Gotham FC have an opportunity to extend their club-record 10-match unbeaten streak on Sunday when they take on Denver Summit FC.
Head coach Juan Carlos Amorós returns to the touchline for the first time since taking a five-week parental leave.
“Juan brings so much positive energy to the group, and I think that we’ve really missed that,” midfielder Jaelin Howell said during Saturday’s prematch press conference.
“The coaching staff that have been doing his job in his place has also done an incredible job with the run that we’ve been on. Bringing [Juan] back in is just going to have everything truly come together. Juan brings so much of that energy and passion that the team feeds off of. So it’s going to be really nice having him back.”
Gotham FC Seek 11th Straight Unbeaten Match
The 10th-place Summit and the high altitude of Centennial, Colorado, will present a unique challenge to first-place Gotham. Denver most recently defeated Chicago Stars FC 6-1 last Saturday.
“They are a very dangerous team, not only individually, but also collectively,” Amorós stated. “They defend together, they work together. They play at home in a stadium that gets a lot of support. So it’s gonna be a game where we’re gonna have to be the best version of ourselves and be ready to work together without the ball and try to be dominant with the ball.”
Janine Sonis leads the Summit with nine goals. Forwards Yazmeen Ryan and Natasha Flint have contributed five goals and three assists apiece.
Howell, a Colorado native, spoke of the difficulty of playing in the 5,722 feet altitude.
“I don’t know if you truly acclimate, but you can do little tricks and tips to kind of help with that,” she said. “But honestly, I don’t think anything was worse than Pachuca. So if we got through that, I think Denver will be fine.
“Our team’s mentality is we’ve been through worse, and this team is really resilient. So going into the game, we’re just going to play our game and grind it out and gut it out, and we’re really good at that.”
Gotham FC owns the second-best road record in the NWSL at 6-2-2 (20 points).
Latest Lineup and Injury News Ahead of Sunday’s Gotham-Summit Match
UPDATE: 1:25 PM: Gotham FC announced the following starting XI and substitutes:
Goalkeeper: Berger
Defenders: Purce, Carter, Davidson (C), Bruninha
Midfielders: Howell, O’Sullivan, Shaw
Forwards: Dudley, Kerr, Reiten
Subs: Hogan, Wy, Boade, Freeman, Kitahata, McCaskill, Sommer, Speck, Torres
The Bats will continue to be without star midfielder Rose Lavelle, who remains in concussion protocol. Midfielder Sofia Cook has been ruled out due to a lower-leg injury while defenders Kayla Duran and Emily Sonnett are out for the season due to knee injuries.
OUT: Sofia Cook (lower leg), Kayla Duran (knee – SEI), Rose Lavelle (head), Emily Sonnett (knee – SEI)
Midfielders Meredith Speck and Tess Boade could make their Gotham debuts.
For Colorado, defender Gemma Bonner is listed as questionable due to a thigh injury. Five Summit players are confirmed to miss Sunday’s contest.
OUT: Jasmine Aikey (knee – SEI), Jordan Baggett (maternity leave), Ally Brazier (personal reasons), Nahikari Garcia (knee – SEI), Abby Smith (knee)
QUESTIONABLE: Gemma Bonner (thigh)
Gotham and the Summit will kick off at Centennial Stadium at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. The match will be carried nationally on CBS.
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