Gotham FC to Face Seattle Reign in the Playoffs

Gotham FC will face the Seattle Reign on Sunday in the NWSL playoff quarterfinals. After winning the NWSL Shield, the team reached its fifth major trophy in three years and has its sights set on a sixth championship. The match will be played at 12:30 p.m. (ET) at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison. It will be broadcast on ABC, and the live stream will be available on the ESPN app.

Gotham has turned from a team near the bottom of the table in recent years into a club that wins titles consistently. In the playoffs, the club had mostly started from the lowest seed and won the title twice. On Sunday, however, the team will take the field as favorites for the first time. How this pressure will affect the team is unclear, since the club has never played in this situation before.

Tierna Davidson and Rose Lavelle have played key roles in the team's transformation. Davidson stands out as captain, while Jaedyn Shaw is the team's most prominent name. In her Gotham appearances, Shaw has scored 14 goals and recorded 7 assists in 35 NWSL matches. Head coach Juan Carlos Amorós has Shaw and Lavelle play behind Sam Kerr, so that both provide creativity and fulfill a forward role.

The team faces some problems. Kerr has been inconsistent in scoring recently. Jordyn Dudley will miss the playoffs because of a foot fracture. Shaw and Lavelle being fully fit will be very important for the team against the Seattle Reign, who have a strong defense.