Team News: Boade Makes First Gotham FC Start with NWSL Shield in Reach

Midfielder Tess Boade is set to make her first start for Gotham FC in this afternoon’s critical road match at Orlando.

The Colorado native is the only change to coach Juan Carlos Amorós’s lineup as his squad inches closer to claiming the club’s first NWSL Shield, given to the league’s regular season champion.

Gotham FC (16-5-7, 55 points) is in position to clinch the NWSL Shield, given to the league’s regular-season champion, with a win in Orlando in addition to two results elsewhere — a Kansas City win or draw vs. third-place Washington (52 points) and a Boston win over second-place San Diego (54 points).

Kickoff in Florida is set for 3 p.m. ET at Inter.co Stadium, with CBS Sports Network carrying the national broadcast and NWSL+ streaming for local New York region viewers. NWSL+ is a free service available online and via the NWSL+ app on Apple TV, Fire TV and Roku TV.

Boade, 27, joined Gotham FC this summer after two years with Bay FC, where she started 33 of the 46 games in which she appeared. The Duke University alum has started all seven of the matches she has played in her career against the Orlando Pride, with a goal and an assist.

Stepping in for Rose Lavelle, who missed Sunday’s game through injury, Boade joins Gotham FC’s midfield duo of Jaelin Howell and Denise O’Sullivan, who have started together in five of the past six matches. Howell is making her 42nd consecutive start, the third-longest streak in club history, and will add to her club-record games played and started and minutes played with Sunday’s appearance.

Up front, Australian striker Sam Kerr leads the line alongside Guro Reiten and Midge Purce, with whom Kerr shares the club record for game-winning goals, with 10. Both could do wonders for Gotham FC’s Shield push by setting the new club record for game-winners. Reiten, with five assists, could tie Katy Freels’s single-season club record for assists with her next one.

Trusted faces make up the back line, which can push Gotham FC into second in NWSL history in single-season shutouts with a clean sheet in Florida. The quartet of captain Tierna Davidson, Jess Carter, Mandy Freeman and Leila Ouahabi make up the defense in front of goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger. Sunday marks the 50th club appearance for Davidson and 132nd for Freeman, the club’s all-time appearances leader.

Gotham FC’s bench includes goalkeepers Shelby Hogan and Teagan Wy; midfielders Sofia Cook, Savannah McCaskill, Talia Sommer, Meredith Speck and Taryn Torres; and forwards Andrea Kitahata and Olivia Wingate.

Midfielders Rose Lavelle (neck) and Jaedyn Shaw (knee) are unavailable, per the player availability report. Defenders Bruninha (knee), Kayla Duran (knee) and defender Emily Sonnett (knee) and forward Jordynn Dudley (foot) are on the season-ending injury list.

Gotham FC lineup at Orlando Pride

30 – Ann-Katrin Berger (GK)

22 – Mandy Freeman

27 – Jess Carter

15 – Tierna Davidson (c)

4 – Leila Ouahabi

5 – Denise O’Sullivan

7 – Jaelin Howell

28 – Tess Boade

23 – Midge Purce

20 – Sam Kerr

18 – Guro Reiten

Substitutes: 1 – Shelby Hogan (GK), 31 – Teagan Wy (GK); 8 – Taryn Torres, 13 – Savannah McCaskill, 14 – Talia Sommer, 21 – Sofia Cook, 24 – Andrea Kitahata, 25 – Meredith Speck, 29 – Olivia Wingate