3 things we learned from Jordynn Dudley game with Gotham FC's win over Courage | OneFootball

NJ/NY Gotham FC finished their three-game road trip this weekend when they faced the North Carolina Courage.  The two teams played to a 0-0 draw early in the season, but the pressure to win was greater than their first game.  The Bats are chasing the NWSL Shield, and only they can keep themselves from winning.  Playing in Cary is never easy, though.

However, the difficult challenge was not too big for Gotham FC.  The Bats won 2-1 thanks to two goals from Jordynn Dudley.  The defense was also superb.  The backline kept Ann-Katrin Berger from having to make multiple saves, for she only had two on the night.  Yes, there was the goal allowed, but that can be forgiven.

While Dudley scored first to put Gotham up early, Natalia Staud tied the game for the Courage in the second half.  It felt like the match would end level, but Dudley had other ideas and scored the winning goal in stoppage time.  As such, the NJ/NY side earned another three points.

This was a good result in a tough environment.  Here are three things we learned from the Gotham FC win over the Courage.

Jordynn Dudley finally has another goal (x2)

As mentioned, Dudley scored for Gotham FC.  It had been a long time since the winger found the back of the net in the NWSL regular season, as this was the first time she had scored since May 31 against the Houston Dash.  As good as she has been, she has been lacking in the goal-scoring department.  And now, she has two more goals.

Her first goal was truly a great one.  Dudley ran into the box on the right side and powerfully shot the ball into the bottom-left corner of the goal.  Notably, the goal happened because Sam Kerr was aware of where the rookie was and put the ball into her path.  North Carolina players were silly and focused on the striker, and that allowed the winger to power her way through with ease.

Meanwhile, throughout the game, Dudley was constantly fouled.  Then, again, what else is new?  But she had a chip on her shoulder, and it is not shocking that she scored the winning goal.  It was a team goal that led to Rose Lavelle putting the ball into her path, and Dudley tapped it in.

If she can start scoring more goals, then that will be extremely helpful for Gotham as the team’s regular season comes to a close.

The score was fitting for Gotham FC

The match was a true battle.  On one side was North Carolina, who had the most goals in league play.  Then, there was the NJ/NY team, who had allowed the fewest goals entering the fixture.  Hence, it is no surprise that it was low-scoring.

But the result was fitting for Gotham FC.  The Bats are in first place after all, and it was not like the home side was way better in the attack.  Both teams had three shots on target, while the Courage outshot the visitors 14 to 11.  For the most part, it was even.  But one team is in first place, and that is why it is good to see that Gotham found a way to grind out the win.

Gotham FC had some luck

At the same time, it would be awful to talk about the match and not mention that the Bats had some luck.  That luck happened to be two offside goals, including a brilliant one from Ashley Sanchez.

If not for the offside goals, then Gotham FC would have lost.  They were correctly offside, too, so the luck came from the Courage players not playing the ball onside.  As a result, the NJ/NY side has three more points, and they are one match closer to the NWSL Shield.