By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK, July 15 (Reuters) - Gotham FC welcomed back striker Sam Kerr and secured a 1-0 win over Washington Spirit in front of a record crowd for a women's sporting event in New York City on Wednesday, as the women's game kept the ball rolling in America's summer of soccer.
The league said more than 42,000 tickets were sold for the match at the home of Major League Baseball's New York Mets, with fans turning up to Citi Field despite a thick layer of smoke that hung in the air from Ontario
wildfires.
That mark surpassed the more than 28,000 fans who watched U.S. tennis player Coco Gauff’s victory in the 2023 U.S. Open women’s singles final.
The huge turnout was an encouraging sign for Gotham and comes days after they announced they would relocate from their suburban New Jersey stadium to Etihad Park in Queens - across the street from Citi Field - beginning in 2028, a move that is expected to make the team accessible to more fans.
"We know that with investment, if you build it, they will come. And this is a proof point for that," NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman told reporters.
"My favourite thing about tonight is that it isn't transactional. It's not a one and done. This is the beginning of a new relationship for this team in Queens.
"And we know that there's an entire fan base here that is going to be really hungry to enjoy the best soccer in the world."
The enthusiasm for soccer in the U.S. has contributed to the record numbers attending the expanded men's World Cup, as excitement builds ahead of Sunday's final between Argentina and Spain in nearby East Rutherford, New Jersey.
FULL CIRCLE
Australian Kerr's highly anticipated return to the North American league from Chelsea is expected to bolster an already formidable attack for two-time champions Gotham.
The only goal of the game came from Rose Lavelle, a women's World Cup winner with the U.S. in 2019, after she slipped the ball through defender Tara Rudd's legs before launching it over the outstretched arms of Washington goalkeeper Sandy MacIver in the 37th minute.
The crowd turned up the volume a notch when Kerr came off the bench in the 64th minute, as the Australian striker took the pitch after her return from a decorated spell in England's WSL.
Longtime fans had a sense of deja vu seeing Kerr back in Gotham blue as she played for the team from 2015 to 2017, back when they called the 5,000-capacity Yurcak Field home.
"In many ways this is like a full circle moment with Sam Kerr coming here and being able to experience this on her first night," said Berman.
"Playing for the new Gotham, (in) what is so different from the reality that was the NWSL."
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
