Delanie Sheehan and Esther Gonzalez scored as NJ/NY Gotham FC defeated the host Seattle Reign 2-0 on Monday in a rematch of last season’s NWSL championship match.
Ann-Katrin Berger made three saves while posting the shutout for Gotham (12-4-4, 40 points), who moved past the Kansas City Current and into third place in the league standings. Berger’s best stop came in second-half stoppage time when she leaped and tipped a 20-yard free kick from Ji So-Yun just over the crossbar.
The Reign (5-10-5, 20 points) had a three-match winning streak snapped and saw its seven-match unbeaten streak end. Seattle is five points behind Bay FC for the eighth and final playoff berth.
The first Gotham goal came in the 41st minute after Seattle had some of its most sustained pressure of the match in the offensive end.
Rose Lavelle, who signed with Gotham as a free agent in the offseason after playing for the Reign the past three seasons, started a counterattack, dribbling the ball past midfield before passing to Ella Stevens in the middle of the field. Stevens immediately sent a pass to Sheehan wide on the right wing.
Sheehan dribbled into the penalty area and attempted a cross that was knocked down by Seattle’s Phoebe McClernon. Sheehan pounced on the loose ball and put a left-footed shot from 12 yards out between the legs of defender Shae Holmes and just inside the right post, leaving Reign goalkeeper Claudia Dickey no chance.
Gotham doubled their lead in the 85th minute, as Yazmeen Ryan sent a cross from the right wing to Gonzalez for a shot from 12 yards out. The ball slipped through Dickey’s hands and went just inside the near post.
Dickey made four saves for the Reign.
–Field Level Media
