Page 79 - Soccer360 Issue 104

World Cup winner Esther Gonzalez
Mandy Freeman
“IT STARTED WITH DORSEY AND MANDY FREEMAN, DRAFT PICKS DATING TO 2018 AND 2017, WHO WERE INTEGRAL ON THE DEFENSE”
as Imani Dorsey and Claire McCaskill, the team was struggling both on the field and off of it.
In 2019, things started to change. Former First Lady of New Jersey Tammy Murphy began to take a more active role in the day-to-day operations of the club making immediate changes to the club’s training facilities and staffing as well as ensuring that players have living accommodations. Toward the end of the 2019 season the club also announced that all home games starting with the 2020 season would be played at Red Bull Arena, a monumental shift for a club looking for a more professional appearance.
A fresh location and a fresh mindset can only be accomplished with a rebrand. In 2020, the club announced that they would be changing their
name from Sky Blue FC to NJ/NY Gotham
FC. With a new brand, the club started to
gain the attraction of new investors. Kevin
Durant, Eli Manning, and Sue Bird were
among the many new investors to buy
into Gotham giving the club a certain
level of coolness and panache that most
professional soccer clubs in the United
States have lacked. Gotham was cool.
Now they just needed to play better.
Much like in the front office the club
over the last five years has undergone
an extensive rebuild using the NWSL
College Super Draft and give their
younger players the chance to earn
their stripes. It started with Dorsey
and Mandy Freeman, draft picks dating
to 2018 and 2017, who were integral on
the defense in holding back the Reign
in the NWSL Championship. They have
also made savvy long-term pick-ups
along the way including McCall Zerboni
(who had won three NWSL titles prior to
joining Gotham) and Kristie Mewis, who has
53 caps with the United States Women’s
Ali Krieger also joined the fold in 2022, giving
the group some much- needed veteran leadership.
National Team. Defender Ali Krieger also joined the fold in 2022, giving the group some much-needed veteran leadership. After a couple of years of steady growth, management went all in on 2023. In the offseason, Gotham picked up Lynn Williams, who scored the first goal for the Reign, to shore up the attack. They also brought in Kelley O’Hara to complete the backline. Towards the end of the season they also made a quiet move picking up World Cup winner Esther Gonzalez. That move paid handsomely down the road, with Gonzalez scoring the game-winner in the Championship. At first, things seemed to be working out with Gotham winning four of their first five matches. But towards the end of the season, they ran into a roadblock losing two
of their last three games. They needed a 2-2 draw against the Kansas City Current to earn the
last playoff spot.
After coming so close to not making it
in, Gotham left little to chance in their playoff matchups against the North
Carolina Courage (2-0) and the Portland Thorns (1-0). Goalkeepers Abby Smith
and Mandy Haught continued their strong form between the posts,
pulling their clean sheet total to ten on the season across all competitions.
Gotham allowed just 24 goals last year, a testament to the work from
both players and their backlines. While the spectre of Megan Rapinoe’s retirement was certainly
the talk of the final, Gotham proved that it is more than just one player
that makes a champion. The group that had fought for years for respect not just
from other teams, but from their own ownership had finally earned their well-
deserved moment in the sun.
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