Team News: Purce Back in Lineup for KC Matchup

The 2023 NWSL Championship MVP Midge Purce returns to the starting XI for Gotham FC’s latest clash with the Kansas City Current.

Purce, making her 65th start for Gotham FC, is the only lineup change made by acting head coach Shaun Harris when Gotham FC faces the Current for the third time this calendar year and second in the regular season. Gotham FC claimed its fourth major trophy in three years by beating KC in the NWSL Challenge Cup in June.

Gotham FC (12-3-4, 40 points) enters the match four points clear of the second-place Washington Spirit atop the NWSL standings following a busy July stretch. The club has won 11 of its last 14 regular-season matches and aims to extend its unbeaten streak to eight when it hosts the seventh-place Current.

Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET, with Prime Video carrying the national broadcast.

Purce slots into the backline on the right, opposite Guro Reiten, with Jess Carter and club captain Tierna Davidson at center back in front of goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger. Gotham FC has conceded just 12 goals this season and became only the sixth team in NWSL history to record 12 or more clean sheets in a single regular season — with 11 matches left in the campaign.

Fresh off a cameo this week in the Broadway musical Titanique, 2025 NWSL Championship MVP Rose Lavelle leads the midfield alongside Jaelin Howell and Savannah McCaskill. McCaskill, who will make her 149th regular season start, joins Howell and Carter as the only Gotham FC players to appear in every NWSL game in 2026.

Striker Sam Kerr is on the brink of history with Jaedyn Shaw and Jordynn Dudley to her left and right, respectively. Kerr’s next goal would make her the first NWSL player to reach 80 regular season goals and would break the club-record tie she currently shares with Esther González. Shaw netted her fifth goal of the season in last week’s win over San Diego and leads Gotham FC with eight goal contributions in 2026 NWSL play.

Gotham FC’s bench includes goalkeeper Shelby Hogan; defenders Bruninha and Mandy Freeman; midfielders Taryn Torres, Sofia Cook, Sarah Schupansky, Talia Sommer and Meredith Speck; and forward Andrea Kitahata.

Midfielder Denise O’Sullivan is also out with a knee injury per the player availability report, with defenders Kayla Duran (knee) and Emily Sonnett (knee) on the season-ending injury list.

Gotham FC lineup vs. Kansas City Current

30 – Ann-Katrin Berger (GK)

23 – Midge Purce

27 – Jess Carter

15 – Tierna Davidson (c)

18 – Guro Reiten

13 – Savannah McCaskill

7 – Jaelin Howell

16 – Rose Lavelle

2 – Jordynn Dudley

20 – Sam Kerr

10 – Jaedyn Shaw

Substitutes: 1 – Shelby Hogan (GK); 3 – Bruninha, 8 – Taryn Torres, 11 – Sarah Schupansky, 14 – Talia Sommer, 21 – Sofia Cook, 22 – Mandy Freeman, 24 – Andrea Kitahata, 25 – Meredith Speck