The Washington Spirit and NJ/NY Gotham FC played to a scoreless draw in an action-filled game Tuesday night.
Midge Purce had the best chance of the match for Gotham six minutes in, beating Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe with a dart that ultimately struck the post and was cleared.
Porque diosito pic.twitter.com/SnEdL87FGI
— NJ/NY Gotham FC (@GothamFC) April 28, 2021
The Spirit had a couple of great looks in the second half to take the lead at home, including Ashley Hatch hitting the crossbar off a cross from Andi Sullivan. Gotham goalkeeper Didi Haracic cleared the rebound off the crossbar. That play would ultimately be named the Play of the Game.
Hatch is heating 🆙#WASvNJNY | https://t.co/0LtSAUK1Jw | #CC21 pic.twitter.com/OcxipzokMS
— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) April 28, 2021
Trinity Rodman continued to showcase why she’s the hottest rookie in the NWSL at the moment, setting up Sullivan for her own chance that Haracic tipped wide.
Andi Sullivan sends one in from outside the box and it's JUST wide! #WASvNJNY pic.twitter.com/flJdflqDz0
— The Equalizer (@EqualizerSoccer) April 28, 2021
Not everything was a miss, however, as Carli Lloyd walked away with quite the face bruise.
Ma’am, you have a new cheek on your old cheek https://t.co/MbPBfL6Nnr
— Gal Pal Sports (@GalPalSports) April 28, 2021
With the 0-0 draw, Gotham FC now sits atop the East Division standings. A win against Louisville on Sunday would secure its spot in the Challenge Cup final. A loss or a draw would make it a three-way chess match between Gotham, North Carolina and Orlando.
With a draw Sunday, Gotham would need the Courage to lose or draw against the Pride to advance to the final. With a loss, Gotham could still make the final, but the Courage and the Pride would also both have a shot at securing a berth.
The battle in the East will make for a final weekend of high-stakes soccer — especially since Portland has already locked up the West.
You can check out the full highlights from last night’s game at Audi Field below:
🎞 rewinding the action from @AudiField 🎞#WASvNJNY | #CC21 pic.twitter.com/jccicutXdD
— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) April 28, 2021