Shield winners defeat Seattle Reign 1-0
Seattle own goal by Jordyn Bugg is the decider
Spirit and Thorns face off in other quarter-final
Ann-Katrin Berger made three saves and top-seeded Gotham FC protected a one-goal lead for most of the game, defeating the eighth-seeded Seattle Reign 1-0 in the NWSL quarter-finals on Sunday in Harrison, New Jersey.
Gotham got on the board in the fourth minute on an own goal credited to Seattle’s Jordyn Bugg. Jaedyn Shaw sent a corner kick toward the near post and Bugg misplayed it, sending it straight past her goalkeeper, Claudia Dickey.
The Shield winners took five shots during the game, but none of them were on target. They had 54% of possession but just 0.16 expected goals (xG) and zero big chances created.
Berger made one save in the first half and two more after half-time. One of the best goalkeepers in the sport, Berger led the league with a 0.85 goals-against average this season.
Seattle appeared to equalize in the 59th minute when veteran Reign midfielder Jess Fishlock found Nérilia Mondésir in the box. Mondésir finished past Berger, but the goal was ruled out because Fishlock was offside when Maddie Mercado played the ball to her.
Shaw received a yellow card in the 76th minute for grabbing Reign midfielder Sam Meza to stop a Seattle counterattack. In the 90th minute, Gotham defender Leila Ouahabi took a yellow card for a tactical foul that denied Brittany Ratcliffe a clear chance to equalize.
Gotham, who edged the San Diego Wave by three points for the NWSL Shield and home-field advantage in the first two rounds of the playoffs, will face the fourth-seeded Kansas City Current in the semi-finals next weekend.
Kansas City defeated Angel City in their quarter-final matchup on Saturday. The Utah Royals stunned the top-seeded San Diego Wave on Friday and will face the winner of Sunday’s second quarter-final between the Washington Spirit and the Portland Thorns.
