3 things we learned from Gotham FC's first road win over San Diego Wave FC | OneFootball

With NJ/NY Gotham FC on the West Coast, the Bats had a late game on Friday night.  As such, fans hoped they would be rewarded by staying up with a road win.  However, they were facing San Diego Wave FC, and the California side had never lost to the NJ/NY team in their home stadium.  At least until Friday, when Gotham won 2-0.

It took some time for the visitors to grow into the game.  But before halftime, Esther González scored the opener for Gotham FC.  She almost scored another later in the game, but it was deemed offside, likely due to Midge Purce’s position on the pitch.  Although, that was a little controversial since it was so close.

But it was recently acquired Jaedyn Shaw, who came on at the start of the second half, who led the NJ/NY side to their first road win against the Wave.  She scored the team’s second goal in her first appearance, which was a fantastic way to quickly make her mark.

This was another great result for Gotham FC and the third NWSL win in a row.  Therefore, let’s take a look at three things we learned from the win over the Wave.

Gotham FC finally won in San Diego

Gotham FC has had success in San Diego before, winning the 2023 NWSL Championship.  However, before Friday night, the Bats had never beaten the Wave in San Diego.  The city was always a challenging place to play.  But that finally changed thanks to the two goals.  It began with some luck.

The reason González scored in the 45th minute was that San Diego provided the visitors with a gift.  Kennedy Wesley attempted to pass the ball back to her goalkeeper, Kailen Sheridan, but Gotham’s press got the better of her.  Geyse intervened and enabled the ball to end up at González’s feet, and she had an empty goal.  With ease, the forward put her side ahead.  It was a lucky goal, but luck did not result in the win.

Instead, solid defensive work and the second goal ensured that Gotham left with all three points for the first time.  Jaelin Howell sent the perfect ball into the box, and Shaw was in the perfect spot.  The newcomer gracefully headed the ball into the ground and watched it trickle into the goal.

It was clear that San Diego outplayed the Bats in the first half.  But the visitors' growth as the game progressed led them to the win.

Gotham FC is a part of history

During the match, Gotham FC was a part of history.  González tried to find her second goal of the night via a header, but San Diego’s goalkeeper, Sheridan, had other ideas.  She stretched out her arm to quickly send the ball onto the bar to keep the game at 1-0.

But this save was special.  Sheridan, the former Sky Blue FC/ Gotham player, made her 600th save in the NWSL regular season.  Many of those saves, of course, came with the Bats, for she was with the club from 2017 through 2021.  She continues to be one of the best, and it is great to see her success with San Diego.  Plus, she arguably kept her old team from scoring a few more goals during the match.

As such, congratulations are due to the goalkeeper.  This is an incredible accomplishment, and fans of both teams can celebrate her success.

Win leads to jump in the standings

Thankfully, the win led to a jump in the standings.  Gotham went from sixth place to third, overtaking the Wave thanks to goal differential.  As many know, the teams in the NWSL are extremely close, with third through eighth place separated by four points.  But the fact that the Bats are back in third and near the top of the table feels incredible.  It was just a few weeks ago that many questioned whether they would make the playoffs.

Of course, there is still plenty of work to do, especially with how close teams are in the standings.  Gotham FC could fall back down to fifth by the end of the weekend.  Nevertheless, they can enjoy this for now.