Week 11 recap: Business as usual

Gotham FC is heading into the summer break on a high note after a sensible 1-0 win over the Houston Dash at home. Rookie Jordynn Dudley was the one to put the Bats on the board with a brilliant finish on a tenacious effort. Defender Tierna Davidson got the assist, marking her second goal contribution in two NWSL games after only registering one in her first 78.

Coming into this game, the Dash had won six of the last eight regular season matchups between these two teams at Gotham’s home stadium, so although Houston came into this game lower in league standings than the Bats, the numbers were on their side. They were even more difficult opponents this year, as rookies with very little film were the primary goalscorers that Gotham had to prepare for. What did the Bats do to pull off the clean sheet, even in the face of injuries to crucial players?

A stifling team defense

After getting a shutout in her first start of the season (and becoming the first non-AKB Gotham keeper to get one since Cassie Miller in March 2024—against Hogan and the Portland Thorns!), Shelby Hogan had a lot of praise for her teammates, noting that “I think we always say, shutouts are a whole team effort, and it's not just the goalkeepers that care about getting shutouts. It's the entire team, and we have an emphasis on that… As much as we want to win games, we want to stop the opponent from even getting shots on target, shots on goal.” 

And it worked—Houston’s three shots on target tied for the second-fewest they’d been able to achieve so far this season. Let’s take a look at the different ways Gotham prevented their opponents from getting these shots on target.

Preventing attacking half and attacking third entries

One of the aspects of Gotham’s game that makes its defense so stifling is the fact that every single player is involved in it. This translates to immense offensive and defensive pressure, as it leads to turnovers in dangerous positions on the pitch and prevents the opponents from getting very far up the field. 

Gotham executed this style of defense perfectly in this match. The final field tilt (i.e. each team’s share of touches in the attacking third) was 66-34 in favor of the Bats and Houston Dash managed their fewest number of touches in the attacking box all season, as well as their third-lowest overall possession. 

Here are some examples of that in action.

Gotham not only prevents any attack from going forward, but they turn defense into attack as they now have the ball in their own attacking third.

The Dash had a promising counterattack opportunity here, but center back Tierna Davidson has an impeccable recovery to make sure that the Bats retain possession of the ball and the Dash don’t have the chance to go forward.

After the Bats made it difficult for Houston to build horizontally, they tried going more vertical. But Gotham’s press was able to impact that too, forcing errors with their press and ultimately coming away with the ball.

Preventing shots and box entries

No soccer team ever goes a full 90 minutes without allowing their opponent any entries into the attacking third. What’s important here is what Gotham was able to do to prevent goals even in these compromising situations.

Tierna Davidson has great awareness of the ball’s trajectory and the attacker’s movements and is able to use her intelligence and speed to get on the end of this promising ball forward.

Gotham’s organized press can also be a defensive tool, and here they use it to strip a Houston attacker of the ball to prevent her from getting into the box.

Preventing shots on target

Again, it’s nearly impossible to prevent box entries and shots entirely—since Opta began tracking NWSL data in 2016, a team has never been limited to zero shots in a game. And as Shelby Hogan mentioned, the important thing was preventing shots on target. Let’s take a look at what the Bats did well to limit Houston’s chances.

Had this ball reached Dash player Avery Patterson, it likely would’ve resulted in a shot on target from just outside of the six yard box. Instead, despite the runner being virtually open, Guro Reiten does a better job of anticipating the ball than the attacker she was defending, and was able to prevent a shot at all.

There’s a shot here, but it’s not on target. Guro Reiten and Jaedyn Shaw do a good job of cutting off Avery Patterson’s options to shoot or continue venturing in the box, forcing her to pass away from goal. Midfielder Cate Hardin has the angle to pass to a teammate in the box, but her team is so outnumbered that she’s unlikely to reach one of them so she’s forced to take a low-quality shot from outside of the penalty box and it sails over the bar.

Despite Houston’s attack being full of unpredictables, the Bats pulled off the clean sheet and limited them to only 0.43 xG and six shots. When asked about what the defense did particularly well to manufacture this result, interim right back Midge Purce said, “our defense is really good at being consistent and we control the controllables really well and make things predictable for each other.”

Hogan stepping up

Shelby Hogan had some big shoes to fill this week, stepping in for 2024 NWSL goalkeeper of the year Ann-Katrin Berger after the latter suffered an abdomen injury the previous week at the CONCACAF W Champions Cup finals. Hogan stepped up big time, making some crucial saves to keep her team in the contest.

Save 1: 12’, 0.02 xG (0.02 PSxG)

As mentioned earlier, the Bats did a great job of forcing the Dash to take low-chance shots. This one is a prime example of one of those, but Hogan still deserves her flowers for holding onto it.

Save 2: 26’, no xG or PSxG recorded

Opta didn’t consider this one to be a shot but that doesn’t mean that Hogan didn’t do a great job coming out to claim the ball and prevent it from turning into anything more.

Save 3: 74’, 0.07 xG, 0.09 PSxG

We see a rare defensive flub here, as a deflection from Jaelin Howell lands right in the path of Houston midfielder Maggie Graham. She beats Gotham’s center backs in the footrace and gets a touch to it first, but Hogan is able to pick up the pieces.

Save 4: 71’, 0.14 xG, 0.13 PSxG

Hogan’s most impressive save of the night (and Houston’s highest xG chance) came from a direct free kick. The shot makes it over the wall, but Shelby Hogan does a great job of both saving it and holding onto the ball to make sure there’s no opportunity for a rebound goal. 

Head coach Juan Carlos Amorós was full of praise for Hogan at the end of the match. “It’s difficult to be ready to step in when needed,” he commented, speaking on the experience of being a non-starting goalkeeper. “[Shelby Hogan] is such a great human being and so important for the locker room. And today she pulled a great save on the free kick and she was really good. So to highlight someone today, Shelby and the goalkeeper unit that we have, they’re doing a fantastic job.”

Big moves from big attackers

Head coach Juan Carlos Amorós described Houston’s defensive structure as a “low block” that needed to be broken down. In order for Gotham to generate meaningful attack, they had to get a little creative and deviate a bit from their classic horizontal build-up play. Let’s take a look at how they accomplished that in this game.

Vertical long balls

Breaking down a low block gets easier when you’re quick and vertical.

Jordynn Dudley earns herself a promising chance here by getting on the end of a long ball forward from Esther González following some quick passes forward down the right side.

Individual brilliance

Gotham’s attack was also bolstered by some amazing individual moments, whether that be picture perfect aerial deliveries by Sarah Schupansky…

… or beautiful dribbles through defenders by Midge Purce.

(Did that one go out?)

Taking shots

Finally, Gotham players did not hesitate to take shots when the opportunities arose.

We saw the combination of all three of these concepts in the goal that Gotham did score in the 18th minute of the game.

This opportunity starts with a long vertical ball from center back Tierna Davidson, and it is nearly perfect. Jordynn Dudley has some brilliant individual skill to get on the end of it and hold onto it, and as soon as she has the space to, she goes for goal. On Tierna Davidson’s contribution to the attack, Juan Carlos Amorós noted that “she really played some fantastic balls.”

Ten years of Mandy Freeman

At this match, Gotham FC honored Mandy Freeman for her 10th season with the club, as she continues to be the longest tenured player on the team. Teammates and coaches alike shared their thoughts on her legacy at the club.

Head coach Juan Carlos Amorós remarked on her commitment to improvement between not making the gameday roster in the 2023 championship game and captaining and starting the 2025 championship game. 

Unfortunately, Freeman has been injured for the entirety of the 2026 season so far. She commented on the difficulties that came with stepping into a leadership role off the pitch, mentioning that, “I feel like it's easy to be a leader when you're on the field, and you can really lead by example and with your voice, but I feel like it really challenges you to be able to have a presence outside of the field.” 

Her teammate Midge Purce certainly thinks she’s doing a great job, emphasizing that, “she is the heartbeat of the locker room, and she has been integral to the success on and off the field.”

As she anticipates her return to the pitch, Freeman is only looking to get better from here. “I’m just trying to stay present year after year and focusing on getting better, improving. How can I shape myself? How can I improve my shape for the players around me?”

Looking ahead to next match

The league is officially on break as the FIFA Men’s World Cup takes over soccer stadiums nationwide. The Bats aren’t entirely off the hook, however, as they are set to face off against the Kansas City Current in the 2026 NWSL Challenge Cup. This match takes place on Friday, June 26th at 8 PM ET in Columbus, OH and will be streaming live on Prime Video. The Current are just below Gotham in league standings, with 7 wins and 5 losses to their name, but have played one more game than the Bats. They are in hot form with four wins in their last five games as the front line of Michelle Cooper, Temwa Chawinga, Croix Bethune, and Ally Sentnor is finally healthy and gelling, so it’ll take some serious effort for Gotham to keep them in check. But that’s still over three weeks away, so for now, HAGS!