Gotham FC aims for its 100th NWSL regular season victory when it faces the fourth-place Utah Royals at 10 p.m. ET at America First Field in Sandy, Utah, with coverage on Victory+.
The club will carry an identical starting lineup for a second consecutive regular season match following last week’s 2-0 defeat against San Diego Wave FC.
Gotham FC (6-3-3, 21 points) could move as high as third in the NWSL table with a win at Utah, a club it has not lost to since the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup. Gotham is unbeaten in its last four meetings with the Royals, winning three of those matches while conceding just one goal. Saturday marks the 12th meeting between the clubs in all competitions, with Utah holding a narrow 5-4-2 advantage in the all-time series.
Veteran Spanish striker Esther González leads the attack alongside rookie Jordynn Dudley and Jaedyn Shaw for the ninth consecutive match across all competitions. González enters the weekend one game-winning goal away from becoming the first player in club history with 10, while her next assist would move her into a tie for eighth in Gotham FC history. Shaw leads the club in regular-season goal contributions this season, while Dudley ranks fourth among all league forwards with 15 shots on target.
Rose Lavelle joins Jaelin Howell and Savannah McCaskill in midfield. The trio has started together in eight of Gotham’s 12 league matches this season. Lavelle enters Saturday tied with Kelley O’Hara for fifth in club history with 14 regular-season goals, while McCaskill sits one assist shy of moving into a tie for fifth in Gotham FC history.
Captain Tierna Davidson and Emily Sonnett again anchor the back line, with Jess Carter and Guro Reiten lining up on the flanks ahead of goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger. A shutout on Friday would be Berger’s eighth this season and her 26th career clean sheet, which would tie AD Franch (Portland) for ninth-most for one club.
Gotham FC’s bench includes 10-year club veteran defender Mandy Freeman, who is 42 minutes short of surpassing Sarah Woldmoe’s club record for most minutes played across all NWSL competitions. Fellow defender Bruninha, who made her first NWSL regular season appearance last week, also returns to the subs bench. Goalkeeper Shelby Hogan; midfielders Sofia Cook, Sarah Schupansky and Talia Sommer; and forwards Khyah Harper, Andrea Kitahata and Midge Purce round out the bench against Utah.
Defender Kayla Duran (knee) and midfielder Taryn Torres (knee) are both on the season-ending injury list.
Gotham FC lineup vs. Utah Royals
30 – Ann-Katrin Berger (GK)
27 – Jess Carter
6 – Emily Sonnett
15 – Tierna Davidson (c)
18 – Guro Reiten
7 – Jaelin Howell
13 – Savannah McCaskill
16 – Rose Lavelle
2 – Jordynn Dudley
9 – Esther González
10 – Jaedyn Shaw
Substitutes: 1 – Shelby Hogan (GK), 3 – Bruninha, 11 – Sarah Schupansky, 14 – Talia Sommer, 21 – Sofia Cook, 22 – Mandy Freeman, 23 – Midge Purce, 24 – Andrea Kitahata, 34 – Khyah Harper
