The Good Sport Guide to Women's Sports in NYC: May 18th - 24th
Lots of Ws for our teams. Gotham FC might move to Queens. And more. Here's your weekly digest of all things women's sports in NYC.
Hello, dear readers. I am writing from Portland, OR — my second favorite city for women’s sports. Last night I went to an inaugural soccer match for a semi-pro Portland soccer team - the Cherry Bombs. They had multiple mascots walking around and were selling cherry pie. Here’s me with a sausage.
Last week, we dropped our second podcast episode: My girlfriend Sabine and I talked through all eight professional women’s sports teams in NYC. Give it a listen if you want a primer on the scene.
5 things to know from last week
Our pro women’s lacrosse team—the NY Charging—won their first match. The Women’s Lacrosse League kicked off its first season this past weekend (!!!), and our NY Charging won their first match against the Boston Guard. I just learned about the Charging prepping for our podcast episode last week, and suddenly I’m locked into lax. Goalie Madison Doucette reflected on what this season means for women’s pro lax after the game.
Exiles got their first dub of the season. Our rugby squad beat the Chicago Tempest 40-16. I am very excited to have a member of the Exiles on the pod soon so I can truly understand what a scrum is. Peep the team’s gameday fits here.
Gotham defender Tierna Davidson gets her first goal of the season. If you don’t know Davidson, she’s our star center back, and she tore her ACL last season. She got her first goal back since the injury this weekend in our 2-0 win over the Seattle Reign. And she did it with a fresh, gay haircut <3 I love it when defenders score.
Kevin Ng / Getty Images Gotham FC is eyeing a move from Jersey to Queens. Currently, Gotham plays at the Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, NJ, and the team struggles with middle-tier attendance despite top-tier gameplay. Moving the team to Major League Soccer team NYCFC’s future $780 million, 25,000-seat stadium at Willets Point in Queens could help, but NJ fans are understandably upset at being left behind. And still, that move won’t solve the issue of Gotham being a secondary tenant in a men’s sporting arena that puts MLS schedules first. More here, but it sounds like we aren’t close to a deal either way.
The French Connection 🇫🇷 The chemistry between Liberty’s Marine Johannes and rookie Pauline Astier has been flowing this season. With our star guard Sabrina Ionescu out, they’ve been getting ample playing time and making it count.
What to watch this week
Wednesday 5/20
⚽ Gotham FC is playing against Club América in the Concacaf W Champions Cup semifinal at 7:30 pm ET. Watch it on Paramount+, CBS Golazo, Fubo, or Prime Video.
Thursday 5/21
🏀 The Liberty play the Golden State Valkyries at home at 8:00 pm ET. Watch it on Prime Video.
Sunday 5/24
🏀 The Liberty play the Dallas Wings at home at 3:30 pm ET. Watch it on NBC or Peacock.
⚽ If Gotham FC wins on Wednesday, they’ll play in the Concacaf W Champions Cup final. Time TBD, but you can watch on Paramount+ or CBS Golazo.
The Scene Report
Here’s some fun stuff going on in the NYC W sports scene.
Snatch Magazine, a queer sports, arts, and culture magazine created by Brooklyn-based artist Sophia Mitropoulos, was featured in The Athletic! It is so cool to see this project getting this level of recognition. I highly recommend checking Snatch out. I was lucky enough to write a piece for Issue 2 this past winter.
Williamburg women’s sports bar Blazer’s put out a call to the community to collab on pride events! They’re looking for queer DJs, drag performers, artists, etc. Check it out here.
Footy with Friends put on a one-year anniversary party <3 Looks like a blast was had. If you’re looking to play soccer with some fellow queers, check them out.
And that’s a wrap
Thanks as always for reading. Pod episode coming later this week :) Love you bye.