Seattle Reign hits the road for the first of three straight away matches on Saturday, traveling across the country to face Gotham FC at Icahn Stadium in New York. Kickoff is at 9 a.m. PT, and the match airs nationally on ABC. It will also be available in Spanish on ESPN Deportes.
Fresh off a much-needed 2-0 win over Portland that snapped a five-match winless run and pulled the Reign to within three points of the playoff line, Seattle now has to back it up against Gotham FC, who just beat the Washington Spirit in front of an NYC-record crowd. That Gotham side now has Denise O'Sullivan and Sam Kerr in its ranks. The defending NWSL champs have also won four of their past five matches.
Because Sports Illustrated Stadium is being used as a training ground for the FIFA Men's World Cup final, Gotham had to move this match to Icahn Stadium, a 5,000-seat venue used by NYCFC II. The Reign came out a day earlier than usual and have two training sessions on the pitch.
"The surface is immaculate. It's great," said head coach Laura Harvey. "It's definitely got a bit of old-school vibes – smaller stadium, running track around it, feel like you're right in the heart of a city. The surface is great, which is the most important thing."
While Claudia Dickey and Jess Fishlock will both be available on Saturday, the Reign will be light on fullbacks. Madison Curry, Shae Holmes, and Sofia Huerta are all unavailable for the match. In addition to Ryanne Brown, Emily Mason and Phoebe McClernon can both play in this position — and Harvey has called on an attacker to drop deeper into this role at times.
Head-to-Head
The Reign and Gotham have already met once this season, on May 15 at Lumen Field, where Seattle fell 2-0 on goals from Jaedyn Shaw and Tierna Davidson.
- The two clubs have met 33 times all-time across all NWSL competitions. Seattle narrowly leads the series, 12-11-10.
- The Reign have not beaten Gotham since April 1, 2023, a 2-0 road win.
- Seattle has scored 44 goals and allowed 43 across the series.
2026 record
Seattle Reign FC: 5-6-2 (17 points, 10th place)
Gotham FC: 8-3-3 (27 points, 4th place)
Key stats
- Gotham ranks first in the NWSL this season in possession (57.3%) and clean sheets (9), and has allowed a league-low eight goals in 14 matches.
- Through 13 matches, Seattle is averaging 8.2 shots per game to Gotham's 10.1, and Gotham holds a 72-51 edge in shots on target across the season.
- Esther González and Jaedyn Shaw are tied for Gotham's team lead with four goals apiece.
- Gotham has an effective high press; they've won possession in their final third the most times.
- Gotham goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger made nine saves in Wednesday's win over Washington to record her eighth clean sheet of the season.
Who to watch
Rose Lavelle
The former Reign midfielder, who spent three seasons in Seattle before departing after the 2023 season, scored the only goal in Wednesday's win over Washington — a stretch of good recent form for the reigning NWSL Championship MVP. After a slower start, Lavelle is having another strong season. She has three goals, is the creative fulcrum for Gotham, averages three shots a game, and is a big reason for Gotham's effective high press. Lavelle has also been prone to injuries over the years. Does she get a rest after a tough midweek battle?
It had to be Rose Lavelle! 🌹 Rose Lavelle secures the first goal of a historic night for Gotham FC 🖤 #NWSLRivalries | Ally
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 6:05 PM · Jul 15, 2026
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Jaelin Howell
Another familiar face for Reign fans: Howell spent part of the 2024 season in Seattle before being dealt to Gotham in the trade that brought Cassie Miller and Lynn Biyendolo to the Reign. She's been a fixture in Gotham's midfield ever since and leads the club in tackles attempted, anchoring the deepest midfield role in Juan Carlos Amorós' setup. Howell is having a strong season and really sets the defensive tone in the midfield. She and Lavelle teamed up to win the ball back in a dangerous position against the Spirit (see clip above) and counter. The Reign will want to avoid getting into those situations in the midfield against Howell if she starts, and against the rest of Gotham's midfield.
Gotham's fullbacks
In part due to injuries, Gotham has increasingly turned to attacking-minded fullbacks — Guro Reiten and Midge Purce both started in Wednesday's match. Both are more comfortable pushing forward and combining in the final third, which has occasionally left space in behind on the flanks. That's the same kind of space the Reign did well to exploit against Portland last week, and it could be a route into the game for Seattle's wide players again on Saturday. Expect Gotham to rotate and potentially add Mandy Freeman and/or Jess Carter to the mix, who bring a more lockdown-defender mindset to that position.
What to watch
Weather conditions
Gotham might have had a historic night on Wednesday, when more than 42,000 fans packed into Citi Field to set a women's sports attendance record for New York, but they played the game in somewhat unsafe conditions — with the air quality at unhealthy levels due to smoke from fires in Canada. The league instituted four hydration breaks in response, disrupting the game's momentum.
The Reign have had more water breaks and oxygen at training, but haven't yet had to adjust any of their training habits.
Unfortunately, the smoke hasn't cleared yet. There is rain predicted for Saturday, but that might not come until after the planned kickoff. And then thunderstorms are in the forecast in the afternoon, which could cause additional delays.
In contact with the league/Gotham regarding tomorrow’s match. Air quality remains an issue on top of expected thunderstorms throughout the afternoon. Don’t expect a decision today, but something to monitor for tomorrow if you were going to head to Ichan for noon kickoff.
— Jenna Tonelli (@jennatonelli.bsky.social) 9:27 AM · Jul 17, 2026
Reacting to a stingy defense
Gotham has allowed a league-low 8 goals in 14 matches and boasts the most clean sheets. Seattle managed just two shots on target in the first meeting between these teams in May, but created some dangerous chances late and finished with 1.04 expected goals (xG).
Harvey captured the sentiment of that match well in the post-match press conference: “We played too much in front of them and not behind them. That’s the game they want. They want you to play short all the time. When we played through later on, the game opened up a bit.”
The Reign's attack looked sharper last week against Portland, with the Reign having a lot of success getting in behind on the wings and in transition.
"We were solid," Harvey told reporters about last week's match. "We were hard to break down. When we did get broken down, we worked really hard to make that a challenge for them. We have to continue doing that. We were a threat going forward. When we did go forward and got into the attacking third, we made it hard for them to transition on us. That's going to be huge tomorrow. We made it really difficult for them to get any rhythm, again, and we're going to have to do similar things tomorrow."
Doing it again against Berger and a well-organized Gotham backline will be a different challenge entirely. Still, if the Reign can find that space early — and keep the pressure on Gotham — they could have some good fortune. That worked well for San Diego in their 2-0 win over Gotham two weeks ago.
Different field conditions
The grass pitch at Icahn Stadium is about 10 yards narrower than Gotham's typical setup at Sports Illustrated Stadium. Gotham may have a little harder time playing as expansively and stretching the Reign's defense — which they tend to do quite well — and the Reign will need to ensure they pass crisply with a more compact Gotham defense lurking. The Reign did well at a smaller stadium against Boston Legacy; can they find the same success in New York?
Midweek match
Gotham are coming off a midweek match against the Spirit, which could mean two things: does Gotham take a step back and not press as aggressively as usual, and how much rotation will Juan Carlos Amorós deploy? My guess is that we might see Gotham start with a lot of pressure, but move into more of a mid-block if they don't find any goals early.
Kit matchup
Injury / Availability Report
Seattle Reign
OUT: Lynn Biyendolo (Maternity Leave), Madison Curry (Ankle), Shae Holmes (Knee), Sofia Huerta (Leg)
Gotham FC
OUT: Jordynn Dudley (Head), Kayla Duran (Knee - SEI), Taryn Torres (Knee - SEI) QUESTIONABLE: Esther González (Foot)
How to watch
Seattle Reign kicks off against Gotham FC at 9 a.m. PT on Saturday, July 18. The game will air nationally on ABC and ESPN Deportes.
