Gotham FC Tops Washington Spirit in Front of Record-Breaking Crowd at Citi Field

Gotham FC wrote a new chapter in New York City history on Wednesday night, claiming a 1-0 win in front of a city record attendance for a women’s sports event at Citi Field in Queens.

A club-record 42,175 fans watched The Queens Classic and were treated to a magnificent Rose Lavelle game-winning goal – a perfectly-lofted chip in the 37th minute – and Australian star forward Sam Kerr making her return to Gotham FC. Goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger made nine saves, including a dramatic double save to preserve her eighth shutout of the season.

“Gotham is growing at the level that I was dreaming of when I came here, and now we see that today. It was truly special,” said Gotham FC coach Juan Carlos Amorós. “And then (the team goes) and performs how they did. Rose scored that amazing, amazing goal, and Ann pulled out some big saves, and everyone just put in some tackles. Everyone really did everything they could to make sure that we wrote that page in history.”

The win put Gotham FC (8-3-3, 27 points) level on points with second-place Washington (8-3-3, 27 points) and third-place Portland Thorns (8-4-3, 27 points). It was the club’s fifth consecutive shutout of the Spirit, and it extended Gotham FC’s unbeaten streak against its archrival to five games across all competitions.

On Wednesday night, Lavelle said her team showed up when it mattered most, pointing to Berger’s saves and defender Mandy Freeman’s critical block of a shot late in the match.

“I capitalized on the moment that I had,” Lavelle said, “but what's so special about this team is that everybody steps up in the moments they have to win us the game.”

The Queens Classic shattered the previous New York City attendance record for a women’s sporting event – 28,143 – set in the 2023 U.S. Open Final won by Coco Gauff just down the street from Citi Field at Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was a milestone moment for Gotham FC ahead of its 2028 relocation to Etihad Park, across Seaver Way from Citi Field, for home matchdays.

Now Gotham FC continues its Empire State takeover with a match against Seattle Reign FC on Saturday, July 18, at Icahn Stadium. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. ET, with coverage on ABC.

Key Match Points

• The Queens Classic presented by CarMax at Citi Field hosted 42,175 fans, the second-largest crowd in league history and the largest on the East Coast.
  • The attendance doubled the previous largest crowd for a weeknight match in NWSL history, when Portland defeated Houston in July 2019 (22,239 fans).
  • The game was also the first NWSL game in New York City to be played.
• This was the 10th different venue and eighth different state/district in the 45-game history of the Gotham FC and Washington Spirit series.
  • The 45 meetings are tied with Portland-Seattle for the most-player in series among NWSL clubs.
• Gotham FC’s clean sheet was a league-high ninth.
  • Gotham FC is also one of two teams that has not conceded a goal in the opening 15 minutes of a match this season.
• Midfielder Rose Lavelle scored her 15th Gotham FC regular season goal, moving past Kelley O’Hara for fifth in club history.
  • The goal was Gotham FC’s 13th first-half goal; only Portland has scored more (14).
  • She scored her 17th Gotham FC goal in all NWSL competitions, moving within one of Carli Lloyd for fourth in club history.
  • Lavelle picked up her 18th regular season goal or assist for Gotham FC, passing Nadia Nadim and Ifeoma Onumonu for eighth in club history.
  • Scored her fifth career regular season game-winning goal for Gotham FC, passing Kelley O’Hara and Monica Ocampo for sixth in club history.
• Forward Sam Kerr made her return to Gotham FC after appearing in an NWSL game for the first time in six years and 261 days, and her first GFC game in eight years and 288 days.
  • Kerr played her 125th game across all NWSL competitions.
  • She played 26 minutes, giving her 9,994 for her regular season career; she is seven minutes shy of passing 10,000 regular season minutes.
• Midfielder Jaelin Howell recorded her first assist of the season on Lavelle’s goal, her second career regular-season assist for Gotham FC and fifth career regular-season assist overall.
  • She also won 11 of 16 duels, gained possession a game-high 8 times, cleared the ball 6 times and won 5 of 7 tackles.
• Goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger posted her league-best eighth shutout and tied Brittany Cameron (2013) and Berger (2024) for the second-most in a season in club history.
• Defender Mandy Freeman made her 120th regular season appearance for Gotham FC, adding to her club record.
  • She played 12 minutes, bringing her to 10,047 in all competitions for the club, trailing only Sarah Woldmoe's 10,064.

Gotham FC vs. Washington Spirit

Wednesday, July 15, 2026

8:15 p.m. ET kickoff

Citi Field, Queens, New York

Attendance: 42,175

Weather: 88 degrees, partly cloudy

Gotham FC (1, 0 – 0)

Washington Spirit (0, 0 – 0)

Scoring Summary

Gotham FC

37’ - Rose Lavelle (Jaelin Howell)

Gotham FC (4-3-3): 30 – Ann-Katrin Berger (GK); 23 – Midge Purce (78’ 3 – Bruninha), 6 – Emily Sonnett, 15 – Tierna Davidson (C), 18 – Guro Reiten (78’ 22 – Mandy Freeman); 7 – Jaelin Howell, 11 — Sarah Schupansky (64’ 20 – Sam Kerr), 16 – Rose Lavelle; 2 – Jordynn Dudley (34’ 27 – Jess Carter), 9 – Esther González (45’ 13 – Savannah McCaskill), 10 – Jaedyn Shaw

Unused substitutes: 1 – Shelby Hogan (GK); 14 – Talia Sommer, 21 – Sofia Cook, 24 – Andrea Kitahata

Head coach: Juan Carlos Amorós

Washington Spirit (4-3-3): 18 – Sandy MacIver (GK); 13 – Lucia Di Guglielmo (83’ 5 – Elisabeth Tse), 9 – Tara Rudd, 24 – Esme Morgan, 14 – Gabby Carle (64’ 6 – Kate Wiesner), 10 – Leicy Santos, 12 – Andi Sullivan (C) (64’ 4 – Rebecca Bernal), 17 – Hal Hershfelt (78’ 20 – Deb Abiodum), , 19 – Rose Kouassi (64’ 21 – Gift Monday), 27 – Sofia Cantore (78’ 11 – Claudia Martinez), 2 – Trinity Rodman

Unused substitutes: 28 – Sara Wojdelko (GK); 16 – Tamara Bolt, 26 – Paige Metayer

Head coach: Adrian Gonzalez

Stats Summary

GFC / WAS

Expected Goals: .54 / 1.38

Shots: 9 / 8

Shots on Goal: 4 / 9

Saves: 9 / 3

Corners: 2 / 4

Fouls: 14 / 15

Offside: 4 / 1

Misconduct Summary

Washington Spirit

45+4’ - Gabby Carle (Yellow Card - Persistent Infringement)

70’ - Hal Hershfelt (Yellow Card - Reckless Offense)

80’ - Gift Monday (Yellow Card - Reckless Offense)

86’ - Tara Rudd (Yellow Card - Reckless Offense)

Officials

Referee: Jeremy Scheer

Assistant Referee 1: Tom Felice

Assistant Referee 2: Zeno Cho

4th Official: Shaye Lane

VAR: Anya Voigt

AVAR: Kevin Huet