Gary Gibson
Producer
05/11/2024
This Sunday, May 12th, San Diego Wave FC (10 points) plays host to NJ/NY Gotham FC (11 points) at Snapdragon Stadium for AAPI night. This is the first regular season meeting between these two teams, but they clashed earlier this year in the Challenge Cup final, where San Diego emerged victorious 1-0.
Three Keys to the Game:
Revenge or Repeat? Gotham FC will be looking to avenge their Challenge Cup loss and grab an early edge in the regular season standings. Can they overcome San Diego on their home turf? Gotham has yet to beat or Draw the Wave and they have only scored 1 goal over those 5 games. That one goal coming against back-up keeper Yanez and not former Gotham FC Keeper Sheridan.
Not the same Gotham: Key players like Lavelle and Lynn Williams were unavailable in the Challenge Cup. Their presence, especially Williams' up front, could significantly impact the game. Nighswonger, Dunn, and Sonnett did not start that match either. Also, keeper Ann-Katrin Berger has arrived and added a new dimension to the team in build-up. Gotham is starting to gel and enter after back-to-back shutouts.
Williams and Nighswonger Connection Building Into Something Special: Having both players healthy and available changes the outlook for this game. Here is a look at 3 reasons they are such a dominant pairing:
Combined Duel Threats: Nighswonger, though now a fullback, has a natural attacking mentality. She was an attacking midfielder and forward in college. She has the ability to put in accurate crosses and dangerous balls in the box from wide areas and play the final pass when cutting inside. Jenna is also becoming a solid defender and has been winning most of her duels and tackles. Lynn Williams is one of the greatest scorers in NWSL history. As she just tied Sam Kerr for the all time regular season goal total. Lynn is the most defensive forward in league history. Has never finished less than 7th in defensive actions in the entire league. This results in a dynamic duo on the left side, creating scoring opportunities and keeping defenses guessing while being defensively stout.
Speed and Creativity: Nighswonger has the pin point long range to find Williams in spaces that Williams can exploit. Jenna has the pace to overlap when Williams drops in and can swing in pin point crosses. Nighswonger brings creativity, having played attacking midfield before. Together they create a fast-paced and unpredictable attack on the left flank.
Fit and Relentless: Both are incredibly fit and offer the same energy early in the match as they do later on. You are never out of the woods with these two. There is no rest for the weary against Gotham’s left side. They are relentless.
Against the Courage:
Against Houston:
Where to Watch:
Catch the game live on ION at: 7:30 PM ET
Listen to our latest Podcast covering both 1-0 wins this week against the Courage and Houston: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/soccer-over-gotham/id1568734152
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