Rose LaBelle scored in the first half and Gotham FC defeated the Washington Spirit 1-0 in the Queen’s Classic at Citi Field on Wednesday night.
The game was a rematch of last year’s National Women’s Soccer League championship game, which Gotham won 1-0 with LaBelle’s goal.
Gotham (8-3-3) announced the game was a sellout with 42,175 tickets sold, a record for a women’s sporting event in New York City.
Lovell scored in the 37th minute with a long chip from an angle to the far post. This was her third goal of the season.
Sam Kerr came on as a substitute in the 64th minute of the Gotham game, making his return to Chelsea after more than six years.
Kerr, 32, played for Sky Blue, which later became Gotham, and the Chicago Stars before signing with Chelsea at the end of 2019. She remains the NWSL’s regular season leading scorer with 77 career goals and was the league’s leading scorer for three consecutive seasons from 2017 to 2019. She won the league MVP award in 2017 and 2019.
Kerr, an Australian who is considered one of the best strikers in the world, signed with Gotham last month.
“It’s weird, to be honest,” Kerr said. “It’s very different to spend most of your early career here and then go to Chelsea and stay in Europe for a long time.”
The Spirit’s Esme Morgan and Gotham’s Jordyn Dudley collided in the first half, with Dudley leaving the game with a suspected concussion.
With this loss, the Spirit’s winning streak ended at three. Washington is 8-3-3.
The game was played in temperatures in the 90s, with air quality advisories in place in New York due to wildfires in Canada. Due to the conditions, there were two hydration breaks in each half.
Earlier this month, Gotham announced the team would begin playing at the new Etihad Park, adjacent to Citi Field, starting in 2028.
Gotham typically plays its home games at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey. The move to Queens was made in partnership with New York City FC, a Major League Soccer club that is building the 25,000-seat Etihad Park.
The NWSL game attendance record was set earlier this season, with 63,000 people attending the Denver Summit Spirit game at Empower Field, home of the NFL’s Denver Broncos.
legacy at pride
An early goal from Barbara Olivieri gave the visiting Boston Legacy a 1-0 victory over the Orlando Pride.
The loss ended the Pride (6-7-2) home winning streak at three.
Olivieri scored his first goal for the Expanded Legacy (4-7-4) in the 17th minute despite pressure from two defenders.
Lisbeth Obare appeared to score the tying goal for the Pride with a goal off a corner kick, but the goal was disallowed due to interference by Boston goaltender Casey Murphy.
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