NJ/NY Gotham FC made its long-awaited introduction to Red Bull Arena and opened its 2021 NWSL regular season with a win in front of a home crowd. A lone goal from forward Midge Purce in the 30th minute sealed the 1-0 victory against the visiting Houston Dash on Saturday night and placed Gotham FC back in the win column.

The match started with both teams very attack-minded early on with a handful of missed opportunities for each. Gotham FC’s clearest chance at goal came in the 21st minute from a Paige Monaghan pass across the center of goal that forward Evelyne Viens couldn’t quite settle enough to find the back of the net.
 
In the 30th minute, Purce opened Gotham FC’s 2021 regular season scoring account with a lasered shot from the far right of the box into the bottom left hand corner past the Houston Dash goalkeeper Jane Campbell. Gotham FC continued to possess the ball well, but was unable to extend the lead further heading into the half. 
 
Opening the second half, Houston continued to impose themselves on Gotham FC’s backline and nearly drew level when Dash forward Kristie Mewis missed a direct scoring opportunity in front of the home goal. As time wore on and a frustrated Houston side saw their chances beginning to dwindle, the game became increasingly physical with a total of five yellow cards handed out in the second half. Gotham FC was able to weather the physicality and remained determined to close the show with another goal, but the score remained 1-0 at the final whistle.

Gotham FC hits the road next week to take on the Chicago Red Stars Saturday, May 22, at 8:00 p.m. ET at SeatGeek Stadium. The team returns home for a Challenge Cup rematch against the Portland Thorns on Sunday, May 30 at Red Bull Arena. Kickoff is set for 3:00 p.m. Single, group and season ticket memberships are now on sale and pricing details can be found here.

NJ/NY Gotham FC Head Coach Freya Coombe on the Victory

“I’m very pleased with our performance, I think it was strong and we possessed the ball well. That was something we asked from the team to start the game, to improve our possession compared to some of our previous matches and I was pleased with our response. Credit to Houston, they came back in the second half and made it hard for us and created more opportunities. Overall, I’m really pleased to be able to get the first win at home in our league campaign."

NJ/NY Gotham FC Goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan on Returning to Red Bull Arena

“Being back at Red Bull is the best feeling in the world. When you walk into the arena, it’s just an incredible vibe that you get and the standard of professionalism. Honestly, this club and these girls deserve it, so having the fans and Cloud 9 cheering us on with their big banner, it was a really good feeling.”
 
MATCH REPORT
 
Match: Houston Dash vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC
Date: May 15, 2021
Venue: Red Bull Arena; Harrison, N.J.
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. ET
Weather: Mid 70s; mostly sunny
 
Scoring Summary:               1    2    F
NJ/NY Gotham FC                   1   0    1
Houston Dash                           0   0    0

NJY– Midge Purce (Evelyne Viens) 30’

Lineups:

NJY: 13-Kailen Sheridan; 8-Erica Skroski (15-Sabrina Flores, 75’), 24-Estelle Johnson, 22-Mandy Freeman, 3-Caprice Dydasco; 6-Jennifer Cudjoe, 10-Carli Lloyd ©, 16-Allie Long; 23-Midge Purce, 20-Evelyne Viens (25-Ifeoma Onumonu, 68’), 4-Paige Monaghan
Substitutes not used: 5-Nicole Baxter, 9-Nahomi Kawasumi, 11-Sodam Lee, 12-Gina Lewandowski, 13-DiDi Haracic, 17-Domi Richardson, 19-Elizabeth Eddy,
 
HOU:  1-Jane Campbell; 11-Megan Oyster, 25-Katie Naughton, 9-Haley Hanson, 2-Allysha Chapman, 6-Shea Groom (7-Katie Stengel, 81’), 13-Sophie Schmidt, 19-Kristie Mewis (5-Gabby Seiler, 72’), 12-Veronica Latsko (14-Brianna Visalli, 64’), 3-Rachel Daly ©, 8-Nichelle Prince
Substitutes not used: 20-Lindsey Harris, 24-Jamia Fields, 23-Ally Prisock, 18-Emily Ogle
 
Stats Summary: NJY / HOU
Shots: 9 / 21
Shots on Goal: 2 / 4
Saves: 4 / 1
Corner Kicks: 2 / 6
Fouls: 13 / 13
Offside: 2 / 6
 
Misconduct Summary:
NJY - Jennifer Cudjoe (caution) 7’
HOU - Haley Hanson (caution) 65’
HOU - Nichelle Prince (caution) 67’
NJY - Paige Monaghan (caution) 72’
HOU - Rachel Daly (caution) 80’
HOU - Sophie Schmidt (caution) 90’
 
Officials:
Referee: Danielle Chesky
Assistant Referee 1:  Maggie Short
Assistant Referee 2: Rebecca Luther
4th Official: Kenneth Rojas
 
Saker Shoprites Player of the Match: Midge Purce