Gotham, DiDi Haracic, NJ/NY Gotham FC, NWSL, soccer
DiDi Haracic (Photo by Kaitlin Marold - JSN)

NJ/NY Gotham FC Unbeaten Streak Broken with 0 - 1 Loss to NC Courage

All good things come to an end. After eight games unbeaten, Gotham FC faced a frustrating loss to North Carolina Courage at home Saturday night.

Gotham had a strong start, with Nahomi Kawasumi forcing NC Courage keeper Casey Murphy to make a save over the crossbar in the first minute.

Although the team had a handful of chances in the first half, they were unable to to find the back of the net.

The only goal of the evening did not come without controversy. In the 38th minute, the ball was headed towards the goal, forcing Gotham keeper DiDi Haracic to make a save. Courage midfielder Meredith Speck, who some believed to be in an offside position when the shot was taken, pounced on the rebound sending the ball in the back of the net.

Gotham quickly tried to respond with an excellent shot on goal by Nahomi Kawasumi, who again forced the NC Courage keeper to make a save.

A notable change to Gotham's starting line up was the recently signed draft pick Delaine Sheehan who got her first NWSL start.  "I thought that Delanie had a really great game tonight," Gotham head coach Freya Coombe said after the game.  "I thought she did well in possession made really sensible, smart decisions and was really effective going forward. I'm really, really pleased with her performance," Coombe said of Sheehan, who played with the Gotham Reserves this summer before signing with Gotham FC.

Coombe commented on the parallels between the lack of offside call on tonight's goal with a similar situation in the previous week's game where an offside call was made on McCall Zerboni denying the team a goal. "Unfortunately, it didn't go our way with the offside call tonight, and that can be the difference sometimes between winning and losing," Coombe said.

Brianna Pinto, who came on in the 69th minute, was still proud of her team's performance, despite the unfortunate goal scored against them. "I think our team played really, really well," Pinto said. "We showed heart the entire 90 minutes. I think that's something to be proud of." Pinto had a late opportunity on goal, but was not able to equalize, sending a header well above the crossbar.

Caprice Dydasco, who has been named to the NWSL Team of the Month three times in a row, lamented that the team was unable to remain unbeaten at home. "Overall, we put in a good performance and we should be proud of that," Dydasco said. "I feel like we had more chances than [North Carolina]. It's unfortunate, I think their goal was offside, but we need to be better in front of goal. Defensively I think the team did well, but offensively I think we need to capitalize early."

What's Next for Gotham FC

NJ/NY Gotham FC remain at home next week and take on Racing Louisville on August 15th at 5pm ET. The game will stream on Paramount+.