davidson said following the match. “I think it’s just another step in the return process. I’m very thankful that I was able to do it.”
Rookie Talia Sommer and 15-year-old forward Mak Whitham also saw action late in the match.
Gotham will next travel to “the Windy City” to face Chicago Stars FC on Wednesday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. The match will take place at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium.
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