Full time, Gotham with a commanding 3-0 win over Portland and for the time being, pull within 3 points of the Washington Spirit for 2nd in the standings. #GothamFC #GFCvPTFC #NWSL

6 minutes of stoppage time. #GothamFC #GFCvPTFC #NWSL

Well, Purce is now an offside call and a post away from scoring a hat trick tonight as she just unleashed a curling left-footed bomb that found the woodwork. #GothamFC #GFCvPTFC #NWSL

Three more Gotham changes as Kayla Duran, Sarah Schupansky and Gabi Portilho replace Mandy Freeman, Rose Lavelle and Jaedyn Shaw. All three departing players had fantastic games today. #GothamFC #GFCvPTFC #NWSL

3-0 Gotham as Katie Stengel gets her first of the NWSL season off of a great backheel assist from Rose Lavelle. #GothamFC #GFCvPTFC #NWSL

Portland put the ball in the net off of the corner, but Hiatt is called for a foul on Sonnett and it remains 2-0 Gotham. #GothamFC #GFCvPTFC #NWSL

Second Gotham change sees Bruninha come off after a tough challenge and is replaced by Lilly Reale. #GothamFC #GFCvPTFC #NWSL

A third feels inevitable at this point. Shortly after Jaelin Howell rattled the crossbar Rose Lavelle wins a free kick deep in Thorns territory. #GothamFC #GFCvPTFC #NWSL

Purce rounds Arnold and puts the ball in the back of the net but is immediately called for offside. Still 2-0. #GothamFC #GFCvPTFC #NWSL

Portland also made a sub at halftime, signaling a more attack minded gamplan in the second half as forward Reilyn Turner comes n for defender Isabella Obaze. #GothamFC #GFCvPTFC #NWSL

One change for Gotham at halftime with Katie Stengel coming on for Esther. #GothamFC #GFCvPTFC #NWSL

Halftime 2-0 to Gotham who are halfway towards earning a huge 3 points. #GothamFC #GFCvPTFC #NWSL

2 minutes of stoppage time. #GothamFC #GFCvPTFC #NWSL

That’s a huge blow for Portland as the preceding few minutes had seen them venture into the attacking third for the first time and they look too bad either. #GothamFC #GFCvPTFC #NWSL

2-0 Gotham as Rose Lavelle gets her second goal in two games. Great piece of passing in midfield with Jaedyn Shaw’s first time flick sending Lavelle in 1-v-1 with Arnold which she buries. #GothamFC #GFCvPTFC #NWSL

With Portland still more than willing to just sit back and play on the counter, a second 1st half goal for Gotham would be huge. #GothamFC #GFCvPTFC #NWSL

Mandy Freeman very nearly got her second assist of the night as she played a great through ball to Esther whose touch put her at a tough angle to score with Arnold easily catching her shot at the near post. Still all Gotham so far after 20+ minutes. #GothamFC #GFCvPTFC #NWSL

October 15, 2023 against the KC Current was the last time Midge Purce scored a goal at Red Bull Arena/Sports Illustrated Stadium. #GothamFC #GFCvPTFC #NWSL

The two longest tenured Gotham players combine for the opener in this one. Mandy Freeman plays a great cross into the box that finds the head of Midge Purce who scores her first goal at home since returning from her ACL injury. #GothamFC #GFCvPTFC #NWSL

Looks like it’s the usual shape for Gotham with Shaw taking Geyse’s usual spot on the forward line. #GothamFC #GFCvPTFC #NWSL

Gotham have a a corner with the first 90 seconds. #GothamFC #GFCvPTFC #NWSL

This looks like a true 3 back with two outside wingers in Mallie McKenzie and Reyna Reyes - both players absolutely love this role. I’m curious what the shape up top will look like because a 5-4-1 or 5-3-2 intrigues me. Multiple changes as well. Isa Obaze, Hina Sugita, & Deyna 📸Portland Thorns FC

Win probabilities for NJ/NY Gotham FC - Portland Thorns based on announced XIs, via @americansocceranalysis.com Gotham win: 51% Draw: 26% Thorns win: 23% #GothamFC | #BAONPDX | #NJYvPOR | #NWSL

Here’s tonight’s #GothamFC starting XI. Geyse is out with injury which brings Hasbo back into the starting lineup and maybe sees Shaw move to the frontline. We also see Reale out of the XI for the first time in a while with Freeman coming back into and Bruninha most likely sliding to LB. #NWSL

Here is this week’s #GothamFC fan rooting guide: Kansas City vs Chicago -> Chicago because it would be funny San Diego vs Orlando -> Draw Louisville vs Angel City -> Draw Bay vs Utah -> doesn’t matter Washington vs Houston-> Houston Seattle vs North Caroline -> Draw #NWSL

#GFCvPOR NWSL Availability Report Gotham FC OUT: Tierna Davidson (SEI), Geyse (knee), Ella Stevens (knee), Taryn Torres (SEI) Portland Thorns OUT: Julie Dufour (SEI – knee), Caiya Hanks (SEI), Marie Müller (SEI), Nicole Payne (SEI), Olivia Wade-Katoa (ML), Morgan Weaver (SEI), Sophia Wilson (ML)

On Ella Stevens, JCA says she will not be available this weekend but is getting "closer and closer." She's working with medical + high performance teams to ensure she comes back in the best way possible. Gotham hopes to see her on the pitch soon but too early to say exactly when. #GothamFC

Week 21 recap is out now! Gotham ended a long and tiring road trip with a frustrating performance against Bay that they were lucky to get a point out of. We break down what made their performance hard to watch, but not the worst thing in the world. thebatsignal.beehiiv.com/p/week-21-re...

Last night’s #GothamFC performance was somewhat reminiscent of the frustrating games they played earlier this season. That being said it’s not worth worrying about, yet. #NWSL skyscraperblues.com/gotham-fc-ba...

Really felt like a performance reminiscent of early season Gotham, but I’m willing to put more of that down to fatigue than anything else. Big game on Friday at home against Portland which will play a huge role in shaping the table come the end of the season. #GothamFC #BayvGFC #NWSL

Gotham get away with one right at the end. Moreau is wide open in front of goal but she shanks it skyward and misses. 1-1 is your final score. #GothamFC #BayvGFC #NWSL

3 minutes of stoppage time. #GothamFC #BayvGFC #NWSL

Two more Gotham subs. Stengel and Freeman come on for Lavelle and Reale. We’ll probably see Esther drop into midfield with Stengel playing as more of a target forward striker. #GothamFC #BayvGFC #NWSL

Absolute stunner of an equalizer from Kundananji. Quick turn and shot from outside of the box and curls one that Berger had no chance on. 1-1 #GothamFC #BayvGFC #NWSL

And now Gotham makes their second sub with Sarah Schupansky coming on for Jaedyn Shaw. #GothamFC #BayvGFC #NWSL

Racheal Kundananji comes on for Bay, replacing Tess Boade. Little bit less than half an hour to play. #GothamFC #BayvGFC #NWSL

Gotham really playing with fire here in front of their own goal, that’s twice now Bay have come close to scoring. #GothamFC #BayvGFC #NWSL

Bay have definitely looked better in these opening 10 minutes than they did in the entire 1st half, and that’s before Kundananji has even seen the field. #GothamFC #BayvGFC #NWSL

Lavelle works her magic to wriggle her way through multiple defenders before finding Portilho whose shot is save by Silkowitz for a Gotham corner. #GothamFC #BayvGFC #NWSL

One change for Gotham at halftime with Portilho coming on for Geyse. #GothamFC #BayvGFC #NWSL

And that’s halftime, 1-0 to Gotham. Huge goal for Gotham in what has been a very low event game so far. For probably the first time we’re seeing Gotham feel the effects of all the travel over the past 3ish weeks. Despite that they have looked like the better team. #GothamFC #BayvGFC #NWSL

1 minute of stoppage time. #GothamFC #BayvGFC #NWSL

They rightly praised Esther for the assist, but the pass from Purce to Esther is arguably even better. #GothamFC #BayvGFC #NWSL

That’s also Esther’s first assist of the season to go along with her 13 goals. #GothamFC #BayvGFC #NWSL

Goal for Gotham. Great first pass from Purce to Esther, and a great assist from Esther to Lavelle who slots it past Silkowitz at the far post and Gotham gets a much needed goal. #GothamFC #BayvGFC #NWSL

First big chance for Gotham sees a ball pop to Esther in the box but her subsequent shot is blocked. #GothamFC #BayvGFC #NWSL

Set play from Gotham sees Lavelle get off a great shot but she puts the shot high. #GothamFC #BayvGFC #NWSL

Pretty underwhelming first 10 minutes from both teams. Most of the game has been played in Bay’s defensive third though so that’s one positive for Gotham. #GothamFC #BayvGFC #NWSL

Why is Kundananji not starting, did I miss something? #GothamFC #BayvGFC #NWSL

Here’s tonight’s #GothamFC starting XI. One change from last week against San Diego with Shaw starting in place of Portilho. #NWSL