Esther González reclaimed the NWSL golden boot lead, Rose Lavelle registered her first assist of the season and Jaelin Howell battered in a screaming volley to deliver a vital 2-0 Gotham FC win at Orlando on Friday night at Inter&Co Stadium.
It was a therapeutic victory in a variety of ways for the visitors, avenging the home loss to Orlando earlier this season while snapping a four-match winless stretch that stunted Gotham’s start to the second half of the campaign.
“It's massive for us,” Gotham FC coach Juan Carlos Amorós said. “This group of players really deserves something like that tonight. It's not been an easy period because you play certain games, you deserve certain results. You don't get them, and then you have to come to the home of the champions to show that you keep believing in what you do, to play in the way we play. The players were fantastic.”
Gotham FC (6-6-6, 24 points) set the pace for eighth place in the NWSL standings with the win, moving three points ahead of its primary challenger – the North Carolina Courage – ahead of Saturday’s Courage matchup at first-place Kansas City. With seventh-place Racing Louisville drawing earlier Friday evening, the gap between Louisville and Gotham diminished to just two points with eight games left in their seasons.
To find a much-needed confidence boost, Gotham FC turned to its superstars to deliver the breakthrough moment in the 13th minute. Nice combination play down the right flank between Brazilians Bruninha and Gabi Portilho eventually centered the ball for Lavelle, who poked a through ball to González on the edge of the penalty area. The Spaniard took two touches to her left before hooking a lofted shot back to her right and past Orlando goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse.
In scoring her 12th goal, González is just five away from tying Sam Kerr’s club record for goals in a single season (17). Gotham FC is now 14-2-2 in games when González scores.
Howell provided the exclamation point a minute into first-half stoppage time, blasting a left-footed volley from 20 yards out to beat Moorhouse to her near post. It was Howell’s second goal of the season and immediately became a contender for the team’s goal of the year.
The shutout was Ann-Katrin Berger’s seventh solo clean sheet this season and eighth total for the team. The German goalkeeper stood tall in the second half, amassing three saves and three clearances in the win.
Gotham FC now shifts its focus back to the Concacaf W Champions Cup, traveling to El Salvador to face Alianza on Tuesday night. Kickoff is set for 9 p.m. ET, with coverage on Paramount+.
Key Match Points
- Midfielder Rose Lavelle wore the captain’s armband for the first time in her NWSL career.
- Lavelle recorded her first assist of the 2025 season and her first since Aug. 24, 2024.
- Forward Esther González reclaimed the NWSL Golden Boot lead with her 12th goal of the regular season, opening the scoring in the 13th minute.
- Lavelle assisted on González’s goal, marking the first time she has set up a goal for the Spanish forward.
- González has scored in all six of Gotham FC’s regular-season wins this season.
- Gotham FC is 14-2-2 in games dating to 2023 when González scores.
- Goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger set a new club record with her 15th career clean sheet, surpassing Brittany Cameron and Kailen Sheridan.
- Berger has allowed the fewest goals in her first 40 starts of any goalkeeper in NWSL history (minimum 40 starts), with 32. She surpassed Bella Bixby, who previously held the mark with 33.
- Midfielder Jaelin Howell scored her second career regular-season goal.
- Midfielder Josefine Hasbo made her first NWSL regular-season start.
- Gotham improved to 5-1-2 when scoring the opening goal in league play this season and 4-0-2 when scoring first on the road.
Gotham FC at Orlando Pride
Friday, Aug. 29, 2025
8 p.m. ET kickoff
Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 7,132
Weather: 80 degrees, cloudy
Gotham FC (2, 0 – 2)
Orlando Pride (0, 0 – 0)
Scoring Summary
Gotham FC
13’ - Esther González (Rose Lavelle)
45+1’ - Jaelin Howell
Gotham FC (4-3-3): 30 – Ann-Katrin Berger (GK); 3 – Bruninha (68’ 22 – Mandy Freeman), 6 – Emily Sonnett, 27 – Jess Carter, 4 – Lilly Reale; 7 – Jaelin Howell, 16 – Rose Lavelle (C) (68’ 23 – Midge Purce), 5 – Josefine Hasbo; 18 – Gabi Portilho (83’ 14 – Nealy Martin), 9 – Esther González, 10 – Geyse (54’ 28 – Katie Stengel)
Unused substitutes: 1 – Shelby Hogan (GK); 8 – Taryn Torres, 11 – Sarah Schupansky, 19 – Kayla Duran, 21 – Sofia Cook
Head coach: Juan Carlos Amorós
Orlando Pride (4-3-3): 1 – Anna Moorhouse (GK); 6 – Emily Sams, 4 – Rafaelle (71’ 21 – Oihane), 3 – Kylie Nadaner, 25 – Kerry Abello (46’ 18 – Simone Charley); 2 – Haley McCutcheon, 15 – Angelina (28’ 19 – Carson Pickett), 30 – Ally Lemos; 11 – Ally Watt (71’ 28 – Summer Yates), 9 – Prisca Chilufya (60’ 35 – Simone Jackson), 10 – Marta (C)
Unused substitutes: 40 – McKinley Crone (GK); 12 – Cori Dyke, 14 – Viviana Villacorta, 20 – Julie Doyle
Head coach: Seb Hines
Stats Summary
GFC / ORL
Expected Goals: 1.54 / 1.15
Shots: 9 / 12
Shots on Goal: 4 / 3
Saves: 3 / 2
Corners: 1 / 8
Fouls: 15 / 15
Offside: 3 / 0
Misconduct Summary:
Gotham FC
45+3’ - 18 – Gabi Portilho (Yellow Card - Reckless Offense)
76’ - Juan Carlos Amorós (Yellow Card - Dissent)
90+3’ - Emily Sonnett (Yellow Card - Tactical Foul)
Orlando Pride
22’ - 4 – Rafaelle (Yellow Card - Tactical Foul)
Officials
Referee: Matthew Corrigan
Assistant Referee 1: Ben Rigel
Assistant Referee 2: Melissa Gonzalez
4th Official: JJ Bilinski
VAR: Shawn Tehini
AVAR: Tony Obas
Key Quotes
HEAD COACH JUAN CARLOS AMORÓS
On his team’s win
It's massive for us. This group of players really deserves something like that tonight. It's not been an easy period because you play certain games, you deserve certain results. You don't get them, and then you have to come to the home of the champions to show that you keep believing in what you do, to play in the way we play. The players were fantastic.
On his team converting high-quality chances after recent scoring struggles
We’ve been building toward this for a while. At times—like in the first half (vs. Utah) or in the Chicago game—we didn’t play as well, but overall the team has stayed committed to our style. We’ve put together some very good performances, even if we were missing the finishing touch.
That’s why I was so pleased for the players today. They really deserved this result. They’ve been working so hard, supporting each other, and integrating new teammates. Josie made her first start—another rookie making a fantastic impact—and nearly scored. Jaelin (Howell) has been working a lot on her finishing, and I was super happy to see her get that goal.
We could have scored more, but I’m delighted. From the starting XI, to the players who came on, to those who didn’t play, this has been a fantastic group to work with. Getting three points and playing the way we did was really important and very reinforcing for us.
FORWARD ESTHER GONZÁLEZ (via Prime Video postgame interview)
On the importance of the win after a rough stretch of results
We worked hard with our mentality, and together we came as a team. We know that we have the quality of players. It's just working on that mental game.
MIDFIELDER JAELIN HOWELL
On her second career NWSL goal and sharing her overall feelings on the win
It’s no secret—we needed that win, and we knew it. In a high-pressure situation against a very good team, it showed a lot of character for us to come away with three points and a shutout in tough conditions, especially with the heat.
I’m really proud of everyone’s performance. Josie did fantastic in her first start, and I was super happy for her. For us, this result is something to build on. Like we said last week, it’s about breaking the seal, and from here we go for the rest of the season.
As for the goal, even though I finished it, it was a team goal. The way we built out from Geyse’s press, the way she got in behind—it all came together. I just took a swing at it and hoped for the best, and I was really happy it went in.
MIDFIELDER JOSEFINE HASBO
On how it felt to earn her first NWSL start and secure both a win and a clean sheet
It felt incredible. I’ve been working hard day in and day out at the club to showcase my best performance, and getting this opportunity was very special.
Most importantly, it was a great team performance. I’m so proud of how the team helped me find my rhythm. We connected really well in the first half, and in the second half we showed our defensive strength.
It was a big win, and I’m grateful to have been part of it.
