Gotham FC enter break on high note with comeback win over Bay FC

In a way, the first part of Gotham’s season ended Saturday, with a 2-1 win over Bay FC at Sports Illustrated Stadium, with a veteran and a newcomer — Esther González and Geyse, respectively — staging a comeback after they fell behind in the 12th minute.

González capitalized on a 30th-minute turnover by Bay in front of the net.

Geyse created just enough space off a long pass to score early in the second half. And when Bay couldn’t equalize across the final 35-plus minutes, that’s how Gotham entered a nearly six-week break for international games.

When the season resumes Aug. 1, they’ll possess the final playoff spot, staring down a simple path to the postseason tournament and a complicated one to get back to the stages they reached — the championship and the semifinals — the last two years.

Gotham’s victory Saturday marked just the second time all season they’ve won consecutive NWSL matches. 

But this early-season slate was always going to be about adjusting.

About tweaking the lineup to accommodate new players after the offseason exits.

About waiting for star Rose Lavelle to return and then waiting for her to get back to the starting lineup, which happened Saturday.

They still brought back González, whose goal Saturday gave her a league-high 10 this year, and Lavelle and Emily Sonnett and plenty of other stars, but a chunk of the superteam from 2024 departed — and then star defender Tierna Davidson tore her ACL in April. 

“It was always going to be a process of adaptation, but at the same time, we know this league,” head coach Juan Carlos Amorós said postgame. “We have to compete. We have to win. … I would like us to have more points on the table. I think that’s the same with the group of players. 

“But then also looking at … we have a lot of young players in the roster at the moment that they’re getting experiences. Experiences like [Saturday] are invaluable. You can’t get them if you don’t live them.” 

Amorós, to this point, has been forced to experiment. He was forced to plug new players into new spots and see what could stick.

Geyse, a 27-year-old on loan from Manchester United, deposited her second tally of the campaign to give Gotham the lead.

They also used six rookies Saturday, including midfielder Sarah Schupansky, who deflected a Bay pass near the net that went right to the foot of González for the equalizer. 

“We’ve never really been a team with many rookies over the past few seasons, but it’s kind of a breath of fresh air in the locker room, off the field and on the field,” midfielder Nealy Martin said. 

Gotham also shifted rookie Lilly Reale outside from her natural position of center back, and earlier this week, she earned her first call-up to the United States women’s national team for its upcoming training camp.

After arriving at UCLA ahead of Reale’s sophomore year, Bruins coach Margueritte Aozasa plugged her into the center back spot and watched her serve as the Bruins’ defensive anchor, but during her final season in 2024, Aozasa sensed that Reale was ready to attack more.

She knew that Reale would never say she was bored, but sometimes Aozasa would think, “Oh man, she wants to make it interesting. She’s gonna go try to dribble 50 yards.”

And most times, Aozasa told The Post on Friday, “she was successful, so couldn’t really blame her.” 

There have been plenty of growing pains for Gotham.

There could be others after the season resumes, too, and that’s the risk with replacing lineup pieces.

But for everything that went wrong over the first three-plus months of the season, Gotham’s work on the defensive structure has paid off, Martin said. The chaos of all the offseason changes has started to calm. 

Now they have to wait — more than a month’s worth of it — for a chance to turn a two-match burst into more.