Gotham FC and the Washington Spirit garner fans from near and far in scoreless draw at Subaru Park
The rivals squared off again in Chester, and plenty of local attendees were out to catch the rare women’s soccer match in the region. Some even shared their support to bring an NWSL team to the area.
For Wednesday night’s Concacaf W Champions Cup match between Gotham FC and the Washington Spirit, the New Jersey border unofficially stretched across the Delaware River to encompass Subaru Park.
Gotham usually plays its home matches at Sports Illustrated Stadium in North Jersey (Union fans would be familiar with their other tenants, the New York Red Bulls). But, Wednesday night, Gotham hosted an all–NWSL Champions Cup group stage match in Chester.
In front of a sparse mid-week crowd of 1,257 spectators, Gotham and the Spirit played to a scoreless draw. Gotham secured a top-two finish in their group and a spot in the Cup semifinals with the draw, earning ten points from four group stage matches. Washington, which has seven points in the group stage, has one match remaining to secure its place in the semifinals.
Local in the lineup
The Spirit’s Brittany Ratcliffe was the only local for either team Wednesday night. The 31-year-old forward is a South Jersey native, raised in Gloucester County. Ratcliffe signed with the Spirit before the 2024 season, her fifth team in nine seasons in the NWSL.
Ratcliffe started for the seventh time this season in her homecoming match, logging three shots in a full 90 minutes of play. Ratcliffe said it was special to take the field at Subaru Park, where she was a spectator at the stadium’s first Union game in 2010.
“I remember driving over it when I would go to club practice and seeing them build it, then coming to the inaugural game,” Ratcliffe said. “And now, having played professional soccer for ten-plus years, I get to play in this stadium. You can’t write anything better than that.”
Adrián González, who took over as manager for the Spirit in July, was complimentary of Ratcliffe’s energy and leadership in his post-match remarks.
“She’s so humble,” González said. “Always working for the team, working hard. I’m very happy that today she could get 90 minutes at home.”
Home away from home
Even though the Spirit had more Philly ties than Gotham on the pitch, Wednesday night’s match was a Gotham home game. The club made an effort to make it feel that way.
Ticket sales reps for the club hawked packages for next season under Gotham FC-branded tents. There was a large, inflatable version of the club’s NY/NJ logo outside the stadium for fans to take photos with and face painters for younger fans. Inside the concourse, there were merchandise stands, selling black and sky blue Gotham gear.
It’s not the first time Gotham has come to play in Chester. It clashed with the Spirit at Subaru Park for South Jersey-native Carli Lloyd’s retirement match in 2021 and again hosted the Spirit in Chester last summer.
“We feel at home here in Philly,” said Gotham coach Juan Carlos Amorós. “A lot of our fans come from this area anyways, so sometimes to save them some driving is good.”
Since there is no NWSL team in the area, women’s soccer fans in the region gravitate toward other East coast teams. Considering the club’s recent run of success and representation of New Jersey, Gotham is a popular pick for fans in the Philadelphia area. The pairing has been beneficial for Gotham. The club has a win and two draws in its last three matches at Subaru Park.
“Last year we won,” Amorós said. “This year, we qualify for the semifinal. I think it’s been fantastic and I’m hopeful we can keep building this [relationship] with the city of Philadelphia.”
Why not Philly?
Though Wednesday night’s match had a large traveling crowd, there were plenty of local attendees out to catch a rare women’s soccer match in the region. The city made its official return to women’s professional sports with the WNBA’s June announcement of a Philadelphia expansion team coming in 2030.
While there has been no word of an expansion bid to bring an NWSL team to the region, there were plenty of supporters of the idea among the crowd at Subaru Park.
“Whenever the national team is in town, I feel like the stadium’s always packed,” Stephanie Beirne, a spectator and resident of South Philly, said Wednesday night. “It’s hard with a game like this because it’s two out-of-town teams. People aren’t, maybe, as excited for it. But, I think if it was our team, a lot of people would come for it.”
The announced attendance figure of 1,257 spectators supported the sparse visuals in Subaru Park, which has a capacity of 18,500. The Union have averaged 16,679 in their home MLS matches this season, but had four-digit attendance for U.S. Open Cup matches against USL sides Indy Eleven (8,633) and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds (2,246).
While the crowd was small compared to Union matches, it was a vocal crowd, even without a goal to cheer on. The loudest roar came when Gotham’s Rose Lavelle came on to the pitch as a substitute in the 79th minute. Lavelle is a star midfielder for the U.S. Women’s National Team, which will visit Subaru Park for a friendly against Portugal on Oct. 23.
In addition to Gotham fans, Spirit fans, and fans of women’s sports, the match also drew lots of youth soccer players from around the area. Jerseys from local club teams were easy to spot on kids throughout the concourses.
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Andy Stevens, a spectator from South Jersey, said the amount of youth soccer being played in the area should be indicative of how a Philly NWSL team would be supported.
“Women’s soccer programs of all ages thrive in this area,” Stevens said. “I think there would be a fanbase for it.”
For now, women’s soccer fans will have to wait until the USWNT returns to Subaru Park to face Portugal in an international friendly on Oct. 23 to see some more women’s soccer action. It will be the national team’s first time in the Philadelphia area since 2022.