Esther González scored a pair of goals to lead Gotham FC to a 3-1 victory over the Utah Royals on Friday night.
In other National Women’s Soccer League games, the Orlando Pride downed the Kansas City Current 3-0; the Boston Legacy beat the Chicago Stars 2-0; and Bay FC topped Racing Louisville 2-0.
Cece Delzer gave Utah (7-3-4) the lead in the 23rd minute at home, but minutes later, Gotham FC forward Jordynn Dudley drew a foul in the box on Royals defender Nuria Rábano and González converted the penalty kick for a 1-1 tie.
Tierna Davidson finished off Guro Reiten’s corner kick in first-half stoppage time for a 2-1 lead.
González beat Kate Del Fava and rounded goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn to make it 3-1 for Gotham (7-3-3).
Marta scores for the Pride
Marta, Hannah Anderson, and Barbra Banda scored second half goals to lead Orlando (6-6-2) to the win at home in a game delayed nearly an hour due to inclement weather.
Marta’s long-range strike from well outside the box stunned goalkeeper Marisa Jordan for the 1-0 lead in the 49th minute. Anderson scored on a header after Ally Lemos’s corner kick in the 57th minute to make it 2-0.
Banda made her return from injury as a second half substitute in the 76th minute and nine minutes later, she capitalized on a failed clearance.
Anna Moorhouse recorded nine saves for her fifth clean sheet of the season.
Midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo made her return from maternity leave for the Current (8-6-0) in the 82nd minute.
Boston GK Casey Murphy shuts down Stars
Amanda Gutierres scored for the second consecutive game and Nichelle Prince added a goal to lead the Legacy Legacy (3-7-4).
Boston’s Aïssata Traoré was taken down in the box by Aaliyah Farmer and Gutierres converted the penalty kick in the 22nd minute.
Prince took advantage of miscommunication from a Chicago back pass in the 58th minute to double the lead.
Goalkeeper Casey Murphy made four saves for her first shutout of the season. The game was played at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
The Stars fell to 4-10-0.
Bay FC snaps six-match winless streak
Kennedy Fuller and Karlie Lema scored to lead Bay FC (4-6-3) to victory over Racing Louisville and snapped a six-game winless streak.
Fuller finished the rebound in the 21st minute and Lema forced a turnover by Louisville goalkeeper Jordyn Bloomer in the 58th minute to make it 2-0.
Jordan Silkowitz made one save to tally her third clean sheet of the season.
Louisville (2-10-1) has now dropped five consecutive matches.
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