**SEATTLE, Wa. –** Gotham FC extended its unbeaten streak to three straight games (W2 D1) with an impressive 4-1 victory over OL Reign on the road, with Gotham propelling itself to the top of the table with the result. Two quick goals from Gotham in the first 12 minutes helped separate the two sides, with Taylor Smith’s 38 ^th minute goal added onto by Bruninha’s first NWSL goal in the 73 ^rd minute to put Gotham clear by four goals. Only Reign forward Jordyn Huitema’s 77 ^th minute strike came against the visitors as the shutout was broken, but an otherwise complete performance saw the club walk out with a deserved three points.
In the 10 ^th minute, Gotham went ahead through a fantastic distance effort by defender Jenna Nighswonger which silenced the home crowd in the early goings. Midfielder Kristie Mewis was in possession around 25 yards out from goal when she played a pass over to Nighswonger to the left of goal. Unleashing from 20 yards out at least, Nighswonger fired a laser to the back post that Reign goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce had little chance of stopping with the visitors firing in front.
Then, two minutes later, forward Lynn Williams continued her run of great form as she took advantage of a defensive error at the back and rolled home a shot past Tullis-Joyce for her side’s second of the night and a birthday goal for the now 29-yard-old. The Reign were in possession in defense when a slip allowed for Williams to gain possession and break forward toward the penalty area. Working her way into the box, she did well to slid a low effort past an onrushing Tullis-Joyce that squeezed inside the far post and elevated the club’s lead to two goals.
The Reign did have a look on goal in the 24 ^th minute as Jordyn Huitema was played in via a fantastic pass from teammate Jess Fishlock to put her in on goal. Fishlock had slid a through ball in between defenders to match Huitema’s run, but the forward’s finessed shot from just left of the penalty spot was well-saved by Gotham goalkeeper Abby Smith, who smothered the ball after gathering.
The two teams settled in for a few minutes more until Gotham pulled away even further in the 38 ^th minute after what can only be described as a perfect team move executed in front of goal. Midfielder Sinead Farrelly was driving toward goal still outside the box when she reversed a pass into the penalty area for forward Delanie Sheehan. However, rather than opting to shoot in front of an oncoming defender, Sheehan then squared a pass for teammate Taylor Smith, who finished off the sequence to put the visitors up three goals before the halftime interval.
Into the second half, OL Reign certainly would not go quietly as forward Bethany Balcer came closest with a point-blank effort saved by Smith in the end. Attacker Megan Rapinoe had raced onto a through pass down the left side when she placed perfect weight on another ball forward for Balcer to try and meet. Balcer did beat her defender to get to the ball, but she could not get her effort around Abby Smith, who continued to keep Gotham in a great position as the match wore on.
Then, two goals in the 73 ^rd and 77 ^th minutes from Gotham and the Reign cancelled each other out, with Bruninha scoring her first NWSL goal in the 73 ^rd minute before Huitema got on the end of a scuffed shot from teammate Elyse Bennett that allowed her to bundle a shot over the line for her team’s lone goal. First, Bruninha’s goal came after her high press in an attacking position allowed her to rob a Reign defender of the ball and close in on goal from just a couple of yards out. Bruninha then roofed her effort past Tullis-Joyce to all but ensure three points for her team. Huitema’s goal four minutes later is OL Reign’s lone consolation, as a corner kick to the back post saw forward Elyse Bennett get enough on a shot to send the ball back across the face of goal where Huitema was in a good place to meet it. Huitema then got just enough on her end to push the ball through a cluster of bodies and into the back of the net for her third goal of the season.
In the end, though, a dominant Gotham side was rewarded a deserved victory behind its four-goal performance as it got revenge on OL Reign’s 2-0 victory over Gotham back in early April. From here, Gotham will travel to face Washington next Sunday while OL Reign will remain at home to host Angel City on Saturday.

Match Highlights

Match Highlights