Week 2 recap: Some things never change

Gotham FC’s 2026 home opener drew a record crowd that was probably left a little disappointed as the Bats and the North Carolina Courage settled for a point each after a scoreless draw. 

A scoreless draw is quickly becoming a habit for Gotham. The team’s 5 scoreless draws in 2025 cost them 10 potential points, which would’ve been the difference between finishing the season in 8th place and finishing in 2nd place. Against a stronger team, a 0-0 scoreline could be something to celebrate (yay, clean sheet!), but 4 of these 5 games in 2025 were against an opponent lower in standings than Gotham was at the time. The Bats were only one point away from not even making the playoffs, so converting some of those 0-0 draws into wins should definitely be a goal this year. They weren’t completely set up for success in this game, though. Let’s get into it.

Lineups, substitutions, and positioning

Gotham’s availability report on Friday night revealed that as expected, right backs Bruninha and Mandy Freeman were still injured. However, we also found that acting right back Midge Purce would also not be available for the match. To get around this, head coach Juan Carlos Amorós chose the path of least resistance and slotted in sophomore Kayla Duran at right back. The last time Duran had started a game in this position, her backline had let in 3 goals against this very same opponent, so this felt like kind of a risky move on Amorós’ part. But his decision paid off, as the young defender won 2/2 aerial duels, completed 77% of her passes, and won back possession 3 times for her team. 

Duran was eventually substituted off in the 61st minute, making way for the return of center back Tierna Davidson 358 days after she suffered a torn ACL early last season. After the match, Amorós was full of praise for Davidson, mentioning that “I think she's probably the best left-footed center back on the planet for the way I see the game, and obviously someone that we've really missed in this year.” On her return, Davidson noted that, “physically, I feel really good” and that “the soccer side is probably still lagging a little bit because you can’t recreate game scenarios… it’s about building those minutes back, getting comfortable again, relearning my teammates’ tendencies and learning the new version of myself as a player.” We’re very excited to be reminded of what one of the best center backs in the world can do for this team.

In addition to the movement on the backline, Gotham also had to deal with Jaedyn Shaw being out for this game. In her 11 NWSL matches with the Bats since joining the team last September, Shaw has become a mainstay in this team’s attack, particularly due to her creativity and chance creation abilities. Her absence in this game led Amorós to play a forward line of three natural strikers in Esther González, Katie Lampson, and rookie Jordynn Dudley. This unconventional choice of personnel also triggered an unconventional 4-2-2-2 formation from the Bats, with Esther and Dudley as dual strikers, Lampson and Rose Lavelle as wider midfielders behind the strikers, and Jaelin Howell and Savannah McCaskill in a double pivot as holding midfielders. This formation worked in that Gotham didn’t concede a goal, despite losing the xG battle. It also meant that the team ended the game with a pass network that looked like this.

But hey, the Bats pulled off more than we expected with this formation. 

An anemic attack?

Gotham did not start with a single natural wide attacker in this game, and only one of their attackers was just as much a creator as she is a finisher. That, coupled with the fact that North Carolina’s 5-back would have the numbers advantage when Gotham went forward, meant that this offense was always going to look wacky. But despite the big Jaedyn Shaw-sized hole in Gotham’s lineup, the Bats came out of the gate swinging, generating one-third of their total xG in the first 19 minutes of the game and not allowing their opponents to take a shot until the 32nd minute. 

Gotham’s lack of wide attackers showed in the tactics that the team employed, with most progression coming from quick and short passes between lines smack dab in the middle of the pitch.

The Bats also took a more direct approach, with two of their best-looking chances in this period coming from counterattack.

Katie Lampson in particular took this new creating role in stride, having a big role in the 1v1 opportunities created by the last two chances.

Gotham’s highest xG chance (and only shot on target) of the night was in the first minute of the second half, where a brilliant aerial cross from Katie Lampson meets Rose Lavelle’s head in a shot measuring 0.24 xG.

Lavelle has great movement in the box here to both lose the attention of her defender and actually get on the end of the cross. But the quality of her shot is ultimately a little lower than that of the raw chance as the header goes right into goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan.

During the rest of the second half, the Bats only managed 3 shots totaling to 0.1 xG. So what’s the diagnosis here? Honestly, Gotham just looks rusty. A team that normally struggles to finish its chances is struggling to finish its chances a little more than usual. Hopefully this is something that will be fixed soon with time and consistency.

A sufficient defense?

Through the first 44 minutes in the game, Gotham restricted their opponent to just one shot. But they spent the rest of the game absolutely pelted with North Carolina’s 12 other shots, 4 of which made it on target and forced a save out of Ann-Katrin Berger. At the end of the day, the clean sheet that Gotham came away with is the most important part of this match. But still, let’s take a look at what Gotham did well and what Gotham could’ve done better in some of these opportunities.

Opportunity 1: 90+1’

Interestingly enough, the Courage’s highest xG chance (0.42 xG) was also a header off of an aerial cross. A botched tackle by Jaelin Howell in the buildup meant Gotham had a 4 vs. 5 numbers disadvantage on this attack. This gave North Carolina the opportunity to have a player open to deliver a great cross, as well as a player open at the back post. The Bats were very lucky that Evelyn Ijeh messed up her header. 

Opportunity 2: 89’

Oof, this is not great. Somehow, the three players trying to dispossess Ashley Sanchez in the midfield are attacking midfielder Sofia Cook, striker Katie Lampson, and center back Jess Carter, all three of whom stick a foot out to no avail. Jess Carter gets taken out and now Gotham is scrambling defensively as the Courage have heaps of space to move the ball forward. Everyone is out of sorts, no one knows what’s going on, and all of a sudden Ashley Sanchez has a pretty clear shot. She misses, though, and the team can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Opportunity 3: 32’

Be careful when building out of the back, folks!

At the end of the day, this match was about Gotham having some fumbles offensively and defensively and getting lucky that North Carolina couldn’t finish their chances either. We all wanted the full 3 points, but we’ll take Gotham getting their defensive jitters out of the way while still maintaining a clean sheet. 

Looking ahead to next match

Gotham next plays in its first midweek game of the season as the Bats take on expansion side Denver Summit at home on Wednesday, March 25 at 7 PM ET. The match will take place at Sports Illustrated Stadium and will be broadcast on Victory+. Denver Summit currently sits in 12th in league standings with a draw and a loss to their name. The numbers are a bit unflattering to the team, however, as the loss came after going down to 10 players in only the 27th minute of the game in week 1. The Summit recently acquired former Gotham players Yazmeen Ryan and Delanie Sheehan from the Houston Dash, and their goalkeeper is former Bat Abby Smith. Unlike Gotham, the Summit has scored in each of their matches of their 2026 campaign so far, so the Bats need to step up their offense if they want to get points out of this matchup.

Thumbnail courtesy of Gotham FC.