Gotham FC began their NWSL title defense by winning just one of their opening six games, including a rather disastrous 2-0 loss at Washington in late April.
Was this a so-called super team, a championship roster filled with famous free agents who played on the U.S. women's national team?
No, no, but it was the first step in a dramatically new team's progress. It's been a more than seven-month process that hasn't always been smooth for third-seeded Gotham to reach its best form this year. He arrived in time for Saturday's playoff semifinal game against the second-place Washington Spirit in the nation's capital.
“One factor is obviously the time we spent together,” head coach Juan Carlos Amoros said.
“For everyone, it was like finding your groove and role during the season,” midfielder Delaney Sheehan said.
Gotham's 2-1 home win over Portland in the quarterfinals last Sunday featured only the same four starters from last year's finals: Esther Gonzalez, Lynn Williams, Yazmeen Ryan and Neely Martin.
Two world-class rookies (Rose Lavelle and Tierna Davidson) scored goals.
Goaltender Anne-Katrin Berger, who joined the team midway through the season, led the defense and finished tied for the fewest goals conceded in the regular season.
“I think we can still improve, but it's scary in my personal opinion,” Williams said after the game. “But learning always comes with twists and turns and bumps. It's not about that collision, it's about how you learn from it and grow from it. And fortunately for us, the beginning of the year It wasn't great, but now we're learning and growing while winning. That's the most exciting thing, especially now. [if] If you lose, go home. ”
Gotham is undefeated in its last nine games in NWSL competition, including the playoff opener, and has scored multiple goals in seven of those games, including their last five consecutive games (16 goals scored in that span). ).
“The most noticeable thing from our team is that we're scoring more goals,” said Sheehan, one of the team's key holdovers, currently on a back-to-back winning streak. I'm aiming for it. “I think at the beginning of the season we were struggling to score goals, struggling to create solid chances, and I think some of our games, especially the counter-attacking, have really taken it to the next level. .”
The Spirit has been responsible for two of Gotham's four regular season losses, including a 2-0 win at Red Bull Arena in July.
But that's not entirely in a good way, given that the Spirit is also a different team from their previous meeting.
They lost league rookie of the year candidate Croix Bethune and fellow midfielder Andy Sullivan to season-ending injuries, and striker Oulaimata Sarr was also sidelined.
But they still have Trinity Rodman, a game-breaking talent ranked No. 8 in the world in this week's ESPN Composite Poll.
And they will be supported by a raucous crowd of more than 19,000 at Audi Field.
“I think this group of players, this team, showed they're ready to compete in any environment,” Amoros said. “It’s going to be a great atmosphere there.”
