UTAH — Esther González scored twice and captain Tierna Davidson added the eventual game-winner as Gotham FC rallied from an early deficit to defeat the Utah Royals 3-1 Friday night at America First Field, securing the club’s 100th NWSL regular-season victory.
The win snapped Gotham’s one-match losing streak and capped a successful response after last week’s defeat to San Diego, with the Bats concluding their two-match West Coast road trip on a high note.
Utah struck first in the 23rd minute after Gotham lost possession in midfield. Jaedyn Shaw was dispossessed, allowing Kiana Palacios to collect the ball and thread a perfectly weighted pass through Gotham’s back line. Cecelia Delzer ran onto the pass and calmly finished past the Ann-Katrin Berger to give the Royals a 1-0 lead.
Gotham responded almost immediately.
Just three minutes later, Jordynn Dudley brought down a long ball with an excellent first touch before driving into the penalty area, where she was brought down by Nuria Rábano. González stepped to the spot and calmly sent goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn the wrong way, burying her penalty into the bottom-right corner to level the match at 1-1.
The visitors nearly took the lead moments later.
Dudley delivered a dangerous cross that found González inside the box, but the Spanish striker’s effort clipped the post. Three minutes later, Dudley slipped another pass into Shaw, whose shot crashed off the crossbar as Gotham continued to pile on the pressure.
The breakthrough finally came deep into first-half stoppage time.
Guro Reiten delivered a curling corner into the box, where Davidson battled through traffic before volleying home with her right foot to give Gotham a 2-1 advantage heading into halftime.
Gotham extended its lead in the 70th minute through another combination involving Sarah Schupansky and González.
Schupansky split Utah’s defense with a perfectly weighted through ball, sending González in alone on goal. The Spanish international rounded McGlynn before calmly finishing into an empty net for her second goal of the night and Gotham’s third.
Despite Utah creating several dangerous transition opportunities throughout the match, Gotham managed the remainder of the contest to secure all three points.
Head coach Juan Carlos Amorós praised his team’s response after conceding first and highlighted the resilience his players showed throughout the match.
“Resilience and the commitment to stick to who we are,” Amorós said. “We started the game really well and then obviously we conceded that goal. It was an important moment for us because the team straight away, from kickoff, again, went on the attack and we got a penalty.
“We dominated. We had the best chances that came out of our own work. They also had big chances, but some of them came from mistakes from us. The resilience and the commitment from everyone was outstanding.”
The victory also marked a milestone for the club.
“We’ve been on the road now for nine or 10 days, and today was a team win,” Amorós said. “Being able to celebrate the hundredth victory for the club is really another landmark.”
González’s two-goal performance continued her outstanding campaign, and Amorós praised both her leadership and relentless mentality.
“She’s always someone that’s going to give you 300%, and it doesn’t matter the game or what we’re playing for,” Amorós said. “Taking the responsibility again on that penalty, and then getting her second goal was unbelievable. The pass from Sarah was really different class, and her finish was calm and composed. Esther is such a great human being, a leader on and off the pitch, always giving everything.”
Reiten echoed her coach’s assessment, saying Gotham grew into the match after a difficult opening stretch.
“We gave away some big chances, but then showed the mentality to come back,” Reiten said. “It doesn’t matter who scores or assists as long as someone does it. Even though it didn’t always look like we controlled it, I feel like we had control of the game, and it was a nice win here.”
She also praised González’s clinical finishing.
“She’s a great football player,” Reiten said. “Hopefully that can help grow her confidence because we have some big games coming up, and we need more goals from everyone.”
Defender Jess Carter said bouncing back after last week’s loss made the result even more important.
“The importance of getting this win was huge,” Carter said. “You don’t want to lose back-to-back games, especially when you’ve been away for so long. There are a lot of lessons from this trip. We’ve been exploited today on the transition quite a few times, and that’s something that we need to nullify going forward.”
Gotham returns home Wednesday to face the Washington Spirit in the highly anticipated Queens Classic at Citi Field. The rematch of last season’s NWSL Championship Game is scheduled for an 8 p.m. ET kickoff.
