Gotham FC followed up a 4-1 loss to Club América in the Concacaf W Champions Cup semifinals with a 3-0 loss to CF Pachuca in the Third Place game on Saturday night at Estadio Hidalgo in Pachuca, Mexico.
The win marked a milestone for the Mexican club, as it was the first time Pachuca has beaten a NWSL team in the tournament. Pachuca captain Charlyn Corral led her team to victory with two first-half goals, scoring the opening goal fairly quickly with a left-footed strike off a long ball from Andrea Pereira.
Corral netted for a second time a little over 20 minutes later off an assist from 17-year-old Berenice Ibarra to put the hosts 2-0 at halftime. Pachuca forward Aline Gomes added a third goal late in the match to secure the win for the Liga MX Femenil side.
"This week has probably been one to forget," Gotham FC head coach Juan Carlos Amorós said following the loss. "We had a lot of players there that were playing through sickness, playing through situations that were really over the limit. Every single one of them has done everything they could, and it wasn’t enough."
Gotham FC: 0.5 xG, 9 shots, 2 shots on target, 53% possession, 467 passes, 86% pass accuracy, 11 fouls, 1 corner, 3 saves
CF Pachuca: 1.16 xG, 13 shots, 8 shots on target, 47% possession, 406 passes, 81% pass accuracy, 9 fouls, 4 corners, 3 saves
Goals:
• CF Pachuca, Charlyn Corral, 12'
• CF Pachuca, Charlyn Corral, 38'
• CF Pachuca, Aline Gomes, 84'
Gotham FC goalkeeper Shelby Hogan made her first start of the tournament, replacing Ann-Katrin Berger after the German suffered an abdominal injury in the semifinals. With AKB now headlining the club's long injured list, concerns over Gotham's performance may continue to rise as the Bats make their way back to NWSL league play next weekend when they host Houston Dash at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
"It is a performance and an outcome that is not how we normally do things," Amorós said. "But I really want to highlight the effort and the commitment from every single one of my players."
It wasn't all doom and gloom for Gotham. Jaedyn Shaw attempted a shot in the 25th minute that forced Pachuca goalkeeper Esthefanny Barreras to dive in order to prevent an equalizer. Shaw led the Bats with three shots in Saturday’s match. Gotham's captain, defender Tierna Davidson, led the way with the most accurate passes in the match at 23.
Yet, the glaring gaps in Gotham's defensive zones that allowed Pachuca to pass more evenly and the Bats' inability to win duels left Gotham in a tight spot. Despite the mistakes made by Gotham, Amorós was quick to acknowledge Pachuca's excellent performance on the pitch.
"Pachuca is a great team," he said. "I don’t want to take any credit away from them. They were better than us today and they deserved to win the game."
Gotham FC return to Sports Illustrated Stadium to play the Houston Dash on Sunday, May 31. The questions remains as to whether or not they'll be able to fall back into the levels of consistency they were starting to achieve prior to departure for the Concacaf W Champions Cup.
The Bats have not lost an NWSL match since their loss to the Kansas City Current at the beginning of April. Given their struggles earlier on in the season and their ensuing bounce back, it is possible that Amorós and his squad will be leaving Mexico with more answers instead of questions.
"I know it’s difficult to see from the outside because when fans and people watch from home, it’s difficult to express how hard they've had to work," Amorós said. "But these games are definitely going to make us better in the long run."
Club América Femenil emerged winners of the 2025-26 Concacaf W Champions Cup, the club's first international trophy, after besting the Washington Spirit 5-3 in a wild final.
