LOS ANGELES — Gotham FC tied a club record with its ninth consecutive game without a loss Sunday, playing Angel City FC to a 0-0 draw while maintaining its position atop the NWSL standings.
The Bats entered the night with an opportunity to create more separation from the Washington Spirit, who dropped points earlier in the day against the Orlando Pride. Gotham could not take full advantage, settling for a point in a match that featured a missed penalty and a strong defensive performance from the visitors.
Gotham nearly took the lead less than a minute into the match. Rose Lavelle’s corner found Sam Kerr wide open inside the box, but Kerr’s header went just wide.
Angel City responded with one of its better opportunities in the 21st minute. Prisca Chilufya made a run down the right wing before sending a cross into the box, where Ally Sentnor got a touch but sent her attempt just over the crossbar.
The match remained relatively balanced through the opening 25 minutes, with neither side able to establish sustained control.
Lavelle was forced off after a lengthy stoppage following a collision with an Angel City defender. The Gotham midfielder landed hard on the back of her head and received treatment before walking off the field with medical staff. She was replaced by Mandy Freeman.
Angel City came out with significantly more pressure to begin the second half. The home side repeatedly pushed into Gotham’s defensive third, creating wave after wave of pressure as the Bats worked to protect their goal.
Gotham’s defense held firm through the stretch, keeping Angel City off the scoreboard and eventually finding opportunities of its own.
“We came in at halftime, we were a little bit disappointed with the first half, and there’s some things we need to tidy up just technically as a team,” Harris said. “There were a lot of unforced turnovers. We said we wanted to be a little bit more aggressive, so that was the plan coming back into the second half.”
The adjustment paid off as Gotham generated more attacking opportunities after halftime. The Bats created their best chance of the second half in the 72nd minute when Jordynn Dudley went on a solo run before forcing Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson into a save.
Gotham appeared to have a late opportunity to take all three points when they were awarded a penalty in the 84th minute following a VAR review for a handball by Sarah Gorden.
Guro Reiten stepped up to take the penalty, but Anderson denied her attempt to keep the match scoreless.
Harris backed the decision to award the penalty and expressed confidence in Reiten despite the missed opportunity.
“We looked at it. We thought it was a handball and then — you miss some, you score some,” Harris said. “It is what it is, and we trust all our players when they step up and take the penalty, and unfortunately it wasn’t our day.”
Gotham could not find a late breakthrough, settling for a point on the road. The draw leaves the Bats seven points clear at the top of the standings and level with their club record for consecutive games unbeaten.
Ann-Katrin Berger provided another milestone in goal. The German shot stopper recorded her 10th clean sheet of the season, tying her own club record from last year.
The shutout also put Berger in NWSL history as the first goalkeeper to record double-digit clean sheets in consecutive seasons and the first to reach 10 or more clean sheets in multiple seasons with the same club.
Gotham returns home to Sports Illustrated Stadium next Friday to take on the Portland Thorns. The 8 p.m. ET contest will give the Bats an opportunity to move beyond the club record and continue their strong run of form as the regular season enters its final stretch.
