Under Juan Carlos Amoros, Gotham FC have become one of the most principled teams in the NWSL. We can, with some degree of certainty, predict what their basic setup and style will be every week. Their element of surprise comes in quirky personnel changes, and through their game style itself, which involves a lot of rotations and swaps and players showing up in unconventional positions mid-game.

One of the defensive principles we see with Gotham is the high line. This is something Amoros has instilled, just as he did during his short spell with the Houston Dash. In 2022, after Amoros took charge mid-season, the number of offsides generated by Houston increased dramatically. They generated 11 in their first 11 games of that season, then Amoros arrived, and they generated 51 in their next nine games.

Amoros took the high line with him to Gotham in 2023, and it became a key feature of their game. When I calculated this last September, after 18 games, they had caught their opposition offside 67 times (roughly four per game), and been caught out themselves just 21 times.

(Side note: I am quite pleased about these numbers because you don’t find them on stats websites as far as I can see. I noticed it with my own eyes, then calculated the numbers manually by going through the data for each game.)

Anyway, back on topic. The high line is high risk, high reward.

The reward is that, if executed successfully, the play stops, and a free kick is given to Gotham for offside. The risk is that, if not executed successfully, the opponent can get through on goal. It’s either: regain full control of possession, or concede a high quality chance. There’s not a lot in between those two possible outcomes.

Sophia Smith is one of the fastest strikers in the NWSL, and she plays for the Portland Thorns. So when Gotham travelled to Portland this Sunday, Smith versus the high line was always going to be a game-defining battle.

In the end, Gotham won 1-0. But they also came within a few centimetres of being blitzed to Smithereens (I appreciate the standing ovation, but please, keep reading, thank you).

Smith had a goal ruled out in the opening minutes after breaking in behind the high line and rounding the Gotham goalkeeper 1-on-1 to finish into an empty net. For about an hour this theme recurred.

After three or four runs in behind, one close call and one clear look at goal, Gotham’s defence reacted. The centre-backs became more proactive at dropping off and trying to double up on Smith, or stepping in front to intercept the ball if possible. (Or just fouling her early before she could even get running.)

Nonetheless, Smith had another goal ruled out for offside around the hour mark, again on a tight offside that didn’t really give her much advantage. Just inside Gotham’s half, Sam Hiatt, their right centre-back, recovered but was isolated 1-v-1 against Smith, and lost out. Smith ran on and scored a worldie from outside the box, only for VAR to once again prove it is a thief of joy.

(Side note #2: That ruled out goal is one of the reasons Smith will never under-perform on xG. She is capable of pulling off these ridiculous, zero-angle finishes from out of nowhere. Other players wouldn’t even attempt to shoot, and she scores.)

Gotham went up the other end about 10 minutes later and scored, then defended the lead by abandoning the high line for a low block (not necessarily a change in principles by Amoros; more a recognition of the game state). But there is another day on which, with runs timed a fraction of a second better, or with Gotham defenders a few centimetres out of place, or with better finishing in the more obvious scoring scenarios, Smith has a hat-trick and Gotham are thinking about their next game by the half-time whistle.

We can say that Gotham were clinical, and hung on when they had the lead. But only saying that would be scoreboard journalism. In truth, they played Russian roulette for an hour with one of the NWSL’s quickest strikers and biggest transition threats, got away with it by the skin of their teeth, and were virtually invisible distances away from a Smith-inspired hammering.