Under the lights of Sports Illustrated Stadium, Gotham defender Tierna Davidson took the silver NWSL Shield from commissioner Jessica Berman’s hands Sunday evening. She shared it with Mandy Freeman and Midge Purce.
On the count of three, the trio thrust the silver platter into the air. Fireworks erupted behind the stage, offering a glittery backdrop to a historic moment.
Gotham secured the club’s first NWSL Shield with a 2-0 win against the playoff-bound Utah Royals.
“It’s a good feeling,” Purce said. “I mean, I like the Shield. I’m American though. I want the championship.”
Purce’s mentality is shared by the club, whose motto is “always building, never finished.”
Gotham has been on an upward trajectory over the past few years. They’ve earned the reputation of being the club no one wants to face in November, having won two of the past three NWSL championships, despite being the lowest playoff seed.
But West made it clear before this season that the club had higher expectations for this season.
“We want consistency,” Gotham FC president of soccer operations Yael Averbuch wrote in a letter to fans. “We want to be playing our best soccer in the playoffs, and we want our regular-season performance to reflect the championship standards we hold.”
Gotham finished the regular season with an 18-5-7 record and 61 points, setting a new club record for points in a single season.
The Shield is proof that Gotham was the most consistent club throughout the course of the 30-game season. But Gotham is far from satisfied.
“I think we did improve our consistency a lot this year, and we still can be such a better soccer team,” Averbuch West said. “We’re so proud of what we’ve done, and we still have our sights set on getting better and more consistent.”
Purce’s fingerprints were all over Sunday’s success. She booted an assist on Guro Reiten’s goal that gave the Bats an early 1-0 lead.
Then, in the second half, she connected with Jaedyn Shaw, whose goal gave Gotham some extra insurance.
“It feels good,” Purce said. “I’ve never won the Shield. So this was something that I really wanted to add to my resume. And I think the entire team was very, very bought in. And it’s a happy day, and we’ll celebrate it today.”
Gotham entered Decision Day with a three-point lead over the second-place San Diego Wave. Gotham needed, at a minimum, a draw to secure the Shield.
But the Bats didn’t settle.
Instead, they wasted no time getting on the board.
In the ninth minute, Purce blew past a Utah defender before sending the ball across the front of the net to Reiten, who blasted it in from close range to give Gotham an early 1-0 lead.
It was Reiten’s second goal of the season.
Gotham has been plagued by injuries as of late. Jaelin Howell went down with an apparent right ankle injury in the 24th minute, which is a cause for concern. The club didn’t have an immediate update after the game.
At halftime, Reiten raised concerns about the field conditions, which appeared far from ideal after Sports Illustrated Stadium held a pair of rugby matches Friday.
But the Bats did welcome the return of Shaw and Rose Lavelle, who missed the past few games with injuries.
Neither started the game, but they earned loud ovations when they checked in separately in the second half.
Shaw had two good chances at goal. Her second attempt went in.
“I feel great,” Shaw said. “It’s definitely been a very interesting couple of weeks. I’ve had ups and downs, setbacks, whatever. But yeah, I’m just happy to be back with this team and happy to contribute obviously. But yeah, I’m just happy to come back and play in front of our fans as well.”
