Gotham FC hopes to capture first Concacaf W Champions Cup — and snap scoreless skid
Gotham FC haven't scored in nearly a month. But a trophy is within reach.
This week brings a trip to Mexico to try to capture the inaugural Concacaf W Champions Cup, a tournament comprising club teams from the region of North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
It would be a nice piece of hardware to add to the cabinet alongside Gotham's 2023 NWSL crown.
Gotham FC's leading scorer Esther González recently signed an extension.
Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
In Wednesday night's semifinals (7:30 p.m., Paramount+), they face Mexico's Club América, the runners-up last week in the second half of the Liga MX Femenil season, at the Estadio Universitario in the Monterrey area.
'I think it's going to be a very wild match,' Gotham forward and leading scorer Esther González, who recently signed a two-year contract extension, said Tuesday, via a translation. 'We've been preparing since the preseason, looking forward to this date. But I think we're prepared to face this rival. It will be tough, but we will try to get the best result and to win.'
The international showdown comes amid a patch of dodgy league form for Gotham, who have sunk to eighth place in NWSL after going three straight games without a goal (one draw, two losses).
'It's similar to the start of the year when we didn't score many goals,' head coach Juan Carlos Amorós said after Friday's 1-0 loss to visiting San Diego. 'Then we went on a run where we were scoring for fun, as they say. Now we're in a different stretch again. So we look internally and make sure we are ready to score.'
Gotham FC head coach Juan Carlos Amorós
EM Dash-Imagn Images
Gotham qualified for these semifinals by finishing second in the tournament's 10-team group stage last October (2W-2D-0L). That's before several influential players were on the roster — top rookies Sarah Schupansky and Lilly Reale still were in college.
If Gotham advances, it would face the winner of the other semifinal between NWSL's Portland Thorns and Liga MX's Tigres UANL, which will be playing in its home stadium, known as El Volcán (the Volcano).
'Games like the past three only make us want to go into the next two even more aggressive and more excited to win and play our best style of soccer,' Schupansky said. 'We want to get back in the win column, whether that's in the league or in the tournament. I'm really excited. I know the team worked hard to get there.'
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