Gotham FC drew for the second game in a row, keeping a clean sheet in a 0-0 tie with the Washington Spirit in front of a home crowd of 13,860, the second-highest attendance for a regular season game at Sports Illustrated Stadium. The club are now undefeated in their past four matches, with their last defeat coming against the Kansas City Current at the beginning of June.
Gotham held their own despite being reduced to 10 players after Geyse was sent off with a red card in the 30th minute. The Brazilian forward tackled Spirit defender Gabrielle Carle without an initial call; however, after a video review, game referees handed her a straight red. The club now hold four reds this season to lead the NWSL.
Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amorós expressed his concern after the match that referees held higher standards for Gotham players compared to the rest of the league. Amorós referenced an earlier tackle on Rose Lavelle that wasn't reviewed, as well as a disallowed goal by Gabi Portilho.
"The level is different for Gotham," he said. "That’s the reality. We’ve filed reports, we’ve met with referees, but nothing changes."
Kansas City didn't score despite being up a player thanks to the efforts of Gotham's Ann-Katrin Berger, while the Spirit's Aubrey Kingsbury silenced the home team. Both goalkeepers kept clean sheets, saving key shots and blocking several more while their respective defensive lines kept steady backlines.
Gotham FC: .32 xG, 9 shots, 4 shots on target, 41% possession, 304 passes, 64% pass accuracy, 13 fouls, 3 corners, 3 saves
Washington Spirit: .94 xG, 11 shots, 4 shots on target, 59% possession, 434 passes, 80% pass accuracy, 13 fouls, 4 corners, 4 saves
Goals:
• No goals scored
Attendance: 13,860
Who can save more?
Today's match belonged to the goalkeepers.
AKB and Kingsbury were put to the test this afternoon with shot after shot directed at them, but they both refused to concede a single goal. AKB in particular stepped up in the first half with back-to-back saves, first saving a shot from Rosemonde Kouassi head-on in the center before saving a second shot at an awkward angle in the corner a minute later by Gift Monday.
The German, who was recently nominated for the Yashin Trophy for the world's best goalkeeper, made three saves today, becoming the third goalkeeper at Gotham to reach at least 100 saves with the club.
AKB can do it all 👀
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 2025-08-09T16:45:09.655Z
"Being a defender, knowing that we have Ann back there is definitely a sense of security," said Gotham defender Mandy Freeman. "She does things that I don't think any other keeper in the world can do, so knowing that she has our back there if we do have mistakes is really nice being a defender."
Kingsbury also showed up today, saving not one, not two, but three on-target attempts by González, who made her return to the pitch to Gotham's starting lineup after a roller coaster Euros tournament and a Ballon d'Or nomination. The Spirit's goalkeeper thwarted a last-second attempt by Reale to take the lead in injury time: A long shot that came off a scramble for the ball at the net after a free kick by Reale.
Hudson River Blue Staff
Gotham defense steps up
Gotham's backline looked to be the strongest it's been all season with Reale, Freeman, Jess Carter, and Emily Sonnett holding down the fort for nearly the entirety of the game.
The Spirit struggled to find a gap in Gotham's defense despite holding a higher possession percentage. The club only managed to attempt four shots on target, with the other seven disrupted by a determined center back combination of Carter and Sonnett.
Courtesy of @NWSL
"The backline was tremendous," said Amorós. "Jess Carter was probably through the limit that she could do for the team and was unbelievable. And then every player that was coming out was helping."
Oliver Strand
Pitch concerns
Sports Illustrated Stadium appeared in less than pristine condition at the start of the game. The Stadium hosted a Rüfüs Du Sol concert two weeks before Gotham's first home game back from the international break, and it showed.
Rough, brown patches littered the pitch, and barely any grass was growing in large sections of the field. It was a stark contrast to the quality of the pitch a little under two months ago, which boasted a patchwork-like pattern of freshly cut grass ahead of Gotham's game against Bay FC.
"I think it's tough whenever you have a concert on a pitch and then it's played on again soon after," said Gotham forward Katie Stengel. "Both teams played on the same field though, so it was tough for both teams. Those are the things you can make excuses about, but at the end of the day, like our coach had said before the game, we got to rise up to the challenge and adjust."
Andrew Leigh
