Gotham FC rookie Jordynn Dudley has already shown plenty of promise through her first six NWSL appearances.
The 21-year-old who captured two national championships at Florida State and twice earned first-team All-American honors is adapting quickly to the NWSL.
Dudley draws plenty of attention from opponents when she’s on the pitch. When opposing defenders surround her, she often draws a foul deep in enemy territory, or the swarm of markers allows her to find an open teammate.
The 5-foot-11 forward recorded her first professional assist during Gotham’s 3-0 home victory over Bay FC on Saturday.
Rose Lavelle Praises ‘Really Dangerous’ Dudley
Her fancy footwork in the box caused three Bay FC defenders to focus on her, leaving star midfielder Rose Lavelle open to roll the ball into the net in the 40th minute.
“I feel like Jordynn was doing such a good job the whole game, taking people on and being really dangerous,” Lavelle said following the match. “She went one-on-one and served me on a platter, so it was nice to tuck it away.”
Lavelle is impressed by Dudley’s ability to serve as a potent attacking threat while playing centrally or on either wing.
“She’s done such a good job,” Lavelle stated. “She’s moved through a couple different positions and has done great in all of them. At first, playing out wide might not have been what she’s used to, but she’s transitioned into that position pretty flawlessly. She’s really good at holding up the ball, very dangerous in behind and really technical, hard to defend one-on-one. She has so many strengths that we’re able to utilize.”
Dudley was pleased to achieve her first NWSL goal contribution, but following the match, her mind was more focused on how Gotham was able to gel as a team and dictate play throughout the entire 90 minutes.
Dudley Helps Reinvigorate Gotham FC Attack
The Bats outshot Bay FC 25-3 and recorded 14 shots on goal compared to the visitors’ one SOG. Prior to Saturday, Gotham had only scored two goals through five league matches.
“It felt really good,” Dudley said in the mixed zone. “I had a lot of space, and Rose, she’s all over the field, so I knew she was going to be there. And [a] good finish.
“It’s what we’ve been working on. We knew that we needed to create more chances, and I think we did exactly what we needed to do. We just keep doing that, and we’ll be good.”
Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amorós previously described Dudley as “a really special, very complete player” earlier in the season.
“She’s a really special player,” Amorós said of Dudley on March 25. “Not only because of what everyone can see, like her ability to run in behind, be aggressive in 1-v-1s and score goals — but her commitment to defend is unbelievable. Her final pass is very special. She has very good vision, she’s good at hold-up play, and she’s a very complete player.”
The high-potential rookie will be one to watch closely as the NWSL season rolls on.
Gotham FC will travel to the “Windy City” to face Chicago Stars FC on Wednesday night before welcoming Racing Louisville FC to Sports Illustrated Stadium on Sunday, May 3.
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