ORLANDO, Fla. (June 20, 2021) – NJ/NY Gotham FC faced the Orlando Pride for the first time during the regular season on a hot and humid evening at Exploria Stadium. The teams battled to a 1-1 draw with goals from fullbacks Caprice Dydasco and Courtney Petersen. With the draw, Orlando remains at the top of the table and Gotham FC holds steady in fourth place with 8 points in five games played.
 
The first half was a back and forth affair with both teams having looks on goal. The stalemate was finally broken in the last minutes of the first half. Gotham FC got a break after Evelyne Viens picked up a missed pass from Orlando, found Sodam Lee, who played Ifeoma Onumonu. Onumonu saw Dydasco making a run on the right flank and put the ball over Ashlyn Harris into the far left post to give Gotham FC a 1-0 lead heading into the half. 
 
Despite a more possession oriented game for Gotham FC in the second half, Orlando nearly equalized on several occasions. Nearing the end of regulation in what looked to be the first loss of the season for Orlando, defender Courtney Petersen made a run down the left flank and took a shot to the far post out of Kailen Sheridan’s reach for the late equalizer. The game ended moments later in a 1-1 draw with both teams walking away with a point.
 
Head Coach Freya Coombe:
 
“It was a bit of a tricky match. Obviously it’s never easy coming down to these tropical conditions. We didn’t give a good account of ourselves in the first half. We made it too easy for them to recover the ball. We weren’t good enough in possession and moving the ball. A bit more of pleasing second half for sure, but didn’t make good enough decisions in those final closing moments to be able to see out the win and I think that’s an area for our growth.”
 
Gotham FC will continue on the road and travel to Cheney Stadium to take on OL Reign on Saturday, June 26 at 4:00 p.m. ET. The team will return home to Red Bull Arena the following week on Friday, July 2 at 7:00 p.m. ET to face off against Kansas City. The match will be a Pride-themed celebration. Single, group and season ticket memberships are now on sale and pricing details can be found here.

MATCH REPORT
 
Match: Orlando Pride vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC
Date: June 20, 2021
Venue: Exploria Stadium; Orlando, Fla.
Kickoff: 6:00 p.m. ET
Weather: Low 90s; partly cloudy 
 
Scoring Summary:               1       2       F
Orlando Pride                         0      1       1
NJ/NY Gotham FC                 1       0      1
 
NJY –  Caprice Dydasco (Ifeoma Onumonu) 45’
ORL – Courtney Petersen (Marta) 90’
                
Lineups:
 
ORL: 24-Ashlyn Harris (capt.); 7-Ali Riley (15-Erika Tymrak, 85’); 11-Ali Krieger; 21-Phoebe McClernon; 17-Courtney Peterson; 8-Gunnhildur Jonsdottir; 14-Marisa Viggiano (28-Maggie Dougherty Howard, 72’); 22-Taylor Kornieck; 2-Sydney Leroux (27-Chelsee Washington, 71’); 10-Marta; 13-Alex Morgan
Substitutes not used: 1-Erin McLeod; 26-Ally Haran; 25-Konya Plummer; 3-Toni Pressley; 29-Abi Kim; 31-Crystal Thomas
 
NJY: 1-Kailen Sheridan; 3-Caprice Dydasco, 12-Gina Lewandowski, 22-Mandy Freeman (capt.), 28-Imani Dorsey; 6-Jennifer Cudjoe (7-McCall Zerboni, 56’), 16-Allie Long, 11-Sodam Lee (17-Domi Richardson, 74’); 9-Nahomi Kawasumi, 20-Evelyne Viens (2-Brianna Pinto, 74’), 4-Paige Monaghan (25-Ifeoma Onumonu)
Substitutes not used: 8-Erica Skroski; 24-Estelle Johnson; 13-DiDi Haracic; 5-Nicole Baxter
 
Stats Summary: ORL / NJY
Shots: 16 / 12
Shots on Goal: 6 / 3
Saves: 2 / 5
Corner Kicks: 3 / 2
Fouls: 11 / 14
Offside: 6 / 0
 
Misconduct Summary:
ORL – Phoebe McClernon (caution) 26’
NJY – Jennifer Cudjoe (caution) 35’
 
Officials:
Referee: Alexandra Billeter
Assistant Referee 1: Ashlee Varnson
Assistant Referee 2: Juan Pablo Casas
4th Official: Alejo Calume
 
Budweiser Player of the Match: Caprice Dydasco

 

About NJ/NY Gotham FC:
Originally named Sky Blue FC, the Club underwent a major rebrand in April 2021 and officially changed its name to NJ/NY Gotham FC. Representing New Jersey and New York, the Club plays its National Women’s Soccer League home matches at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ. The Club has been part of the NWSL since the league launched in 2013. Founded in 2007, Gotham FC originally debuted as Jersey Sky Blue in the W-League of United Soccer Leagues. The Club won its first trophy as Sky Blue FC in 2009 after winning the inaugural Women’s Professional Soccer championship. Most recently, Gotham FC played in the 2021 Challenge Cup Final against the Portland Thorns, the Club’s first ever championship appearance in NWSL competition.

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