Nothing about Gotham FC’s playoff run has come easily.
On October 15, the players and staff of Gotham FC waited for a few agonizing moments to find out if they’d squeak into the playoffs. It was Decision Day, and they had just wrapped up a 2-2 draw with the Kansas City Current — not good enough to control their destiny. As the final whistles blew for North Carolina and Houston, the celebration could finally begin.
They started their playoff run as the six-seed against the Courage on the road in the quarterfinals, before making the trip out to the West Coast to square off against the defending champions, Portland Thorns FC. On Sunday night in the pouring rain, Gotham had to wait a little longer for their first shot at a NWSL Championship, needing extra time and a superb goal from substitute Katie Stengel to advance again.
“The weather, the elements, it didn’t matter,” owner and club chair Tammy Murphy told The Athletic on Monday. “We were determined, and we played like pros. I could not have been more excited.”
For Murphy, who has been a part of Gotham’s ownership from the beginning, when the team was still Sky Blue FC, the semifinal win represented years of work and progress that had been anything but smooth (“turbulence” was Murphy’s word choice). NJ/NY…
