By the time Gotham FC had won their second NWSL Championship in three seasons, Yael Averbuch West had already determined what was going to change.
Some of that is the nature of her job; the general manager of a perennial contender can't rest on laurels. Before every postseason, Gotham finalize tough looming personnel decisions, assessing the roster and staff alike with clear eyes.
"I think psychologically, this is just really important," Averbuch West told the Guardian. "Really, we knew what we needed to do. For us, it's this continuous evolution of how we always look to improve. There's nothing that's ever safe from review."
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For all of their recent postseason success, with championships won as the lowest seed in 2023 and 2025, Gotham had never finished higher than third in any of their 17 seasons in NWSL or WPS. That trend was finally bucked in 2026, capped with last weekend's capture of the NWSL Shield. But Averbuch West, alongside head coach Juan Carlos Amorós, wanted more consistency.
"I think it was massive, especially coming from Europe and understanding how important it is to win a league title," Amorós told the Guardian. "Obviously, here it's called the 'regular season', but it was the target that we had at the beginning of the year with the players, to show that consistency that we knew we had in the big moments. We already have the other titles, but this one feels special."
The bar, as described by Averbuch West, is to finish each season in the top four. On paper, the 2026 squad looked more than capable of doing so. Gotham entered the year with the United States' two top playmaking midfielders, Rose Lavelle and Jaedyn Shaw. They had vital veterans like Margaret 'Midge' Purce, Jaelin Howell, Tierna Davidson, and Emily Sonnett. Ann-Katrin Berger remains one of the world's best goalkeepers, with Esther González among the game's top strikers. They added veteran midfielder Savannah McCaskill to that mix.
They supplemented those pillars with youth – an easier ask after the NWSL did away with its college draft after the 2024 offseason. Gotham signed three top prospects with US youth international experience. One, Jordynn Dudley, was an instant smash and a contender for rookie of the year before her season-ending foot fracture in October. Another, Teagan Wy, is a projected goalkeeper of the future for the USWNT and is getting invaluable experience as Berger's understudy. The third, Andrea Kitahata, shone bright at Stanford.
"It's almost impossible to have the perfect amount of talent," Averbuch West said. "You either have a little bit too much competition, or a little too little, and then if you have a couple injuries or things happen, you end up thin. I don't even like to say 'depth' – we have an unbelievably talented roster, like 20-something players deep. I think that every single one of our players can start in the NWSL and be successful. We just have to pick."
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Then again, past rosters didn't lack for talent. The trick for Amorós and his players was to play in a sustainable way; to enjoy greater control over matches. By the end of May, as the NWSL took its midseason break, Gotham led the league with a 58% average share of possession, yet was fifth in the standings, and ranked a pedestrian eighth in expected goals generated per game. Opponents were content to let them pass around in the defensive and middle thirds while concentrating their schemes on limiting service to González.
And so, the project evolved: Gotham won a global competition for Sam Kerr's services, bringing the club's record goalscorer back as a free agent after her time at Chelsea. How long could they keep four Best XI caliber attacking players getting their expected looks? That was a two-fronted task the club embraced.
"I'm going to try to hand [Amorós] as many problems as I can in terms of the roster we create, and the decisions he has to make [is] how it all fits together," Averbuch West said. "But we know that these are human beings with lives and families, and things change and adapt, so I'm always expecting that."
And change they did. Kerr's arrival came after Lilly Reale, the 2025 NWSL rookie of the year and US Soccer's young women's player of the year, was traded to Boston for allocation and transfer funds. Amorós stepped away on paternity leave on 20 July. Eleven days later, Sonnett – an invaluable leader and stalwart defender – landed on the season-ending injury list after rupturing her left patellar tendon.
As if that wasn't enough, González provided an unexpected wrinkle. The World Cup winner was a two-time Best XI honoree, as dependable a goalscorer as any, and had previously extended her contract through 2027. On 27 July, the club abruptly announced that they'd agreed to a mutual termination of her contract. Averbuch West issued a statement wishing "Esther and her family all the best as they return home to Spain."
Less than a month later, they woke up to news that González had found her next club: not in Spain, but in Saudi Arabia. The player's seeming about-face was difficult to understand . But if there are hard feelings today, the club's leaders aren't showing it.
"I think Esther is definitely one of the legends of this football club," Amorós said. "We always say here 'we are all humans before we are professionals', and the situation of her life was going into a moment of change. We have to respect her and we have to appreciate the time that we spent together, thank her for everything she did for this football club, and wish her all the best. And we hope that life away from football is also going well for her."
Why build and retain considerable squad depth if it can't be leaned on when needed most?
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"It's not easy at all to adapt to losing a player of Esther's level," Averbuch West said. "I mean, arguably one of the best in her role in the world … There's no preparation you can do to fill a void of that quality. At the same time, we can never just rely on one player to be successful in a season or the next game. We can't rely on two or even three. We really need to have the full squad."
Since losing González, the Bats surged to the top of the standings by early August. Goals still don't come in the bulk that Gotham would hope, with their 39 goals being the second-lowest of any playoff qualifier.
"I think what we were able to do is keep building into those principles of controlling games," Amorós said. "I think we were able to be more consistent on that side of the ball with the possessions. I think our defending game has been excellent, despite being very aggressive in terms of where we defend on the pitch and those principles. The more they are established, the more they become of our foundation. The evolution is definitely there, and hopefully next year is even better."
So what would a third title in four years mean? To most, it cements Gotham's status as a dynasty, a rare feat in a salary capped league. But that's a question Amorós won't even entertain for a couple more weeks. Not after the team's previous title defense – in 2024 – fell just short in the semi-final.
"I just want to make sure that we give ourselves the best chance to get to the final," Amorós said. "For that, we need to get to the semi-final, and to get there, we need to beat Seattle. So I think that's the main thing. Who knows, if that happens, then I will be more than happy to answer the question of how I feel [about winning a third Championship].
"We know that when it comes to these games, it doesn't matter if you're number eight or you're number one. We proved that last year."
