Gotham FC Welcomes In-Form Angel City FC for Sunday Matinee

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (Oct. 2, 2026) – First-place Gotham FC wraps up its two-match homestand at Sports Illustrated Stadium on Sunday, hosting Angel City FC as part of Hello Kitty® Day in its penultimate home match of the 2026 NWSL regular season.

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET, with ABC carrying the national broadcast.

Gotham FC (16-4-6, 54 points) enters the weekend riding a three-match winning streak and six points clear of second-place San Diego in the race for the NWSL Shield, given to the league’s regular season champion. Gotham FC earned a 3-1 victory over Chicago Stars FC last Friday at Sports Illustrated Stadium, extending its club-record home unbeaten run to 11 matches.

Midfielder Jaedyn Shaw scored twice in the victory, becoming the youngest player in NWSL history to reach 25 regular season goals at 21 years, 309 days old. Forward Sam Kerr added a goal and an assist, while Guro Reiten and Rose Lavelle also recorded assists as Gotham FC scored three times in the opening 66 minutes to complete the season sweep of Chicago.

Angel City FC (12-8-6, 42 points) arrives in New Jersey in similarly strong form, sitting sixth in the NWSL standings after winning three consecutive matches amid a six-game unbeaten stretch. Angel City has collected five wins and one draw during that stretch, most recently earning a 1-0 road victory over the third-place Washington Spirit last Saturday at Audi Field.

Midfielder Maiara Niehues scored the game-winner in the 88th minute against Washington, setting an Angel City single-season club record with her ninth goal of the campaign.

Sunday’s match marks the second meeting between Gotham FC and Angel City this season after the teams played to a scoreless draw Aug. 23 at BMO Stadium. Gotham came close to finding a late winner in Los Angeles, with Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson saving a Reiten penalty in the 87th minute before Kerr struck the crossbar three minutes later.

Gotham FC holds a 7-1-2 record in 10 all-time meetings with Angel City and is unbeaten in its last eight matches against the California club.

Following Sunday’s match, Gotham FC will pause for the FIFA international window before returning to action Oct. 17 at rival Washington Spirit at Audi Field. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. ET, with CBS carrying the national broadcast.

Key Points:

• Gotham FC can tie its longest unbeaten run against a single NWSL opponent across all competitions at nine matches. The club is also currently on a nine-match unbeaten run against Chicago and previously went nine matches unbeaten against Houston from 2014-17.
• Gotham FC held 71.6% possession against Chicago on Friday, marking the fourth time in its last 12 matches that it has held at least 70% of the ball. Since Opta began detailed NWSL data collection in 2016, there have been only seven other instances of a team recording at least 70% possession in a regular season match.
• Midfielder Jaedyn Shaw has recorded a goal contribution in five consecutive home matches, totaling four goals and three assists and tying Sam Kerr’s club-record streak from 2017. Only six players in NWSL history have contributed to a goal in six or more consecutive home matches, with each at least 25 years old when accomplishing the feat.
• Gotham FC leads the NWSL with 13,141 total passes this season, more than 3,000 ahead of Sunday’s opponent Angel City FC (9,684).