JERSEY CITY, N.J. (May 2, 2025) - Gotham FC standouts Lilly Reale, Emily Sonnett and Esther González were named to the NWSL Best XI for April, presented by Amazon Prime, the league announced Friday.
The honor follows González earning NWSL Player of the Month, presented by EA Sports, for April after an outstanding month. The Spanish international scored seven goals, helping Gotham earn three wins in four matches. She recorded braces in matches against the North Carolina Courage, Angel City FC and Washington Spirit and scored in each game in April.
Reale became the first rookie to earn NWSL Best XI of the Month honors this season and the first Gotham FC rookie to receive the recognition since Jenna Nighswonger in August 2023.
It was a month of firsts for Reale. The Hingham, Massachusetts, native scored her first professional goal on April 13 in a 3-1 win over the North Carolina Courage. She followed that up with her first professional assist in Gotham’s most recent match against the Washington Spirit, setting up forward Sarah Schupansky to open the scoring. Her cross was deflected in for an Angel City own goal in the 4-0 win, too. In addition to her goal contribution in Washington, Reale recorded 81 touches — the most by any player in the match — and registered 11 tackles.
Sonnett, 31, has played every minute for Gotham FC so far this season. She leads the NWSL in total passes (472). Against Portland, she attempted 87 passes — the highest total by a Gotham player this season — with a pass accuracy of 94.3 percent. Sonnett also helped lead Gotham to two clean sheets during April, bringing the club’s season total to three.
Gotham FC returns to action at Sports Illustrated Stadium on Sunday, hosting Chicago Stars FC at 1 p.m. ET. The match will be broadcast nationally on CBS.
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