Close but not enough; Gotham FC plays a scoreless home draw with Chicago Stars FC | OneFootball

Coming back home after three consecutive away matches, NJ/NY Gotham FC were held to a scoreless draw against the bottom-of-the-table Chicago Stars FC. This draw means that all of the runaway top four from last season dropped points this weekend, a sign that this campaign may see a little more parity than 2024.

This was the first game for the Stars since firing head coach Lorne Donaldson on Wednesday, and it probably went as well as they could have hoped for. They earned their first clean sheet of the season and kept things competitive throughout the 90 minutes, something they could not always do even when they made the playoffs last season.

For Gotham, this was more of a blip than something that should sound the alarm. While this was not their best offensive performance, they were far from poor, and on other days, they might have scored one or two with a performance like this one. After starting the season with five away matches in seven games, this is the first of five of their next eight NWSL matches at home. And being able to sit in third place after that run of away games should mean they could go even higher with more road games in the near future.

Notably, with the roster, Nealy Martin played at center-back with Jess Carter out, and Mandy Freeman was on the bench. Ella Stevens made her first start since April 13 against the North Carolina Courage. Plus, Sofia Cook was named to the matchday squad for the first time after missing the first seven games with a thigh injury.

Gotham and Chicago play to a stalemate

The first half was a relatively uneventful affair. Both teams had chances to score, with Gotham FC having the better of those chances thanks to some now-expected great crosses from Sarah Schupansky. But for the most part, the two teams did a very good job of cancelling each other out.

The biggest moment was the penalty call given to Chicago and the subsequent VAR review. Stars forward Jameese Joseph made a run into the box, bowling over Lilly Reale and getting a shot off that was blocked by Emily Sonnett. The referee, to the surprise of probably everyone in Sports Illustrated Stadium, called a penalty kick for Chicago.

Despite seemingly getting the worst of the collision, the referee determined that Reale had fouled Joseph despite the forward staying on her feet and getting the shot off. This ruling was eventually overturned on VAR review after it was seen that Reale had gotten a touch on the ball before the foul was committed, even if Reale probably did not know much about said touch.

This led to another discussion about whether this was in the spirit of VAR, which was originally meant for clear and obvious errors and not re-refereeing the game. While in the end it probably did end up in the right call being made, this did not feel like something that was overly clear and obvious. It is a tough thing to wrestle with, given that VAR may not be doing its intended job, but is ultimately getting the calls correct.

The beginning of the second half heavily mirrored that of the first. Jaelin Howell rocketed a shot off the crossbar at the 50th minute mark, and then Joseph made a great run and shot sequence that produced an even better save from Ann-Katrin Berger just ten minutes later. It was again a lot more of the same in the following minutes. While both teams did have spells of possession in their respective attacking thirds, neither found that final shot-creating action that could lead to a goal.

Gotham then very nearly found the winner in stoppage time. Second-half substitute Mak Whitham skillfully redirected a cross that got through her marker, but Alyssa Naeher showed the New Jersey crowd one final time why she is a two-time World Cup winner and an Olympic Gold Medal winner. She made a fantastic reaction save to preserve the clean sheet for Chicago and leave New Jersey with a point in a 0-0 draw.

Ultimately, this was probably Chicago's game plan going into the match. They were at the bottom of the table and had a coaching change just days before. Hence, teams in this situation usually try to find some defensive solidity and structure to work towards better results. And while Gotham FC did not by any means play poorly, Chicago executed their plan to a tee and prevented Gotham from finding the offensive success that they have had in recent matches.

Some positives for Gotham included Sofia Cook getting her first minutes of the season after coming in as a substitute in the 79th minute. Freeman came back from injury and played the final 10 minutes for her first on-field action in three weeks. Also, Whitham looked the most involved and dangerous that she has in her short and limited cameos so far this season, and as mentioned earlier, very nearly scored the winner. It was also a defensively solid performance with yet another makeshift backline, with Martin deputizing at center-back and Bruninha making only her second start of the season at right-back.