One step from silverware: Gotham FC beats Club América in Champions Cup semifinals | OneFootball

After a rough patch of form in NWSL play, NJ/NY Gotham FC put those issues to bed as they managed a 3-1 win over Club América Femenil in the CONCACAF W Champions Cup semifinals. This is the first time in club history that they have beaten a Liga MX Femenil side away from home.

América suffered their second loss in three games after losing the first leg of Liga MX Clausura playoff final to C.F. Pachuca Femenil. While they certainly didn't embarrass themselves tonight, they were very clearly the second-best team on the field in this game.

For Gotham, this is now the third out of a possible four finals they have reached over the past year. Obviously, they have yet to walk away from any of these games, the 2024 Challenge Cup and Summer Cup to be precise, with a trophy, but they should have a good chance of winning Saturday's final. The team will look to finally close out a final and earn their first trophy since the 2023 NWSL Championship and go into the next part of the NWSL season with some added momentum.

This was definitely a welcome change of pace for Gotham FC fans as they not only watched a win, but a pretty comfortable one at that. Everything seemed to click, and they got some important pieces on the scoresheet as well. Hopefully, they are able to carry this momentum into Saturday.

A smooth path to the final for Gotham FC

The Bats got off to a much better start than they have in recent games. They had a near chance in the fourth minute when Esther González could not get her foot on a cross into the box. Then, ten minutes later, González had another chance on a perfectly timed run on a long-ball from Ann-Katrin Berger that saw her in one-on-one with goalkeeper Sandra Paños. González then tried to round Paños, but the Spanish goalkeeper did a great job in essentially snatching the ball off of González's foot and keeping the game scoreless.

The breakthrough for Gotham then came in the 21st minute off a Sarah Schupansky corner. The University of Pittsburgh alum found Geyse towards the back post, who then volleyed the ball through a mass of bodies and into the América net. This was Geyse's second goal for the NJ/NY team since joining the club on loan from Manchester United back in March.

Gotham then doubled their lead just nine minutes later. After going down and not getting the call minutes earlier, they earned a penalty kick after Midge Purce was fouled inside the box. Purce then took and scored the penalty for her first goal since a 2-2 draw with the Kansas City Current on October 15, 2023. And then three minutes after that, Gotham got their third. After a González shot went off the post, it deflected off América defender Jana Gutiérrez into her own net.

América would get one back before halftime. In the 38th minute, Irene Guerrero would score on a clever deflection on a cross into the box that gave Berger zero chance of making a save. This was really América's one and only good scoring chance of the half, and they managed to capitalize on it. This is becoming a little bit of a concerning trend for Gotham, where teams are able to score on either the first chance of the game or a quick chance that did not have much sustained pressure beforehand.

In the second half, Gotham again had their chances. Emily Sonnett almost got her first Gotham goal, but she headed the ball off the crossbar from a Schupansky free-kick, which was then followed up by Purce blasting the rebound over the net. And then González had another great chance in the 61st minute when she ripped a long-range shot off the crossbar.

Berger then had arguably her best save in a Gotham shirt when Guerrero had a strong shot from close range, but the German managed a great reaction save to preserve the two-goal advantage. This shot came off of América's best bit of build-up play over the course of the 90 minutes. The Mexican side would then have their final big chance of the game when Sarah Luebbert fired a ball past Berger and off the inside of the post. The ball then rolled along the goal line and was eventually cleared by Gotham.

And that would be all as Gotham came away with the 3-1 victory and earned a spot in Saturday's final. This was also a good "get right" game for the ladies as they looked much better in just about every facet of the game compared to their performances over their last three NWSL matches. It was also good to see Geyse get on the scoresheet again and Purce open her account, even if it was from the penalty spot.

They now pivot to Saturday's final, which will be played against the winner of the Tigres UANL Femenil vs Portland Thorns FC game. The final will be played at Tigres' home ground, and the weather, while still very hot, will lack the rain and potential thunderstorms seen in the semifinal, so expect not just a bigger crowd but a pro-Tigres crowd if they end up beating Portland.