Gotham and Reign Stalemate as Playoff Race Tightens

In a match heavy with postseason implications but light on finishing touches, NJ/NY Gotham FC and Seattle Reign FC played to a tense, scoreless draw Sunday afternoon at Red Bull Arena—a result that both preserved Gotham’s slender hold on third place and left the playoff picture as clouded as ever.

With just one match remaining in the regular season, the stakes coming in were unmistakable. Gotham, riding the momentum of an unbeaten run yet seeking sharper attacking form, sat a single point above Reign, who themselves had found late-season rhythm after a stretch of uneven results. The result, while hardly the stuff of highlight reels, leaves both teams very much in control of their postseason destinies, if still searching for assurance.

Defensive Discipline Defines the Afternoon

From the opening whistle, both sides set about their work with the urgency appropriate to October soccer, but it was defensive discipline—rather than attacking flair—that defined the contest.

Gotham, playing their second match in four days after a grueling 0-0 draw with Washington Spirit in midweek Champions Cup action, looked the more enterprising early. Margaret Purce, fresh from her goal-scoring exploits against Portland, probed the flanks, while Rose Lavelle orchestrated from the pivot, threading balls between the Reign lines. Yet for all the movement, Seattle’s back line, marshaled by the ever-reliable Lauren Barnes, bent but did not break.

The game’s most promising sequence arrived in the 33rd minute when Esther González latched onto a through ball just inside the box, only for Reign goalkeeper Claudia Dickey to race off her line and smother the effort. Just before halftime, Jessica Fishlock—a force in Seattle’s midfield all season—took aim from distance, forcing Ann-Katrin Berger into a sprawling save as the Gotham supporters held their breath.

Both coaches turned to their benches after the break in search of a spark. Gotham’s Katie Stengel, scorer of a signature goal a week earlier, nearly delivered in the 68th minute, but her sharp, angled drive thudded off the post. Moments later, Jaedyn Shaw’s darting run resulted in another dangerous cross, yet the finish again eluded Gotham’s attack.

Seattle, patient and compact, looked to break on the counter. Maddie Dahlien, whose goal had sealed victory over North Carolina last weekend, curled in a teasing ball in the 79th minute, but Berger intervened at full stretch. Frustration crept in as time wore on; yellow cards were issued for tactical fouls, but neither side saw red. When the final whistle sounded, players on both teams dropped to their haunches—not with the disappointment of defeat, but with the fatigue of a battle well-fought and the knowledge that every point now matters.

A Draw That Preserves, But Does Not Settle

Context mattered as much as the 90 minutes. Gotham entered the day unbeaten in their previous four contests, including a resounding 3-0 win over Portland and a 4-1 result in Vancouver that kept them in the top three of the table. Yet their recent run has been defined as much by defensive resilience as by attacking fluidity—two consecutive nil-nil draws now highlighting both their ability to grind out results and the need to rediscover their scoring touch heading into the postseason.

Seattle, meanwhile, had alternated wins and losses in the season’s home stretch but entered Red Bull Arena buoyed by a late winner against North Carolina and Jessica Fishlock’s dramatic 90th-minute strike against Louisville. Still, a tendency to struggle on the road—most recently in Kansas City—remained an underlying concern.

Today’s result means Gotham will carry a razor-thin one-point advantage into the final weekend, holding third with 35 points from 23 matches (9 wins, 8 draws, 6 losses). Seattle sits close behind in fifth at 34 points (9 wins, 7 draws, 7 losses). In practical terms, both teams must navigate the season’s last hurdle with the knowledge that a slip could shuffle the standings and alter playoff seedings dramatically.

Head-to-Head and What Comes Next

The two clubs’ head-to-head story in 2025 has provided little separation—today’s draw mirrors the cagey, low-scoring tilts that have characterized their recent meetings. If they are to meet again come postseason, both teams will hope to find sharper edges to tilt the balance.

For Gotham, the question is whether their attack, so dynamic at times this season, can conjure decisive moments when it matters most. Esther González and Rose Lavelle remain central to that ambition, but sharper execution in the final third will be required if their campaign is to extend deep into November.

Seattle, for their part, will lean on the midfield mastery of Fishlock and the late-game poise of Dahlien, but consistency away from home may be the difference in a league where margins grow ever thinner.

As the regular season careens toward its conclusion, the table is as tight as the matches themselves. Sunday’s draw, frustrating though it may feel for those craving fireworks, may be remembered not for the points dropped, but for the ones preserved—leaving all to play for on the season’s final day.