HARRISON, N.J. (AP) — Reign defender Jordyn Bugg’s fourth-minute own goal gave Gotham FC a 1-0 victory over Seattle in the quarterfinals of the National Women’s Soccer League playoffs on Sunday.
Gotham, which won the NWSL Shield for the league’s best regular-season record and entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed, will face fourth-seeded Kansas City in the semifinals next weekend.
Eighth-seeded Seattle fell behind when Bugg sliced her attempted clearance of Jaedyn Shaw’s corner kick past Reign goalkeeper Claudia Dickey and into her own net. Dickey finished the match without a save. At the other end, Gotham goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger made three saves to preserve the shutout.
Seattle appeared to equalize in the 59th minute when veteran Reign midfielder Jess Fishlock found Nérilia Mondésir in the box. Mondésir finished past Berger, but the goal was ruled out because Fishlock was offside when Maddie Mercado played the ball to her.
Shaw received a yellow card in the 76th minute for grabbing Reign midfielder Sam Meza to stop a Seattle counterattack. In the 90th minute, Gotham defender Leila Ouahabi took a yellow card for a tactical foul that denied Brittany Ratcliffe a clear chance to equalize.
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The Associated Press