Gotham FC outclassed San Diego Wave to win 2-0 on the road in a matchup between two teams looking to climb the table. Gotham leap-frogged over San Diego with this result, and now sit in 3rd Place with 30 points after 20 games, ahead of the Wave on goal differential.
San Diego controlled possession, but Gotham controlled the game, creating more chances and looking to be the more dangerous side all night. Gotham led San Diego in shots on target (5 to 1), xG (1.48 to 0.59), and in the stat that counts the most: Goals.
Here are three thoughts about the convincing performance from the Bats tonight in Southern California.
1. Jaedyn Shaw delivers in her debut
On Thursday, Gotham officially announced the signing of Jaedyn Shaw in a record-breaking $1.25 intraleague deal with North Carolina Courage. Just one day later, the 20-year-old midfielder was in San Diego and in the lineup for her new team.
Shaw started the night on the bench, but came on at the half for Gabi Portilho. She looked comfortable with the team, and was a danger on both sides of the ball. A solid 45-minute shift would be good enough for any debut performance, but Shaw took it up a level by scoring in the 79th minute to make it 2-0 and ice the win against the club where she got her start.
It wasn't a straightforward goal, but Shaw made it look easy. Teammate Jaelin Howell sent a curling cross into the box that Shaw finished with a low header into the corner that beat goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan.
Hudson River Blue Staff
2. Esther comes through, again
While Shaw's appearance and goal will make the headlines, it was Esther González who scored the opening goal in the dying minutes of the first half. It was her 13th league goal of the year, which puts her back in the lead in the Golden Boot race.
The sequence started with a defensive blunder by San Diego: Gotham forward Geyse moves to intercept a softly-hit back-pass by defender Kennedy Wesley, and when the goalkeeper tries to clear the ball, it instead lands in front of González, who passes it into the back of the net.
Esther opens the scoring for Gotham FC against San Diego Wave | Courtesy Gotham FC
González is a joy to watch. The veteran is so calm and clinical that she makes a goal like this one look easy. But that's because she's the one who's taking the shot: She keeps it low and on target, and with just enough force to convincingly beat the defenders converging on the open net.
A field-level view of Esther González's goal | Courtesy Gotham FC
It's worth it to point out what González doesn't do. She doesn't sky the ball, or put too much on it so that it slices wide. She doesn't try to carry the ball into the box, or hold up to wait for her teammates. She doesn't need to position herself because she's already in the perfect spot, and she doesn't need to do anything to control the ball because it rolls softly to her.
All she needs to do is one-touch it into the net, and she executes that perfectly.
3. Gotham now in 3rd Place
Gotham climb into 3rd Place with this win, and a team that looked lost in the middle of the table not that long ago is now looking to secure home-field advantage in the first round of the NWSL Championship Playoffs. The Bats are on a three-game winning streak in league play, which does much to wipe away the memory of the three-game losing streak in May that stalled the team.
This run of form couldn't come at a better time. There are six games left in the regular season, which is set to wrap up on November 1. Gotham have a congested schedule coming up, with two midweek Concacaf W Champions Cup games forcing them to play six matches in the next four weeks. But this suddenly deep squad that added Shaw and Danish international Josefine Hasbo to the midfield over the summer looks to have the personnel to deal with it.
