Gotham FC knocks off Racing Louisville to win Women's Cup Colombia

NJ/NY Gotham FC, Featured, Professional, Soccer

March 2, 2024

Gotham FC overcome Racing Louisville to win the 2024 Women's Cup Colombia. After going down 1-0 within the first ten minutes, the Bats were able to battle back to win the preseason tournament.

The first half of the match saw Racing Louisville take the lead in the 8th minute after a slow start from Gotham. The goal came from a costly mistake by goalkeeper Cassie Miller as she tried to pass out from the back straight to Louisville's Turner. It seemed that Gotham was still trying to remove the offseason rust the slow start would cost them.

Possession was split 51-49 in the first half. Racing Louisville did have the better shot attempts going into halftime. Gotham's backline, however, was doing its job well, as many of the attempts were flagged for offside. The Bats could test the Louisville keeper, getting some corner kicks off her saves, but nothing would come of them. Gotham still trailed at the half 1-0.

The second half started with a bang for Gotham. Just 14 seconds into the half, Esther Gonzalez scored her first goal of the night. The Louisville keeper pushed her shot to the inside of the crossbar and bounced right over the line, showing the power with which the ball was struck. The ball did come back out after crossing the line, but it had crossed the line, so the goal stood. From then on, Gotham would see the majority of the attempts on goal.

The Bats gave the Louisville backline plenty to deal with and finally broke them down again in the 63rd minute. Katie Stengel found Esther at the top of the 18 from the left side of the 18. For her second goal, Esther knocked the ball from one post to the other, hitting the left post and crossing the line. Gotham saw some good looks for the rest of the half. They could hold possession of the ball and snuff out any Louisville attack. The next goal would come in the 75th minute, an own goal off a Kelley O'Hara cross. This would be enough to seal a Gotham victory.

Off her two goals, Esther was named Player of the Match. This marks the first silverware for the Bats, even if it is a preseason tournament. The following trophy up for grabs, the Challenge Cup, will be in Gotham FC's next match against the San Diego Wave on March 15 at 8 p.m. at Red Bull Arena.