Jordynn Dudley Scores in 46 Seconds as Gotham FC Cruise Past Chicago Stars 2-0

Forty-six seconds. That is how long Chicago Stars FC got to enjoy a level scoreboard on Wednesday night in Evanston. Jordynn Dudley ghosted to the back post, Jaedyn Shaw slid a ball across the six-yard box, and the Gotham FC rookie had her first professional goal before the match was a minute old.

It only got worse for the hosts. Rose Lavelle volleyed in a Guro Reiten cross in the 10th minute, and Gotham coasted to a 2-0 win at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium in front of 2,607 fans. Gotham says Dudley's strike was the fastest goal of the NWSL season so far, the second fastest in club history and the 13th fastest in league history.

Ten Minutes to Lights Out

Gotham came out like a team that had read the scouting report and decided to skip straight to the conclusion. Dudley's opener came from a run Chicago never tracked, and she finished from the right side of the six-yard box into the bottom right corner. Gotham says it was also the second-fastest goal ever scored by an NWSL rookie.

The second goal arrived with a little help from the woodwork. In the 10th minute, Esther González rattled the right post from the left side of the box off a Reiten pass. Roughly 40 seconds later, per the club, Reiten floated a cross to the back post and Lavelle smacked a right-footed volley through the middle of the goal. Ten minutes, two goals, and the Stars were already chasing shadows.

Chicago's best answer came in the 16th minute, when Ryan Gareis got on the end of a Jenna Bike cross but sent her close-range effort over the bar. Gareis also fired one just wide from distance in the 29th. Otherwise, the first half was a Gotham shooting gallery. Alyssa Naeher stopped Dudley in the 28th minute, denied Lavelle in the 33rd and stopped Esther from close range in the 37th after a Lavelle cross. Gotham then won three straight corners and kept the Stars pinned deep for most of the remaining minutes.

Chicago Pushes, Gotham Shrugs

Chicago sent on Michelle Alozie for Tessa Dellarose at halftime, and the Stars did get more shots away. The club says they took five after the break. Nádia Gomes came closest early in the half, dragging a left-footed shot just wide on a fast break in the 51st minute.

Gotham kept generating looks of its own. Esther missed narrowly in the 47th, Dudley headed wide a minute later and Naeher saved a Lavelle header in the 60th. Gotham then made a triple change in the 62nd minute, bringing on Sofia Cook, Lilly Reale and Talia Sommer for Midge Purce, Reiten and Tierna Davidson, and Cook forced another save from Naeher in the 73rd.

Chicago did not put a shot on target until the 85th minute, when Ivonne Chacón tested Ann-Katrin Berger from the right side of the box. Berger made the save, her only one of the night, and Gotham saw out the final minutes without much fuss.

The Turning Point

The match turned in a 40-second span in the 10th minute. Esther's shot off the post could have been the moment Chicago escaped. Instead, within 40 seconds, Reiten served up the cross that made it 2-0. One goal is a setback. Two goals in 10 minutes, against a Stars side that came in having scored four times all season, is a mountain.

Star Turns

Jordynn Dudley scored, put two of her three shots on target and, according to Gotham, created three chances while beating defenders off the dribble all night. She was booked in the 22nd minute and subbed off for Khyah Harper late, but this was a breakout performance for a player who had registered her first assist only four days earlier.

Rose Lavelle led all players with seven shots, three on target, and scored for the second straight match. The club says it was her second goal of the season and her 100th career start across all NWSL competitions.

Guro Reiten registered her first NWSL assist and her first goal contribution for Gotham, and she found plenty of room down the left, especially in the first half. Jaedyn Shaw picked up her first assist of the season on the opener.

For Chicago, Alyssa Naeher kept it from getting uglier with five saves. The Stars say she now has 528 saves for the club, the second most for a single club across the league. Aaliyah Farmer won a team-high seven duels and Sam Staab made seven clearances, per the Stars.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Gotham 19, Chicago 8. On target: Gotham 7, Chicago 1.
• Corners: Gotham 6, Chicago 0.
• Possession: Gotham 57.9 percent, Chicago 42.1.
• Crosses: Gotham completed 8 of 21. Chicago completed 1 of 6.
• Saves: Naeher 5, Berger 1.

What It Means

Gotham moves to three wins, two draws and two losses with 11 points, and the club says the win lifted it to fourth in the standings. It was Gotham's first set of back-to-back regular season wins this season, following a 3-0 home win over Bay FC on April 25. After managing two goals and five points from its first five matches, Gotham has five goals and six points from the last two. The club also says it now leads the league with five clean sheets and has allowed only four goals, tied with the Washington Spirit for the fewest. Gotham hosts Racing Louisville FC on Sunday.

Chicago falls to two wins, no draws and five losses with 6 points. The Stars had beaten Boston Legacy FC 2-0 four days earlier, but this was the fifth time in seven matches they have been shut out. They finish a three-match homestand against Portland Thorns FC on Sunday, May 3.

The Final Word

Gotham acting head coach Shaun Harris wanted a fast start and got one in under a minute. "The first half in particular, we really set out to start fast, start aggressive and assert our dominance on the game as early as possible," he said. "When you score as early as that, everybody sets the tone for the rest of the game." Dudley set the tone, Lavelle cranked the volume, and Chicago spent the rest of the night listening to Gotham's playlist.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and additional details as reported by GothamFC.com and ChicagoStars.com.