HARRISON — Jaedyn Shaw scored twice as Gotham FC defeated the Chicago Stars 3-1 Friday night at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
Shaw’s brace helped Gotham extend its home unbeaten streak to a club-record 11 regular-season matches and maintain a six-point lead atop the NWSL standings with four games remaining.
The win was Gotham’s third straight and its 16th of the season, moving the club to 54 points as it continues its pursuit of its first NWSL Shield.
The Bats wasted little time taking control.
In the ninth minute, Jordynn Dudley carried the ball from the right side into the middle, weaving past two defenders before finding Sam Kerr. Kerr slipped the ball to Shaw inside the box, and Shaw finished first time from eight yards to give Gotham the lead.
It was Shaw’s eighth goal of the season and the latest example of Gotham finding a way to strike early. The club entered the night having scored seven goals in the opening 15 minutes this season.
Chicago struggled to generate much in response as Gotham continued to dictate the match.
Gotham nearly doubled its advantage in the 15th minute when Shaw’s free kick found Jaelin Howell in the box. Howell’s header beat Naeher but struck the crossbar and bounced down onto the goal line before staying out.
The 1-0 lead held through halftime, but Gotham needed only five minutes after the restart to add another.
Guro Reiten sent a brilliant cross toward the back post, where Kerr rose above the defense and headed the ball into the net to make it 2-0.
The goal was Kerr’s fourth since joining Gotham this summer and her 32nd regular-season goal for the club, extending her franchise record.
Gotham kept pressing for a third, and Shaw eventually found it.
Rose Lavelle created the opening in the 66th minute, using a piece of quick footwork to shed a defender inside the box before finding Shaw in space. Shaw took a touch and placed her shot inside the far post from 16 yards for her ninth goal of the season.
The goal completed the first two-goal performance of Shaw’s NWSL career and moved her to 26 regular-season goals. Her first goal of the night was the 25th of her career, making her the youngest player in league history to reach the milestone at 21 years, 309 days old.
“I cannot speak highly enough of Jaedyn,” head coach Juan Carlos Amorós said during the post-match interview. “I think from the moment she joined us, she’s grown as a human. She’s grown on the pitch, she’s grown on the ball, she’s grown off the ball. I think today her defensive work was outstanding.
“She added those two goals. She read the pictures and interpreted really well what she needed to do and executed really well. I’m not surprised she has achieved that and got that record because the way she sees the game and the way she plays the game. It makes it special. She puts that together with being a fantastic teammate, a fantastic player to coach, a fantastic human. I’m super happy to hear that she got that record.”
Shaw credited her teammates for helping her find the back of the net twice, pointing to the unselfish play that created both goals.
“I feel like two very unselfish plays are a testament to my goals today,” Shaw said. “They are team goals as well, so it is just really nice to have that as an attacker at heart. I want to score goals for the team, so it’s really nice and it’s been a long time coming.”
Chicago found a late consolation goal in the 87th minute when Micayla Johnson’s cross found Tessa Dellarose at the far side of the box. Dellarose finished to cut the deficit to 3-1.
The late goal was one of the few blemishes on an otherwise strong night for Gotham, which returned home after a difficult month that included three consecutive road trips.
“Today was a really good game from the team,” Amorós said. “They really deserved that performance.”
The performance also represented a response to Gotham’s 3-0 loss to Denver, which ended the club’s 10-game unbeaten run.
“We were coming on the back of 10 unbeaten,” Amorós said. “It was really important for us to look at ourselves in the mirror and say, ‘OK, we’re going to have to push and make sure that we show that we want to be the team that gets that playoff advantage or the Shield.’”
The result keeps Gotham six points clear of San Diego with four regular-season matches remaining. The Bats return to Sports Illustrated Stadium on Oct. 4 to host Angel City FC.
With the Shield now firmly in sight, Gotham will return home looking to take another step toward securing the club’s first regular-season title.
