Gotham’s Additions Help Club Handle Thorns

The Portland Thorns and Gotham FC met at the Bat Cave in Harrison, NJ, for an epic showdown for top spots in the league. A win for Gotham will move them up to second place in the league going into the World Cup 2023 break. Stengel will make her Gotham FC debut at the Bat Cave.

Players to watch: In Gotham’s 0-0 draw with Angel City, midfielder McCall Zerboni played in her 211th NWSL match (regular season and playoffs), moving her into a tie with Lauren Barnes for most in league history. The next-closest player behind Zerboni and Barnes is Jess McDonald with 192 matches played.

Since the beginning of last season, Portland defender Kelli Hubly has started 46 games and played 4093 minutes in all competitions for the Thorns. Only North Carolina’s Kaleigh Kurtz has more starts (47) or minutes played (4192) over the last two years in all NWSL competitions.

Match facts: Gotham FC hosts Portland Thorns FC at Red Bull Arena on Sunday evening, with Gotham looking to remain unbeaten in a third straight league game while the Thorns aim to find a third win in four games with a good result. Gotham sits in 5th place with 22 points from 14 games, while Portland sits in 2nd place with 25 points from 14 games.

Gotham FC has lost just one of its last six home games in all competitions (W3 D2) while allowing just two goals in that span. The two goals are the fewest allowed in a span of six home games in club history.

The Thorns have displayed their attacking prowess so far this season, having attempted 285 shots in league play, with 111 of those being on target. No other NWSL team has reached 200 shots or 70 shots on target in 2023.

Portland is unbeaten in its last 12 meetings with Gotham in all competitions (W6 D6, including a penalty shoot-out win in the 2021 Challenge Cup Final). Last season, the Thorns scored eight goals in two games, with the 4.0 goals per game average tied for Portland’s largest in a single season against a single team.

In the 7′ Bixby takes out Yazmeen Ryan just outside the box heading to the goal. Bixby was initially shown a yellow card, VAR buzzed in, and the center is holding to it being only a yellow, which was the right call. Having a defender behind her in the goal area probably saved her from being red-carded early in the match. Just a little Thorn on past Thorn-friendly violence; nothing to see here.

In the 22′ Allie Long scores on the volley via a deflected cross by Jenna Nighswonger from the right of the penalty area; the ball found Allie alone on the far post at the goal line for the tap-in on the volley.

Stengle dangled and almost sent the Bat Cave into a frenzy, Thorns Emily Menges of Garden City, Long Island, with a crucial save on the play in the 34′. In the 39′ Purce with an attempt at the goal saved by Bixby.

Abby Smith with the save in the 42′ of the first half to preserve the 1 – 0 Gotham lead. Then followed it up seconds later with a huge save on Weaver, who was all alone against Abby Smith; Freeman completely fell asleep on the play and left Weaver wide open on the far-left side of the pitch.

The fourth official announces a minimum of 4′ will be added to the first half of play. Gotham with another chance at the goal quickly, and they’re calling for VAR. The center listens, but VAR says the arm was in a natural position and no handling offense occurred inside the box. The replay shows the arm extended away from the body, and she is leaning to raise the arm higher. This is not the first time this year that an arm far from the body has been said to be in a natural position in soccer around the world. In some games, it is called that; in others, it is not, and no one can give a real reason why. That’s the half here at the Bat Cave.

Just six minutes into the second half, Abby Smith is called on again to make a point-blank save; this time, it is Klingenberg from 8 yards out. Abby has been standing on her head, sometimes literally, to hold this 1 – 0 lead for Gotham tonight. In typical Gotham fashion, the weather is gloomy, and lightning threatens to pause the match. The world’s largest tournament is about to start, and we still have not seen a crowd boost from US fans across the country.

Welcome to the Bat Cave, Katie Stengle. In dramatic fashion, she blasts a rebound provided by Bixby inside the first post to get on the scoresheet. Gotham goes up 2 – 0 in the 57′ of play in the second half.

In the 62′ of the second half, Portland finally capitalizes on a one-v-one opportunity; this time, Hannah Betfort slides one past the diving Abby Smith, who has been exceptional in the goal tonight for Gotham, stopping the previous 4 attempts by the Thorns in the same situation. Gotham is playing with fire, giving up so many 1-on-1 chances to a highly powered Thorn side, even without Sinclair and “Soph” Sophia Smith.

In the 72′ Midge is subbed off for the new signing from #RealSociedad, #AtleticoMadrid, and the Spain National Team, Maitane Lopez. Gotham now have their two newest signings up top against Portland. Stengle from #Arsenal has already found the back of the net tonight. Will Lopez?

Mana Shim is now set to enter the match as well for Gotham FC. Juan is pulling out all the stops tonight, taking no chances with the high-powered Portland side. Shim will replace Yazmeen Ryan, who played well tonight against her former side. Gotham makes the substitution in the 80th minute of the second half.

Nahomi Kawasumi is coming on for the final time in a Gotham FC jersey. She will be entering the match to replace Stengel in the 89th minute of the second half. The fourth official indicates a minimum of 5 minutes added to the match.