Gotham FC will look to move one step closer to a club record when it takes its eight-match unbeaten streak on the road Sunday against Angel City FC at BMO Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET.
The Bats enter the matchup in first place in the NWSL standings at (13-3-4) with 43 points after rallying for a 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Current last Friday. The win extended Gotham’s unbeaten run to eight matches and gave the club its third straight comeback victory after conceding first.
Midge Purce erased Kansas City’s early lead in the 13th minute before Sam Kerr put Gotham ahead eight minutes before halftime. Kerr’s goal was her 31st regular-season goal for Gotham, making her the club’s all-time regular-season scoring leader and the first player in NWSL history to reach 80 regular-season goals.
Gotham has now won 12 of its last 15 regular season matches, with two draws and one loss during that stretch. The Bats have also found the net in eight straight league games.
The challenge Sunday will be an Angel City team that has shown signs of improvement in recent weeks.
Angel City sits ninth at (7-7-4) with 25 points but enters the matchup unbeaten in its last three matches. The club most recently earned a 1-1 draw against the Washington Spirit, with Ally Sentnor scoring in the 85th minute to rescue a point and prevent Washington from closing the gap on Gotham.
Acting head coach Shaun Harris expects Angel City to make Gotham work for its chances.
“They’re really well organized,” Harris said Saturday. “They have a clear identity when they want to press and be really aggressive.”
That pressure could make controlling possession especially important for Gotham, particularly against an Angel City side Harris believes can be dangerous once it wins the ball.
“They’ve got some real threats going forward, so making sure, can we control the ball and minimize those threats, especially on the transition,” Harris said.
The Bats will also be tasked with dealing with an Angel City attack that goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger believes has plenty of firepower.
“You can see that they have really, really good strikers, attacking-wise, because of the goals they’re scoring and the chances they’re creating,” Berger said.
For Gotham, that creates an intriguing matchup between an Angel City attack that has been finding opportunities and a defense that has been one of the team’s defining strengths throughout the season.
Berger highlighted that Gotham’s defensive success starts well before opponents reach the back line, with the entire team contributing without the ball.
“It’s not just about the defense and the goalkeeping, it’s more about the whole team effort,” Berger said.
That collective approach will be tested again Sunday as Gotham tries to protect its position at the top of the standings while continuing a run that has put it one match away from tying the club record for consecutive unbeaten games.
Harris, however, emphasized that the players are not allowing the table to dictate their approach.
“We’re just here day by day,” Harris said. “We talk about the small percentages and just winning each day, training, turning up, showing up, competing.”
With six points separating Gotham from second-place Washington and the unbeaten streak approaching club-record territory, the Bats have plenty at stake in Los Angeles. But after repeatedly finding ways to win during their current run, Gotham will look to keep that momentum going against an Angel City side that is playing some of its best soccer of the season.
