Jaedyn Shaw’s transition into Gotham FC was less a dipping of a toe and more a cannonball. In her first game, she scored. In Gotham’s first two playoff games, she scored twice and earned an assist.

Her tenure has been a mere two months, but Shaw’s been unleashed in the way many thought she would in North Carolina. After the biggest intraleague trade in NWSL history, Shaw finally found her place to flourish.

And she’s not alone.

In recent years, Gotham has found a way to get the best out of players whose talents weren’t utilized in the right way or who weren’t given a chance at other clubs. It’s been a place for growth and comebacks.

International players shine here in second acts like keeper Ann-Katrin Berger. Rookies rise through the ranks with the poise of veterans like Sarah Schupansky, Khyah Harper, and 2025 Rookie of the Year Lilly Reale. Players who go down with injuries come back to form and find their groove again, like Midge Purce and Rose Lavelle.

Players aren’t just finding shelter in their system, they’re shining. According to General Manager Yael Averbuch West, that’s by design.

“We put a lot of effort into our individualization. The players who come into our environment are not all integrated the same. They're not all told the same things. They're treated as individuals,” she said. “We do recruit players who we think will help our team win, but also who we think we can help be better. That's a big part of our ethos.”

Jaelin Howell started her NWSL career in 2022, where she made an immediate impression in Louisville, serving as a captain in just her second season. She started every game her rookie season and started all but two the following year, but Racing traded Howell to Seattle in the middle of the 2024 season, where she played just eight games for the Reign.

All the while, Gotham had their eyes set on her.

“She’s been on the top of our list for years, basically since she became a pro,” Averbuch West said. “She has such an important mindset in terms of the type of player who really succeeds at Gotham. She’s relentlessly trying to get better.”

In her first season with Gotham, Howell went from never having scored a regular season goal to scoring not one but four goals.

Howell said it’s a credit to the organization and her coach, Juan Carlos Amorós.

“Juan does a good job bringing people in and investing in people individually. What he's done for me and his belief in me, I'll continue to say that,” she said. “Specifically this year, everybody that's come in, it's been seamless because we have such a good culture.”

Just days before the NWSL Championship presented by Google Pixel, Howell received her first callup to the U.S. Women’s National Team since 2022.

“She’s been phenomenal for us this season, so consistent with what she does,” Averbuch West said. “A lot of it is the stuff you don’t notice, which I think is why it really means a lot to us on her behalf to get her back on the national team. It’s where she belongs.”

This Gotham team entered the playoffs as the No. 8 seed and defeated Kansas City at CPKC Stadium. Both teams were without offensive powerhouses, the league’s top two goal scorers: Esther González and Temwa Chawinga.

Where the Current struggled to find their footing without the 2025 MVP, Gotham leaned into a core trait.

“We pride ourselves on being very adaptable. There's never just one player who can be a solution. When you create a roster, there's a feeling to it,” Averbuch West said. “We have a pretty good idea which type of players, not just their skills as soccer players, but which type of people succeed at Gotham. When we have an opportunity to bring those people in, we go really hard.”

Building the roster, she said, means knowing when to bring someone in is just as important as who you bring in. A player of Jaedyn Shaw’s caliber could unsettle a locker room. One more great player means less playing time for others, but that’s not how this Gotham team sees it.

“We really work on our culture and creating that environment,” Howell said. “It's a really high standard environment, but at the same time, everybody cares and loves each other.”

That’s been on display every time Shaw has scored since joining the team. And it’s not just her teammates. Shaw, herself, is radiating.

“You can see her joy and her confidence. You can tell that she appreciates the freedom she's been given and really thrives with that,” Averbuch West said. “We want players to bring their best selves. We don't focus a lot on players' weaknesses. We want them to be the best version of themselves.”