State of the club: Gotham FC's second half of 2025 edition | OneFootball

2025 has been a challenging year for NJ/NY Gotham FC. While there have been highs, such as winning the inaugural CONCACAF W Champions Cup, the four-match winless streak in NWSL play that the team currently finds itself in seems to be a little bit closer to the team's level in 2025. While they currently sit in a playoff spot, it is far from a given that they will make the postseason for the third year in a row.

While there was an expectation that 2025 would not be as strong as 2024, this is a bigger drop than even some of the most staunch pessimists would have expected. Therefore, let's analyze the state of the club, from the positives to the negatives, and look at what the future of Gotham FC may hold.

The positives of Gotham FC

The kids are alright

Going into 2025, the NWSL became the first sports league in North America to eliminate drafts as a mechanism for players to enter the league. Under the current general manager, Yael Averbuch West's tenure, Gotham FC has not prioritized the college draft as a key way of acquiring players. In the three drafts under Averbuch West's tenure, the team made just six draft picks, with only two, Jenna Nighswonger and Maycee Bell, actually making appearances for the club. The two have also since left the club, with Nighswonger joining Arsenal Women and Bell being traded to the North Carolina Courage.

With the draft being eliminated in favor of college free agency, Gotham became the most active team in this department, making six signings. And so far it has proven very fruitful. Most notably, Lilly Reale and Sarah Schupansky stepped in immediately as key starters at left-back and attacking midfielder, respectively. Add to this players like Khyah Harper, Sofia Cook, and Josefine Hasbo, who are slowly but surely earning more playing time. It appears the NJ/NY side may have signed a class of players that could be key starters for the team in the very near future.

The defense continues to be strong

Despite Gotham sitting eighth in the standings, they actually have the third-best defensive record in NWSL, behind only the Kansas City Current and the Orlando Pride, conceding just 16 goals in 17 games. And the advanced numbers back that up with the NJ/Y team conceding the second-lowest xG in NWSL play at 17, behind only Kansas City, who has conceded just 12.6 xG for the whole season.

A big contributor to this has been goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger. Berger is tied for second in the league in clean sheets with Anna Moorhouse of Orlando, with six, behind just Lorena of Kansas City, who has nine. In addition, Berger's average FotMob match rating of 7.38 is good for 10th among all players in the league and second among keepers, again behind Lorena. While there was some worry early on that Berger might have lost a step, she has once again been a big driving force behind Gotham's strong defense.

The negatives of Gotham FC

The lack of goals

Gotham FC's lack of goal scoring in 2025 is well-documented and has really reared its ugly head in recent games, with the ladies only scoring four goals in the last five matches in all competitions. And the problem is seemingly two-fold: they are not creating enough chances, and nobody can score consistently unless it is Esther González. And while the offseason saw proven goal-scorers like Yazmeen Ryan and Lynn Biyendolo depart, and injuries have limited the playing time of Ella Stevens, Rose Lavelle, and Midge Purce, the team still has enough to score at a higher rate.

As mentioned earlier, González has been Gotham's only consistent scorer this year with 11 goals, tying her with Temwa Chawinga for the Golden Boot lead. After González, the next highest goal total in NWSL play is two goals. This distinction is held by both Geyse and "own-goal". Yes, the Bats have gotten more goals from other teams' players than they have from every one of their own players except for two. That is not acceptable.

While part of this is on the players to perform better, it is hard to score consistently when the chances just are not there. Gotham sits in ninth in xG with 20.1 and in big chances per game with 1.53, one whole chance behind the league leaders in this category, Portland Thorns FC. Given these rankings and statistics, it is fair to say that Gotham's defense has carried this team more often than not this season.

Meanwhile, fans were perplexed by Gotham reacquiring Katie Stengel at the end of July, as many felt another defender was needed. The team has needed to field makeshift backlines at times. But the lack of offense made the acquisition of another forward a much bigger necessity than originally thought. And she has seen herself jump back into things very quickly, playing all five games in all competitions, including starting the most recent three.

As mentioned, injuries and the pretty much forced roster overhaul in the offseason have been big contributors to the lack of offense. Questions do need to be asked regarding the roster building as to how the team has gotten to the point where the main goal scoring threats after González are a midseason acquisition and a rookie in Harper, who was barely getting minutes in the first half of the season.

Yes, this year was probably viewed as a transition year given the roster turnover, influx of young players, and understanding that the roster was not as good as last year. But the players should not get a pass either. The way this team has struggled to score goals and win games, especially post-summer break, when they have done enough to walk away with more than just three points from four NWSL games, can only be described as disappointing. The roster is what it is at this point, and the players need to be more creative and efficient in the attacking third if they want to make the playoffs this season.

The future

Is Juan Carlos Amorós on the hot seat?

Is Juan Carlos Amorós on the hot seat? The short answer is no. There have been some fans discontent with the job Amorós has done this season, citing the recent poor run of form and, at times, rigid game plans and substitution patterns. Sure, those comments are fair, but it is important to look at the full picture. Amorós is not dumb; he knows that this team's biggest issue is the attacking deficiencies. Add to that, he is not afraid to make big personnel decisions either.

That is why when Lavelle returned from injury, he reworked the midfield in a way that allowed Schupansky and Lavelle to share the field while keeping three forwards on the field as well. This has meant Nealy Martin, a player Amorós has relied upon as both a key player on the field and a big personality off of it, has been relegated to the bench. And while the jury is still out on whether this is the 100% right direction to go down, Amorós does deserve some credit for changing his system in order to make the best of a difficult situation.

Additionally, Amorós signed a contract extension back in April that keeps him at the club through 2029. Not only does this contract extension mean a coaching change is unlikely, but the domino effect that followed should also put these potential rumblings to bed.

After Amorós' extension was announced, a number of key players for Gotham extended their contracts as well. These include leading goal scorer González, Howell, Bruninha, and captain Tierna Davidson, who added another year to her contract despite originally not being a free agent until after 2026. The fact that these key players were willing to re-sign with the club after the head coach had signed his extension showed that plenty of players still have faith in him and believe that he is the right person to move this team forward.

Plus, Amorós has built up enough cache where one below-par season was not going to be his ultimate downfall. In his two-plus seasons at Gotham FC, he has led the team to an NWSL Championship in 2023, a club-record-breaking season in 2024, and the Champions Cup victory back in May. Any rumors of Amorós' time at the club coming to an end at this point do not carry any weight whatsoever.