After nearly a month away, the Gotham FC returned victorious by defeating the Kansas City Current 2-0 in Columbus, Ohio, to win the club's first-ever NWSL Challenge Cup title.
Esther González opened the scoring for the Bats after converting a penalty late in the first half and Jordynn Dudley secured the victory with a second goal in the 79th minute.
"From my position as the head coach, I’ve been super proud of the group of players and staff," said Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amorós after winning his fourth trophy while in charge. "The way they operate and trust in what we ask them to do is unbelievable. We can prepare as many things as we want, but at the end of the day they are the main characters."
Gotham's face-off with the Current at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field pitted the NWSL Championship winners from New Jersey against the NWSL Shield winners from Kansas City, and marked the first professional women’s soccer match ever played in Ohio. An announced crowd of 11,369 hints at big support for the incoming NWSL expansion team in Columbus slated to make its debut in 2028.
Gotham: 10 shots, 2 shots on target, 55% possession, 423 passes, 76% pass accuracy, 10 fouls, 3 corners, 3 saves
KC Current: 6 shots, 3 shots on target, 45% possession, 334 passes, 71% pass accuracy, 13 fouls, 5 corners, 0 saves
Goals:
• Gotham, Esther González (PK), 37'
Gotham, Jordynn Dudley, 79'
Attendance: 11,369
Gotham's early lead thanks to a penalty conceded when Current captain Lo'eau LaBonta fouled Gotham's Jaelin Howell was enough to keep their momentum trending upwards in the second half.
González, who by her standards has struggled to find the back of the net in league play so far this season, struck a confident penalty to put the Bats up front.
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The Current looked to get a 63rd-minute equalizer from Temwa Chawinga, but it was ruled offside, further propelling Gotham. The game was then put to bed 15 minutes later when a pressing Dudley pounced on a loose touch by Current defender Kayla Sharples then beat her in a 1-v-1 before perfectly placing her shot past Marisa Jordan in the Current goal, putting the Bats up 2-0.
THE ROOKIE 🗣️
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) June 27, 2026
Gotham forward Jordynn Dudley with a beauty of a goal! pic.twitter.com/b86cP7GvPe
"This goal, in particular, helps me continue to work hard because it shows that the work is going to pay off," Dudley said postmach. "I don’t want our back line to have to deal with balls in behind every two seconds. It'll be really useful in future games knowing that we need to press and put pressure on the opposition’s back line so our back line doesn’t have to deal with as much."
The 21-year-old rookie is having a stellar debut season. With two goals and two assists in league play, Dudley is also the first rookie to score in an NWSL Challenge Cup final. While she's known for her effectiveness in 1-v-1's, a majority of Dudley's deadliness comes from her work while pressing. The Florida State University alumnus is quick to pivot from her attacking work back to pressing and defending, and she's comfortable in high-pressure situations, talents Amorós has noted.
"She’s such a winner and has the mentality of someone who has played a lot more than 10 or 12 professional games," Amorós said. "She does that from a humble position, always putting the team first. She produces on both sides of the ball and is always looking for ways to help the team, not herself."
Ann-Katrin Berger held hold down the Bats' defense to keep a clean sheet leading to Gotham's first trophy this season. The German was busy early, making all three saves in the first half. She first prevented an early Current lead with a save on an attempt made by midfielder Croix Bethune, then on a charge made by Chawinga 20 minutes later.
AKB joins Jane Campbell, Casey Murphy, and Kailen Sheridan as one of four goalkeepers to record a clean sheet in an NWSL Challenge Cup final. Gotham now has kept 10 clean sheets from 16 total matches played across all competitions so far this year, with AKB in goal for nine of them.
"Today, we played arguably the best team at scoring goals over the last couple of years, and we were able to really limit their chances and get another clean sheet," Amorós said. "I’m super proud of them because of the way they work every day."
NWSL
A win at the NWSL Challenge Cup is just what Gotham needed heading into the second half of the season after falling short of winning titles at the FIFA Women's Champions Cup earlier this winter, and at the Concacaf W Champions Cup in May.
The Bats currently sit in fifth place in the NWSL table with two games in hand and a three-point gap with the third-place Portland Thorns. Gotham next will look to extend a five-game unbeaten streak in the league when they travel west to take on the San Diego Wave on Saturday, July 4, with kickoff at 8:45 pm ET at Snapdragon Stadium.
