Gotham FC strengthened its grip on first place in the NWSL standings on Friday night, extending its unbeaten streak to seven games with a 1-0 victory over San Diego Wave FC at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
Here are five key takeaways after the Bats earned a third consecutive clean sheet and extended their shutout streak to 358 minutes.
1) Gotham Gets Crucial Breathing Space in NWSL Shield Race
Friday’s result, combined with the Washington Spirit’s wild 4-3 home defeat to the North Carolina Courage on Saturday, put Gotham four points ahead of the Spirit.
Both clubs currently possess a plus-12 goal differential. If Gotham secures a victory over the Kansas City Current on Friday in Harrison, it will move them seven points ahead of the rival Spirit before Washington has an opportunity to respond on Sunday night away to Angel City FC.
2) Bats Embrace Winning Ugly
The defensively disciplined victory over San Diego was Gotham’s third consecutive 1-0 win. This wouldn’t be possible without the stingy goalkeeping of Shelby Hogan and Ann-Katrin Berger, the latter of whom returned to the starting XI on Friday.
Incredibly, Gotham held the fourth-place Wave without a shot for over half an hour in the second half and, in a 10-player outfield unit, stifled San Diego to see out the win.
Jaedyn Shaw’s curling effort in the 44th minute was the only goal of the contest, and she credited her teammates’ defensive focus after the match.
“Sometimes that’s just how it is,” Shaw said. “You have to grind out games. You have to be able to win in different ways.
“Coming off the back end of a really tough week for us, to get seven points from three road games was honestly incredible. To come home, get as much rest as we could with a short week and get another three points is something we can all be really proud of.”
Gotham is now a perfect 9-0-0 when leading at halftime this season. If the Bats continue to rack up wins in a variety of ways, it will serve them well in the latter stages of the season and in their pursuit of repeating as NWSL champions.
3) Shaun Harris Sees Something Special in Jordynn Dudley
It’s no secret that forward Jordynn Dudley is a genuine NWSL Rookie of the Year candidate.
The 21-year-old has impressed in all areas of the pitch with her aggressiveness, strength, blistering pace and deft turns.
“Jordynn’s incredible,” acting head coach Shaun Harris said on Friday. “She’s so difficult to defend. You’ve got someone who can run in behind, connect the ball and hold up the play.”
Dudley has scored two goals and supplied three assists through her first 18 NWSL games, but more than surface-level stats can illustrate, she pushes the opposition back and possesses the change of pace and agility that frequently causes defenders to lose their balance.
“She changes the game at any moment. Any time she’s around the ball, she’s dangerous. She’s got more levels to go. We’re just scratching the surface.”
4) Taryn Torres Is Becoming an Option Again
Midfielder Taryn Torres has slowly seen her minutes increase since returning from a long-term ACL injury on July 29 against Bay FC.
On Friday, she made her third appearance of the season in the 73rd minute, adding a 17-minute workload to her progress.
“It was great to be back after my second ACL,” Torres explained. “To be back at home with the crowd after the crazy storm before the game and to stay at the top of the table against a great team like San Diego was awesome.”
It was also Torres’ 50th appearance across all NWSL competitions.
“All my teammates, my coaches, the medical staff – everyone was super supportive of me. It’s been a long process. I’m really happy to be back. Everyone has been so supportive, and as you can see, it really means a lot to me.”
It will be interesting to see how Torres is used after newest signing, Meredith Speck, is fully up to speed and once Denise O’Sullivan returns from a knee injury.
5) Defensive Injuries Haven’t Slowed Gotham Down
Season-ending knee injuries to defenders Emily Sonnett and Kayla Duran have provided a major test to the Bats.
The next player up mentality previously saw Gotham rally earlier in the season when captain Tierna Davidson, Bruninha, Sonnett, Mandy Freeman and departed left-back Lilly Reale were all either unavailable or on minute restrictions.
Gotham solved the injury crisis by moving natural winger Guro Reiten to left-back and occasionally playing Midge Purce at right-back. There were also moments where Jaelin Howell dropped deeper into central defense.
On Friday, Bruninha started her first game of the NWSL season and put in a very sound performance at right-back.
It was her 85th appearance for the Bats across all NWSL competitions. She also passed Nahomi Kawasumi to move into 10th all-time in appearances for the club.
Gotham will look to continue its defensive excellence against seventh-place Kansas City on Friday at Sports Illustrated Stadium. The 8 p.m. scheduled match will be carried on Prime Video.
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