Credit: Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch via Imagn Images
Gotham FC secured its first Challenge Cup on Friday, defeating the Kansas City Current 2-0 Friday in Columbus, Ohio.
The rainy affair in ScottsMiracle-Gro Field marked the Buckeye State’s first ever professional women’s soccer game. Columbus will be home to the National Women’s Soccer League’s 18th expansion side in 2028.
The annual Challenge Cup match features the reigning NWSL champion and Shield winners. This year’s edition provided the league some action amidst a month-long hiatus for the ongoing World Cup.
Gotham and Kansas City currently sit side-by-side on the league table in 5th and 6th place, respectively.
And for the latter side, the match was a chance to avenge the 2025 NWSL Playoff Quarterfinals. Then-eight seed Gotham upset the Shield winners 2-1 in an extra time thriller en route to the championship trophy.
Indeed, Kansas City applied early pressure Friday, limiting Gotham’s attack for the first 30 minutes of the match.
But Gotham was dead-on for its only two shots on goal, starting with a penalty from Esther González in the 37th minute that came from the Current’s Lo’eau LaBonta foul on Jaelin Howell in the box.
Gotham’s star rookie Jordynn Dudley scored the game winner with a shot into the low left corner in the 79th minute, beating Current defender Kayla Sharples 1-v-1 on the way.
“Winning that ball back herself and driving forward and making something out of nothing came at a really critical point in the game and gave us some assurance,” Gotham defender Tierna Davidson said. “It’s something we’re not surprised by, but it’s always very impressive.”
Kansas City couldn’t find the same converting success. The response to Gotham’s penalty seemed to come from Temwa Chawinga’s strike in the 63rd minute, but the goal was ruled offside.
For Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amorós, the clean sheet was a credit to the team’s defense.
“We played arguably the best team at scoring goals over the last couple of years, and we were able to really limit their chances,” he said.
Along with Dudley’s talent on offense, Amorós said the rookie didn’t shy away from pressing and making necessary tackles, preventing Kansas City from building momentum.
Dudley is looking to do even more of that when the league resumes play next weekend.
“It’ll be really useful in future games knowing that we need to press and put pressure on the opposition’s back line,” she said.
