The push to secure an NWSL playoff berth will take a pause this week for the start of the CONCACAF W Champions Cup.
Gotham FC will have to recover quickly for the start of that tournament title defense on Wednesday after they conceded an own goal early in the second half and the decisive tally in added time following a 2-hour weather delay for a crushing 2-1 loss Sunday to the Houston Dash in Harrison, N.J.
“Obviously, a difficult one to take,” Gotham coach Juan Carlos Amorós said after the end of his team’s four-match unbeaten streak. “The team did everything they needed to do to win the game apart from scoring goals.
“We dominated so much, had so many chances, but with one shot I think they were able to score two goals. It was difficult to take.”
Leading scorer Esther González found the back of the net in the first half for Gotham, who fell to 5-5-6 and missed an opportunity to pass Racing Louisville FC into the seventh of eight playoff positions in the league.
It also marked the first of three home games in seven days for Gotham, who will play host to CF Monterrey Femenil at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island in group-stage play of the Champions Cup.
Gotham won the inaugural tournament in 2024, defeating Tigres UANL, 1-0, in the final on a goal by González at Estadio Universitario in Mexico.
“Nobody likes to be on the back end of games like that,” midfielder Sarah Schupansky said of Sunday’s loss. “There were some very good moments, but it was an unfortunate way to end it.
“We do have another game coming up very quickly, so we can let this one sting for a little bit, but we definitely have to refocus as soon as possible and move on to the next.”
This marked the first match between the teams since a scoreless draw March 26 in Houston, when Gotham defender and U.S. women’s national team regular Tierna Davidson suffered a season-ending ACL tear in her left knee.
USWNT standout Rose Lavelle rang a left-footed shot off the post in the eighth minute, and the rebound found its way to Esther’s feet in the middle of the box.
She slotted her league-high 11th goal of the season into the right corner for a 1-0 Gotham lead.
That advantage carried into halftime, but the Dash evened the score in the 51st minute with an own goal that was put past goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger on a pass-back attempt by Gotham center back and national team veteran Emily Sonnett.
The match was delayed for two hours and 18 minutes later in the second half due to lightning in the area, and neither side scored in regulation until Houston’s Michelle Azolie dashed behind the defense on the right wing and blasted a shot beyond Berger’s reach in the 93rd minute.
It appeared — and Amorós believed — that Azolie might have been offside on the play, but VAR upheld the goal.
“We’re naturally super-disappointed,” center back Jess Carter said. “We felt like we dominated the game, so to come away with a loss is really disappointing, and the way we lost in the last minute was really tough. … But it’s one we’ve gotta get over really quick because we have another game in three days.”
