Gotham FC Winning Streak Ends Against Spirit
NJ/NY Gotham FC fell to the Washington Spirit 2-0 on Sunday night at Red Bull Arena. With the loss, the club’s unbeaten streak comes to a close at nine games, which was the second-longest streak in club history.
Gotham FC 0 Washington Spirit 2
Report by GothamFC.com
The two East Coast teams split some chances early, with Gotham FC having the first clear opportunity just three minutes into the match. After keeping possession in the attacking third, forward Katie Stengel switched the ball to defender Mandy Freeman at the other side of the box, where she had an open look that sailed just over the crossbar.
A few minutes later, in the seventh minute, midfielder Yazmeen Ryan slipped a ball behind the Spirit’s backline to Stengel. The forward had a one-on-one opportunity, but could not find the back of the net.
In the 26th minute of the match, the Spirit took the lead. Rookie forward Croix Bethune passed to an open Courtney Brown, who found the back of the net.
Later in stoppage time of the first half, Gotham FC went down to ten players for the remainder of the match. Despite the one-goal deficit at the half, Gotham FC led Washington in shots (6-2), shots on goal (2-1), and ball possession (55%-45%).
Second Half
The Spirit quickly capitalized in the second half, with Washington scoring its second goal in the 47th minute. Forward Trinity Rodman found the back of the net with a strike just inside the box.
Gotham FC continued to push forward despite being down two goals, as the club continued to maintain possession and build out of the back. After ten minutes of stoppage time, the final whistle blew, and Gotham FC fell to the Spirit with a score of 2-0.
Line Ups
Gotham FC: Ann-Katrin Berger, Jenna Nighswonger, Tierna Davidson, Emily Sonnett, Mandy Freeman (Maycee Bell 86’), Rose Lavelle (Taryn Torres 61’), Nealy Martin (McCall Zerboni 61’), Delanie Sheehan (Ella Stevens 86’), Yazmeen Ryan, Katie Stengel, Crystal Dunn (Bruninha 86’)
Washington Spirit: Aubrey Kingsbury, Casey Krueger, Annaïg Butel, Tara McKeown, Gabrielle Carle, Hal Hershfelt, Andi Sullivan (Paige Metayer 65’), Courtney Brown (Kate Wiesner 75’), Croix Bethune, Trinity Rodman (Brittany Ratcliffe 75’), Ouleymata Sarr (Ashley Hatch 65’)
Next Game
Gotham FC will return home to Red Bull Arena to host the Seattle Reign on Sunday, June 30, with kickoff set for 1:00 pm ET (ESPN2).