Esther González Scores Twice As Gotham Thrashes Angel City 4-0

Esther González scored a goal in each half and Gotham FC breezed past Angel City 4-0 in the National Women’s Soccer League on Friday night.

Elsewhere in the NWSL, the Seattle Reign beat the Portland Thorns 1-0 and the Utah Royals defeated the Chicago Stars 1-0.

González opened the scoring at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles with a shot from inside the box that ricocheted off the post in the 18th minute. She got her second of the night by using her head to flick in a corner kick by Sarah Schupansky in the 75th minute.

Gotham (2-2-1) had gone 2-0 on an own goal from Miyabi Moriya after a freak deflection looped the ball over Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson in the 67th minute. Geyse scored her first NWSL goal in the 85th minute to make it 4-0.

Angel City dropped to 2-2-1.

Esther González scores twice as Gotham thrashes Angel City 4-0 | iNFOnews.ca — Seattle Reign midfielder Sam Meza, left, and Portland Thorns FC midfielder Sam Coffey vie for ball during an NWSL soccer game in Seattle, Friday, April 18, 2025. (Kevin Clark/The Seattle Times via AP)

Dahlien scores in Cascadia derby victory

Maddie Dahlien scored her first professional goal to give the Reign (2-1-2) the Cascadia rivalry win over the Thorns.

It was Seattle’s first regular-season win over its regional rivals since 2021, a winless streak of seven league matches. Reign coach Laura Harvey celebrated on the sidelines after the final whistle at Lumen Field in Seattle.

The rookie Dahlien was played through on the left wing by Lynn Biyendolo, then cut inside and squeezed a low right-foot shot past Bella Bixby in the fourth minute. It was the 31st regular season assist of Biyendolo’s career, which is tied for the most in NWSL history.

Forward Reilyn Turner almost scored an equalizer for the Thorns (1-2-2) when she struck the crossbar from a corner kick in the 90th minute.

Last-minute Sentnor goal seals win for Royals

Ally Sentnor converted a penalty kick in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time to give the Royals the win at America First Field in Sandy, Utah.

The referee initially waved play on after Cari Rocarro cleared out Dana Foederer in the Stars’ box in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time. However, after a VAR review a foul was awarded and Sentnor tucked the ball beyond goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher’s reach and into the left corner of the goal.

Chicago (1-0-4) notched its only shot on target when Leilanni Nesbeth hit a tame effort from outside of the box in the 89th minute.

The win is the Royals (1-1-3) first of the 2025 NWSL season.