Gotham FC returns to Sports Illustrated Stadium on Friday night looking to continue its pursuit of the NWSL Shield when it hosts the Chicago Stars.
Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
Gotham enters Friday’s matchup with a (15-4-6) record and 51 points, sitting atop the NWSL standings with a five-point lead over the Washington Spirit. Gotham is coming off a 2-1 victory over the North Carolina Courage last Saturday, with Jordynn Dudley scoring both goals, including the game-winner in the first minute of second-half stoppage time.
The victory also secured Gotham’s fourth consecutive playoff berth, but the team knows qualifying for the postseason was only one step toward its ultimate goal.
“We’re very focused. We all have a goal to bring the [NWSL] Shield home,” defender Tierna Davidson said. “For us, we’re focused day by day, making sure that we’re taking care of the small details so that come the weekend we’re putting our best foot forward.”
Chicago enters the matchup at (5-18-2) with 17 points and is coming off a 3-0 loss to the Washington Spirit.
The teams last met in April at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium, where Gotham earned a 2-0 victory. Dudley opened the scoring 46 seconds into the match before Rose Lavelle doubled Gotham’s lead.
Gotham will return home for the first time since Aug. 30, beginning a two-match homestand with five regular-season matches remaining. The club has continued to put itself in position to control the Shield race, but the players and coaching staff have stressed maintaining the same game-to-game approach that has carried them through the season.
“We don’t have to do much,” Davidson said. “Everybody is certainly on that page, and it’s been that way all season. So we’re really happy with how the group is feeling and how we’re all thinking about the next five games.”
One area Gotham wants to continue improving is its attack. The club has found ways to win tight matches throughout the season, but lead assistant coach Shaun Harris said creating more separation on the scoreboard is something the team wants to address before the playoffs.
“It’s always nice to score more goals and make sure the games are not as tight or as close as they have been in recent games,” Harris said. “So that’s one of the main things.”
Defensively, Gotham will also need to remain prepared for Chicago’s ability to attack in transition and create danger from set pieces. Davidson said those are two areas the team has identified heading into Friday’s match.
“We know that that’s definitely an area that they’re very dangerous in, as well as transition,” Davidson said. “So defensively, considering that, and then also offensively, as I said, continuing to just improve and be deadly with the opportunities that we have.”
Harris said Gotham’s approach will remain the same regardless of where Chicago sits in the standings.
“We’re approaching the game like if we’re playing top or bottom of the league, it doesn’t matter to us,” Harris said. “It’s just about how we’re going to focus on us and establish our game plan within the game.”
With the playoffs already secured, Gotham has five matches remaining to strengthen its position at the top of the table. Friday’s matchup against Chicago gives the club another opportunity to keep that focus and move one step closer to bringing the NWSL Shield home for the first time.
