Kansas City Current’s Haley Hopkins scores the winning goal in the 89th minute against Gotham FC during Sunday’s NWSL semi-final at Icahn Stadium in New York.
Hopkins’ 89th-minute volley seals dramatic 2-1 upset Bethune scores stunning free kick against top seeds Current to face Washington Spirit for first NWSL title After a week dominated by a headline-grabbing stadium scheduling imbroglio, Gotham FC and the Kansas City Current finally got down to the vital business of their NWSL semi-final on Sunday afternoon, a frigid encounter at an unlikely venue on New York City’s Randall’s Island with a place in next Saturday’s championship match at stake.
Haley Hopkins delivered the knockout blow at the death, hitting an 89th-minute volley off the crossbar and in to seal a 2-1 upset that left Gotham FC’s title defense in tatters.
Paired with Croix Bethune’s first-half free-kick stunner, the late winner sent fourth-seeded Kansas City past the defending champions into a championship showdown in six days against the Washington Spirit.
On a windswept afternoon where unyielding gusts undercut the warmth of a cloudless 50F sky, a physical opening stretch produced six fouls in the first eight minutes before either side threatened.
Gotham recorded the first shot after 12 minutes when Jaedyn Shaw ran onto a Guro Reiten pass and missed wide right.
Kansas City answered three minutes later, with Malawian star Temwa Chawinga firing wide left from the center of the area.
Twenty minutes in, Bethune won a free kick 25 yards out after a foul by Denise O’Sullivan.
Stepping up with her left foot, she coolly curled her strike around the Gotham wall and inches inside the post.
The goal from Bethune, the NWSL’s midfielder of the year two seasons ago with Washington, left the crowd in stunned silence before a smattering of boos echoed around the ground.
The popular Rose Lavelle came on after half-time for O’Sullivan to deafening swells and made an immediate impact, winning a couple of free kicks and nearly finding the equalizer with a left-footed shot from the center of the area that missed wide left.
But opportunities came fewer and further between over the next quarter-hour as Kansas City tightened their defensive shell.
With their repeat bid hanging in the balance, Gotham found an equalizer against the run of play in the 69th minute when Midge Purce whipped in a cross that ricocheted between goalkeeper Lorena and defender Gabrielle Robinson before caroming off Laney Rouse into her own net – leveling the match at one apiece despite the hosts still not having registered a single shot on target.
It was hardly a match for the artistry of Bethune’s silky opener, but the delirious home crowd was in no mood to quibble.
The contest appeared bound for extra time past sundown with temperatures plunging.
But Gotham, having squeaked through last week’s quarter-final on another own goal, were suddenly within reach of a second straight NWSL final without having scored a goal of their own in either playoff match.
Hopkins had other ideas, delivering the dramatic decider in the 89th minute before adding insult to injury by blowing kisses to the crowd from the touchline, provoking a cacophony of boos.
With its solitary grandstand, roofline lettering and towering floodlights, 5,000-seat Icahn Stadium gave the appearance of an 1890s English football ground dropped beneath the Triborough Bridge – an improbable stage for one of the biggest matches of the NWSL season.
Gotham had been forced to abandon their usual home at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, amid concerns over the deteriorating playing surface.
The relocation capped a chaotic week for the league, which found itself juggling stadium availability, network television commitments and player safety at the most consequential stage of its season.
Gotham’s regular ground, owned by MLS’s New York Red Bulls, had been booked for a friendly against Mexico’s Club América on Saturday, further complicating an already untenable situation.
Ultimately, the club prioritized a playable pitch over capacity.
At one-fifth the size of their usual home, the municipal track venue where Usain Bolt made a creaky run-up to the Rio Olympics created an awkward compromise: world-class stars competing on a stage resembling a relic of football’s distant past.
Sunday’s meeting also carried the unmistakable flavor of revenge.
A year ago, Gotham entered the playoffs as the eighth seed and stunned top-seeded Kansas City in the quarter-finals, winning on a dramatic extra-time goal from Katie Lampson before going on to claim their second NWSL championship in three seasons.
This time the roles were reversed, with Gotham the top seeds and Kansas City arriving as dangerous floaters.
The fourth-seeded Current had run off six consecutive wins entering Sunday, including a 1-0 extra-time victory over Angel City in the quarter-finals, settled by Michelle Cooper’s 96th-minute penalty.
But one year after watching Gotham end their season in heartbreaking fashion, Kansas City returned the favor.
Next stop: Washington, and a chance to claim the first NWSL championship in club history.
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