Gotham FC president of soccer operations, Yael Averbuch West, has sent a clear message by signing veteran stars Sam Kerr and Denise O’Sullivan.
The Bats were already fully entrenched in win-now mode prior to the arrival of the pair of experienced 32-year-old internationals. Now, it’s all gas, no brakes in pursuit of more titles.
Gotham has often described itself as a “dynasty loading.” Having won two trophies last season in the 2025 NWSL championship and the inaugural Concacaf W Champions Cup, the Bats are striving to go one step further in 2026 by achieving a treble.
Having already won the 2026 NWSL Challenge Cup on June 26, Gotham could go on to lift the NWSL Shield and repeat as NWSL champions.
Gotham FC’s Loaded Roster Is Built for a Treble Chase
Averbuch West has assembled a deeply-talented roster of internationals, experienced pros and emerging youngsters.
Prior to the arrival of Kerr and O’Sullivan, Gotham has most frequently fielded a starting XI of goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, defenders Jess Carter, Emily Sonnett, Tierna Davidson, Guro Reiten, midfielders Jaelin Howell, Savannah McCaskill, Rose Lavelle and forwards Jordynn Dudley, Esther González and Jaedyn Shaw.
The competition for starting places is getting crowded. Kerr and O’Sullivan will feature regularly in the starting XI. Veterans Midge Purce, Mandy Freeman, Taryn Torres and Bruninha will need their fair share of minutes. The same can be said of youthful outfield players Sarah Schupansky, Sofia Cook, Andrea Kitahata, Talia Sommer, Khyah Harper and Mak Whitham.
Averbuch West’s Bold Additions Present Amorós With an Enviable Selection Puzzle
Averbuch West has presented head coach Juan Carlos Amorós with an abundance of options. It will be up to the two-time NWSL champion manager and his technical staff to determine how to best fit all the pieces together.
“I do the recruiting part, and then I pass Juan that and say, ‘Now you figure out the puzzle,” Averbuch West said earlier this month.
“It’s a wonderful puzzle that I don’t envy Juan and our coaches for having to crack the code on this puzzle. I think it’s such a fine balance in the game between having too little and kind of too much talent, if that’s possible, and people who can play overlapping roles. The one phenomenal thing about many of our top players is their versatility.”
Amorós Can Solve the Puzzle With His Fluid Formations
The starting XI positions are just starting points as Amorós tends to move players around the pitch like chess pieces throughout a match.
When Gotham is searching for goals, he will occasionally shift to playing two defenders while asking midfielders to cover the gaps. When the Bats are protecting a lead, wingers will drop back and defend in deeper areas.
Every player is expected to be prepared to move roles within a match or within a season based on need. Howell and McCaskill will, at times, act as extra defenders. Dudley, Shaw, Lavelle and Esther are equally committed to defending and attacking.
Reiten signed for Gotham as a natural winger and has been largely deployed at left-back. Purce spent a long stretch playing right-back during an injury crisis earlier in the season.
“We intentionally recruit very intelligent, high soccer IQ players who can be adaptable,” Averbuch West stated.
“When we do our roster construction and if we lay out just a standard depth chart, you have each spot on the field, and you say who is the starter and so on. We almost can’t do that exercise because so many players can play in multiple spots. That’s the beauty of what we’ve constructed is one of the things I’m most proud of.”
The Queens Classic Puts Gotham’s Championship Ambitions to the Test
Wednesday’s rematch of last year’s NWSL Championship Game against the rival Washington Spirit will be the first opportunity for Amorós to include Kerr on the team sheet, either in a starting or substitute role.
O’Sullivan is unlikely to be selected for The Queens Classic, given that she has just signed for Gotham and will need training sessions to familiarize herself with her new teammates and get a handle on Amorós’ system.
“We make sure that everyone is as ready as possible to step on the pitch,” Amorós said during Tuesday’s pre-match press conference. “I think we’ve proven that. I think every player on the roster has already played this year, at least the outfield players, and contributed to get us in that fantastic position we are in.
“Hopefully, having more and more availability allows me to make more decisions with the technical team and the players to be pushed even more by the teammates because there is more competition. So I think it’s only positive.
“Obviously, Yael has done a fantastic job building something really special — and as our ethos says, we’re always building, never finished.”
Wednesday’s match at Citi Field is scheduled to kick off at 8 p.m. Eastern Time, with ESPN airing a national television broadcast.
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