Gotham FC Erases White's Lightning-Fast Goal, Stretches Unbeaten Run to Eight

Twenty-two seconds. That's all Amelia White needed to put Gotham FC in a bind and tie a league record in the process. But what starts fast doesn't always finish the way you'd expect, and this time Gotham still walked away with all three points.

White's lightning-quick goal, assisted by Croix Bethune for her ninth of the season and the best mark in the NWSL, also snapped a Gotham defensive streak of 307 minutes without conceding across three matches. It looked like it might be a rough night for the home side. It wasn't.

Midge Purce leveled things in the 13th minute and Sam Kerr completed the turnaround in the 41st to seal a final score of 2-1 at Sports Illustrated Stadium. With the comeback win, Gotham (13-3-4) stretched its unbeaten run to eight matches. There was also a controversial moment: Kansas City Current defender Elizabeth Ball was shown a red card for a foul on Jordynn Dudley in the 27th minute, but the decision was downgraded to a yellow after a VAR review. Kansas City (9-8-3) also saw the return of Vanessa DiBernardo, who made her first start since coming back from maternity leave.

San Diego and Denver Split the Points

At Snapdragon Stadium, Melanie Barcenas opened the scoring for San Diego Wave with a right-footed strike from distance in the 35th minute. Denver Summit didn't back down and found the equalizer in the 58th minute on a header from Yazmeen Ryan, off a cross from captain Janine Sonis. The 1-1 draw left Wave at 10-7-3 and Summit at 6-7-6. Summit defender Eva Gaetino had to be substituted with an injury as early as the 16th minute.

A Piece of Japanese History in Utah

What happened with Utah Royals was unprecedented for the league: Miyabi Moriya, Narumi Miura and Mina Tanaka all scored in the same match, something no trio of Japanese players had ever done before in the NWSL. Bay FC had gone ahead with a goal from Karlie Lema in the 6th minute, but Moriya answered just a minute later. Miura made it 2-1 in the 22nd minute with a shot from outside the box, Bay equalized through a header from defender Heather Gilchrist, her first career goal, and Tanaka settled things from the penalty spot in the 79th minute for the final 3-2. Utah moved to 11-6-3, while Bay FC (5-10-4) saw the debut of its recent signing, defender Jenna Nighswonger, who came on off the bench in the 62nd minute.

Still Winless for Chicago

In Seattle, Maddie Mercado buried a rebound in the 53rd minute to give Reign (8-7-3) a 1-0 win over Chicago Stars. Goalkeeper Claudia Dickey made two saves and recorded her fifth clean sheet of the season. For Chicago (4-14-1), the night marked the debut of Karina Báez as interim head coach, following the departure of the coaching staff led by Marin Sjögren and assistant Anders Jacobson. The club is now winless in six straight matches.