Gotham FC fell behind in the opening two minutes of Sunday’s nationally televised showdown with cross-country foe Angel City FC, but all that did was set up an even more dramatic second half between two clubs vying for a coveted position in the dense NWSL playoff race.
Gabi Portilho tied the match in the 47th minute. Four minutes later, Rose Lavelle poked in what was ultimately the game-winner. Then in the 68th minute, Jaelin Howell thundered in her third goal in seven matches to provide the insurance Gotham FC needed to move into sixth place in the league standings.
With seven matches left, Gotham FC (7-6-6, 27 points) is just two points out of fourth place and three out of third – both positions from which the New York area outfit would host a playoff game at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
“When you concede that early, you've got a lot of time to still impact the game,” said acting head coach Andy Spence, the team’s assistant head coach who filled in for suspended head coach Juan Carlos Amorós. “It's about remaining calm. We've spoken a lot about being more in control of games for longer periods. The first half wasn’t amazing, but it wasn't a performance that made it difficult for us in terms of the scoreline. We still had chances, and Ann[-Katrin Berger] made a really big save as well. When you score, the key is to build on that momentum. You saw the energy from the crowd, the players thrived off that, and the opposition struggled to keep up with the speed we injected into the game. The game is always about momentum – when it's against you, how do you keep control? And when it's with you, how do you put your foot down? I think we did that for sure.”
The win on Sunday included several milestones: It was the first time Gotham came back from a halftime deficit at home since 2017, a 26-game span. Lavelle scored for the first time this season. Midge Purce registered her first assist since returning from a torn ACL that abruptly ended her 2024 season.
The Purce helper came on Portilho’s goal just after halftime. She tore down the right flank, beat a defender to the end line and rifled a low cross into Portilho’s near-post run. The Brazilian flicked it on target and wheeled away in delight, netting her first goal since the season opener in March.
Defender Bruninha whipped a low cross into the box, but Angel City goalkeeper Hannah Seabert fumbled the ball, allowing Lavelle to punch in the go-ahead goal off a defender.
Howell’s scoring tear continued with an exclamation – the midfielder who hadn’t scored in her first 69 NWSL games blasted in her third goal of the season with a blast from just outside the box.
Riding a three-game winning streak in NWSL play, Gotham FC now begins a three-match road swing, starting with Friday’s pivotal matchup against San Diego Wave FC at Snapdragon Stadium. The Wave is three points ahead of Gotham in the standings. Kickoff is set for 10 p.m. ET, with coverage on Prime Video.
Key Match Points
- Midfielder Rose Lavelle scored her first goal of the 2025 NWSL regular season, putting Gotham FC ahead in the second half.
- It marked Lavelle’s first goal since Nov. 10, 2024, in the NWSL playoff quarterfinals against Portland, and the 17th regular season goal of her career.
- This was Lavelle’s second career goal as a substitute.
- Midfielder Jaelin Howell scored her third goal of the regular season — and of her NWSL career — sealing Gotham’s third goal of the night to close out the match.
- Howell has scored three goals in her last seven matches. It took her 70th NWSL regular-season appearance to record her first goal.
- Forward Gabi Portilho scored her second goal of the regular season, providing Gotham FC’s equalizer early in the second half.
- Forward Midge Purce recorded her first assist of the season and the 10th of her career, setting up Portilho’s tap-in in the 47th minute.
- Forward Geyse grabbed her second assist of the season.
- Gotham FC won for the first time this season when trailing at the half (1-3-0) and won for the first time when down at the break since March 26, 2023, at Angel City.
- Gotham scored its fifth and sixth goals within the first 15 minutes of the second half, tying San Diego for the most goals in that span.
- Gotham scored three goals in a match for the first time since June 14 against the Utah Royals and three goals at home for the first time since April 13 against North Carolina.
- This was the first time Gotham scored multiple goals in the second half since April 19, also against Angel City FC, and just the second time the club has done so this season.
Gotham FC vs. Angel City FC
Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025
5 p.m. ET kickoff
Sports Illustrated Stadium, Harrison, New Jersey
Attendance: 8,890
Weather: 71 degrees, mostly cloudy
Gotham FC (0, 3 – 3)
Angel City FC (1, 0 – 1)
Scoring Summary
Gotham FC
47’ - Gabi Portilho (Midge Purce)
51’ - Rose Lavelle
68’ - Jaelin Howell (Geyse)
Angel City FC
2’ - Kennedy Fuller
Gotham FC (4-3-3): 30 – Ann-Katrin Berger (GK); 3 – Bruninha, 6 – Emily Sonnett, 27 – Jess Carter (C), 4 – Lilly Reale (90+3’ 22 – Mandy Freeman); 11 – Sarah Schupansky (46’ 16 – Rose Lavelle), 7 – Jaelin Howell, 5 – Josefine Hasbo (46’ 23 – Midge Purce); 18 – Gabi Portilho (89’ 8 – Taryn Torres), 9 – Esther González, 10 – Geyse (71’ 28 – Katie Stengel)
Unused substitutes: 1 – Shelby Hogan (GK); 19 – Kayla Duran, 21 – Sofia Cook, 34 – Khyah Harper
Acting head coach: Andy Spence
Angel City FC (4-3-3): 13 – Hannah Seabert (GK); 20 – Gisele Thompson (46’ 29 – Miyabi Moriya) , 11 – Sarah Gorden (C), 6 – Megan Reid (72’ 30 – Sara Doorsoun), 15 – Evelyn Shores; 17 – Kennedy Fuller, 12 – Maiara Niehues (72’ 23 – Christen Press), 99 – Madison Hammond; 32 – Sveindis Jonsdottir, 33 – Riley Tiernan (90+1’ 28 – Lily Nabet), 16 – M.A. Vignola (72’ 18 – Jun Endo)
Unused substitutes: 1 – Hannah Stambaugh (GK), 19 – Angelina Anderson (GK), 5 – Ali Riley
Head coach: Alexander Straus
Stats Summary
GFC / ACFC
Expected Goals: 2.25 / 2.18
Shots: 16 / 14
Shots on Goal: 6 / 2
Saves: 1 / 3
Corners: 6 / 5
Fouls: 11 / 6
Offside: 0 / 1
Misconduct Summary:
Angel City FC
83’ Sara Doorsoun (Yellow Card - Tactical Foul)
Officials
Referee: Greg Dopka
Assistant Referee 1: A. Max Smith
Assistant Referee 2: Sharon Gingrich
4th Official: Robert Cordrey
VAR: Alyssa Nichols
AVAR: Matthew Seem
Key Quotes
ACTING HEAD COACH ANDY SPENCE
On the message after conceding early and after scoring early in the second half…
Obviously, when you concede that early, you've got a lot of time to still impact the game. It's about remaining calm. We've spoken a lot about being more in control of games for longer periods. The first half wasn’t amazing, but it wasn't a performance that made it difficult for us in terms of the scoreline. We still had chances, and Ann[-Katrin Berger] made a really big save as well. When you score, the key is to build on that momentum. You saw the energy from the crowd, the players thrived off that, and the opposition struggled to keep up with the speed we injected into the game. The game is always about momentum—when it's against you, how do you keep control, and when it's with you, how do you put your foot down? I think we did that for sure.
FORWARD GABI PORTILHO VIA MIXED ZONE
Sobre o que contribuiu para a produção de gols da equipe…
Acho que a equipe toda, né? Todo o staff que trabalha por fora, a gente que está junto todo dia, treinando, trabalhando. É claro que aqui não são 11 que iniciam, acho que a gente tem um grupo muito grande. E foi mostrado isso hoje, com as trocas a gente conseguiu evoluir mais, a gente conseguiu fazer os gols e conseguimos jogar bem, melhorar na partida. Acho que a gente está numa crescente muito boa, se manter e continuar trabalhando, porque não tem nada a ganhar.
On what contributed to the team’s goal production…
I think it’s the whole team, right? All the staff who work behind the scenes, and us who are together every day, training and working. Of course, it’s not just the 11 who start; I think we have a very big group. And that was shown today— with the substitutions, we managed to evolve more, we managed to score the goals, and we managed to play well and improve during the match. I think we are on a very good upward trend, to keep going and continue working, because nothing is won yet.
DEFENDER JESS CARTER VIA MIXED ZONE
On what the coach said at halftime to turn things around…
It was good. It was really calm in the dressing room, so that was nice. I think it was more about our pressing and our counter-pressing when we won the ball. Our reactions needed to be better because they were transitioning on us too easily. It’s just about playing again, like getting on the ball, continuing to move, being calm, and connecting with one another. Overall, it was quite calm and simple.
MIDFIELDER JAELIN HOWELL
On scoring the third goal…
We had a great buildup leading to that, and Jeyce laid it off perfectly to me. I just wanted to get it on frame. It’s something I’ve been working on, so it felt really good.
FORWARD MIDGE PURCE
On the importance of consistency throughout the season…
It’s a step-by-step thing. We’re at that point in the season where we’re trying to build off the fundamentals and the foundation of who we are as a team that we built up in the first half of the season. It’s also one of the first games where we really have almost our entire roster back. We’re still missing Ella [Stevens], [but if] we all get healthy, we’ll reach the full strength of what Gotham actually is, and that consistency will come.
MIDFIELDER ROSE LAVELLE
On the importance of the team’s current unbeaten run for overall confidence…
I think when we first came back after the break, we had maybe a little bit of a slow start, which we knew that wasn’t us. Like Midge [Purce] said, [it was about] getting back to our roots, and I think it helps when we have almost our full-strength squad. As the game went on, we continued to grow into the game, and that was really big. I think just continuing to build on each performance and learn from each one. Just because we’re unbeaten doesn’t mean we still don’t have things that we need to improve and work on. So, it’s really just about continuing to build on that momentum.
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