Sitting in the team meal room on the Wednesday before the semifinals, NJ/NY Gotham FC general manager Yael Averbuch West looked across at a photo hanging on the wall of a goal celebration.
This wasn’t just any goal celebration photo. It featured striker Ella Stevens celebrating her first goal with the team, flanked by her teammates' smiling faces, and kissing the club crest.
Kissing the crest is not your typical goal celebration in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). In a league with lots of player movement and shorter term contracts, players don’t usually form the same attachments to the crests as they might in leagues around the world. Despite this, Averbuch West has worked so hard over the last three seasons to make Gotham a place where players want to be—and Stevens’s goal celebration is a clear indicator that she is certainly on the right path.
“It means a lot to us—we are really proud of what we're doing,” says Averbuch West. “People don't sign six-, eight-year contracts [in the NWSL], like there's a lot of movement, so when somebody feels that way about the club and so quickly, it kind of really becomes what Gotham stands for. I think it's contagious, but it's not normal for NWSL.”
Gotham’s 2023 NWSL championship was just the start for Averbuch West. The team finished sixth in the regular season table, just making the playoffs on goal differential. This season, Gotham finished third, and while it is certainly progress, Averbuch West shows no signs of slowing down, especially as she sees the top four teams in the league putting in the same work to improve and compete.
Gotham FC sealed a playoff dub in front of a record setting home crowd!
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) November 10, 2024
Presented by @madebygoogle pic.twitter.com/QuNICgLeXC
“We’re really proud of our progress, and the standings are indicative of the jump that we took,” she says. “When we talk about the eye test in terms of the level of dominance, our continued improvement in our style, the way that everyone on the team contributed throughout the year in a significant way, there are so many positive indicators of success. We still have aspirations and we’re not done yet.”
Players like Stevens, who signed with Gotham as a free agent following several seasons with the Chicago Red Stars, have been key contributors to the so-called “super team” that also brought in big names like Crystal Dunn, Rose Lavelle, Emily Sonnett and Tierna Davidson during the offseason.
Even with all the fanfare over the blockbuster moves, what has truly made Gotham work has been a cohesive team, a competitive environment and a deep roster full of players who are always willing and able to step up when needed throughout the regular season and outside competitions such as the NWSL Summer Cup and the Concacaf W Champions Cup.
“We trust everyone to step on the pitch and do our job,” said midfielder Nealy Martin. “We played a lot of games this year so everyone’s got the experience and the talent to do it. We trust everyone to do it—it doesn’t matter who is going out there.”
For defender Mandy Freeman, Gotham’s longest-tenured player who was drafted to the then-struggling club in 2017, seeing this iteration of Gotham has felt cathartic, especially after the club’s 2-1 quarterfinal win against the visiting Portland Thorns on Sunday, which also marked the first home playoff game in franchise history.
“It’s a full circle moment,” Freeman said. “I was just talking with someone about the days we were playing at Yurcak [Field, Rutgers University], and to be able to play at Red Bull Arena [in front of 15,000 fans], beating records in our attendance every year, it’s great, very fulfilling, and this is the trajectory we want to take as a club—always striving to be better, do better and I feel like we’re accomplishing that.”
Nothing exemplified Gotham’s deep core more than the team’s game-winning goal against Portland. Tied in stoppage time, Delanie Sheehan got ready to come off the bench. The midfielder is a typical starter for Gotham, but was listed as questionable with a lower leg injury prior to the game. But in the 96th minute, Sheehan received a pass in from Yazmeen Ryan, spun past three defenders and served it up for Lavelle’s game winner.
"Delanie [Shehan] did all the heavy lifting there, kind of served it on a platter for me," said Lavelle after the match. "That was such a moment of brilliance. I think it was a great run. And then I think to have the composure to be able to deal with two defenders on you and cut it back like that, I think it was such a good play."
As Gotham sets its eyes on a back-to-back championships, the team knows it was not a straight line to get to this point. The club had a visible adjustment period at the beginning of the season, going on a four-game winless streak in April. No one at Gotham was particularly worried, though. With roster turnover and the start of a new season came a learning curve, and Gotham learned quickly what would work for the team.
“The start of the season wasn’t smooth, but that’s ok,” recalled Lynn Williams. “We talked about how deep our roster was and how deep our bench is. We just know whoever is going to step up and be on the pitch, whichever person is going to be called upon, we have so much faith in that individual and I think the depth of our team allows us to go late into games. Even if we’re tied or down, we believe that we are going to win.”
Anyone who has watched Gotham this season has seen how the super team has lived up to its name. Under the leadership of head coach Juan Carlos Amorós, Averbuch West sees a club full of adaptable, versatile players who are nowhere close to their peaks.
“Any time the roster changes, which is normal in the NWSL year over year, there’s an adjustment phase,” says Averbuch West. “I think we saw that early in the season as everyone was trying to figure everyone else out. To be honest, I think we’re still improving which is one of the things I feel most proud of.”
Call game, @roselavelle!
— NJ/NY Gotham FC - x (@GothamFC) November 10, 2024
Go off. pic.twitter.com/DkXe3LtxkW
An additional point of pride for Averbuch West has been the development of younger players on the roster such as Yazmeen Ryan. The midfielder has truly shined this season for Gotham, notching five goals and five assists over the regular season and earning her first cap with the U.S. women’s national team.
“She was rewarded for her performance with her national team call up and I think that is well deserved. She’s had a really great season and continued to progress from where she was last year,” Averbuch West says. “Her impact on the team has been really significant. She’s a very talented player and I think we’re only seeing the beginning with her.”
As Gotham prepares for its semifinal matchup away against the Washington Spirit, the team will once again need all hands on deck to get the job done.
“Spirit is a good team, really dangerous in transition, and has some really dangerous players like Trinity [Rodman],” Davidson said. “In the NWSL there are no easy games. It’s another challenge, but we’re excited for it.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Gotham FC Players and Staff Reflect on Season Successes Ahead of NWSL Playoff Semifinals.
