After a three-hour-plus delay due to inclement weather, Kansas City NWSL and NJ-NY Gotham FC battled to a 1-1 draw on a stormy night in Harrison, N.J. at Red Bull Arena.
Originally scheduled for a 6 p.m. start, the teams finally kicked off at 9:20 p.m.
Gotham FC struck first as Ifeoma Onumonu found the net for the home side. Kansas City fought back throughout the game and found the equalizer from Mariana Larroquette in the 83rd minute. Kansas City earned a point on the NWSL table with the draw.
Head coach Huw Williams was proud of his team and continues to boast about its positive mentality.
“I think we took a big step last week in the way we were disappointed with the result,” he said. “We kind of defined it as our mission to turn some heads now based on what we have done to ourselves with our start. I think we took a stepping stone towards that against Washington last week and hopefully another step again to the next week.”
The first half kicked off with Kansas City trying to get itself on the attack early. Any momentum the team started to build was halted early as forward Darian Jenkins was forced to leave the game in the 11th minute with an injury to her left hamstring. Her replacement, Michele Vasconcelos, stepped in and quickly joined with Jéssica Silva and Amy Rodriguez to put pressure on the defensive line of Gotham.
Despite Kansas City’s pressure, Gotham was able to mount several attacks on goal and found the game’s first score in the 31st minute.
Midfielder Nahomi Kawasumi played a ball across the top of the box to forward Ifeoma Onomanu who spun to her right, making just enough space for a perfectly placed strike to the low far corner where Kansas City’s Nicole Barnhart couldn’t reach.
Kansas City nearly responded in the 35th minute off a free kick from Rodriguez. The veteran forward quickly lofted a restart over Gotham’s unsuspecting backline but goalkeeper DiDi Haracic was able to recover and make the save.
Kansas City opened the second half on the attack with two aggressive chances in the first 15 minutes. First, Kristen Edmonds crossed a lofting ball to Rodriguez who barely missed it while running toward the net. The second chance was a powerful strike from rookie Victoria Pickett that sailed just over the top of the crossbar. On the other end, Barnhart was able to easily stop any shot that Gotham was able to put toward the frame.
Entering the game in the 77th minute for Rodriguez, Larroquette immediately got to work, disrupting the back line and trying to get past the Gotham defense. She nearly found the equalizer in the 80th minute after a Lo’eau LaBonta cross, however it skimmed across the top of the net.
Three minutes later, Larroquette found her goal with a spectacular shot from distance. She picked off an errant pass from the Gotham defense, then, noticing the opponent’s goalkeeper off her line, she sent a sailing shot arcing over everyone and into the far side of the net to square up the game.
Gotham dialed up the pressure in the final five minutes of the game with four shots on target, dangerously attacking Kansas City’s backline. However, goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart came up huge with two amazing saves, including one she was just able to tip over the goal as she backpedaled towards the net, preserving the draw for KC.
Kansas City will now shift its focus to the next match on the road at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, Washington, versus OL Reign, on Sunday July 11. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. Brad Porter and Aly Trost will be on the call in Kansas City on KSMO-TV and Sports Radio 810 WHB. The game will also be streamed on Paramount+.
