Gotham FC Eyes Home Playoff Berth on Decision Day at North Carolina

CARY, N.C. (Nov. 1, 2025) - The NWSL’s Decision Day will determine Gotham FC’s final standing in the regular-season table – and whether the club opens the 2025 NWSL Playoffs, presented by Google Pixel, at home or on the road.

Gotham travels to First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park to face the North Carolina Courage on Sunday, Nov. 2, with fourth place and a home quarterfinal berth up for grabs. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. ET, with coverage on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and streaming on ESPN+.

Gotham FC (9-7-9, 36 points) enters the final weekend in seventh place. With a win and favorable results elsewhere, Gotham could climb as high as fourth – the final home playoff position. Regardless of the outcome, Sunday will reveal the club’s opponent for the opening round of the postseason.

In Week 25, Gotham secured its third straight playoff berth, the longest streak in club history, following a 2-2 draw with Racing Louisville FC. Goals from midfielders Jaelin Howell and Rose Lavelle helped Gotham match its second-highest regular-season point total (36, in 2013).

The North Carolina Courage (8-9-8, 32 points) sit just outside the playoff line in ninth, two points behind eighth-place Racing Louisville. To qualify, the Courage must win Sunday and hope Louisville draws or loses.

North Carolina kept their postseason hopes alive and ended a three-match winless stretch in Week 25 with a crucial victory over Bay FC, powered by a hat trick from Manaka Matsukubo.

Sunday’s matchup marks the 27th all-time meeting between the sides. Gotham holds a 9-12-5 record against the Courage and has lost only once in their last eight meetings across all competitions.

The clubs last met April 13 at Sports Illustrated Stadium, where Gotham earned its first win of the season, a 3-1 result behind a brace from Esther González and Lilly Reale’s first professional goal.

Key Points:

• Gotham FC has won five of its eight meetings with the North Carolina Courage in all competitions since the start of the 2023 season (5-1-2), including victories in each of the last two.
• After reaching the playoffs in only two of the club’s first nine NWSL seasons through 2022, Gotham FC has now qualified for the postseason for a third consecutive year. The club earned just 12 points through its first 11 matches (10th in the NWSL) but has collected 24 points in 14 matches since, the second-most in the league during that span.
• Defenders Emily Sonnett and Lilly Reale have appeared in all 25 NWSL regular-season matches for Gotham FC this year. If both feature against North Carolina, they would join former Gotham players Delanie Sheehan and Jenna Nighswonger as the only players at the club to appear in every match of a 26-game season.
• Gotham has lost only once away from home in all competitions since its May 9 defeat to Racing Louisville FC at Lynn Family Stadium.