Jaedyn Shaw Becomes Youngest to 25 NWSL Regular-Season Goals as Gotham FC Beats Chicago Stars

Jaedyn Shaw is 21 years old and already speedrunning the NWSL record book.

Shaw scored twice on Friday night at Sports Illustrated Stadium, and Gotham FC beat the Chicago Stars 3-1 to keep its grip on first place. According to Gotham, the brace made Shaw the youngest player to reach 25 NWSL regular-season goals, at 21 years and 309 days, passing the mark Sophia Wilson set at 22 years and 317 days. Sam Kerr scored the other Gotham goal and assisted the first, and Tessa Dellarose's late finish was the only blemish on a night the hosts owned from the opening whistle.

Nine Minutes to Liftoff

Gotham did not waste time. In the ninth minute, Kerr slid a pass across the box and Shaw met it first time, hammering a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner from about eight yards. Chicago had come out with two blocked shots in the opening two minutes, and that was more or less the end of its attacking ambitions for the half.

The hosts kept coming. Jaelin Howell hit the crossbar with a header off a Shaw delivery in the 15th minute, Alyssa Naeher stopped Rose Lavelle a minute later, and Naeher had to get down again to deny Kerr in the 21st. Chicago spent most of the half chasing, and it showed in the book: Anna Gasper was cautioned in the 14th minute and Brianna Pinto in the 28th, with Midge Purce's 20th-minute yellow the lone Gotham card before the break.

Emma Egizii gave Chicago its best looks of the half with two shots from distance late in the half, both off target. It was 1-0 at the break, which felt generous to the Stars.

The Turning Point: Reiten Delivers, Kerr Finishes

Chicago's halftime changes brought Michelle Alozie and Micayla Johnson into the game for Egizii and Mallory Swanson. Five minutes later, the match was effectively over.

Guro Reiten whipped a cross into the box and Kerr headed it in from point-blank range in the 50th minute. Gotham's own recap called it a familiar sight for Chelsea fans, and it is easy to see why: the timing between those two looked rehearsed. It was Kerr's fourth goal since joining Gotham this summer, per the club, and her 32nd regular-season goal for Gotham, extending a club record.

The finishing touch arrived in the 66th minute. Lavelle's footwork shed a defender in the area, she found Shaw unmarked, and Shaw passed her shot into the far post. Per Gotham, it was her first career two-goal game in the NWSL.

Dellarose Gets One Back

Gotham's bench took over from there, with Taryn Torres, Bruninha, Andrea Kitahata, Talia Sommer and Meredith Speck all coming on. Chicago finally found a reward in the 87th minute: Johnson, a halftime substitute, found Dellarose in the box and the rookie poked a left-footed finish home from close range. Per the Stars, it was Dellarose's second goal of the season and Johnson's first professional assist.

Star Turns

Jaedyn Shaw scored with both of her shots and set up the Howell header that rattled the crossbar. Gotham says she now has nine goals this season and has contributed to goals in each of her last five NWSL home matches.

Sam Kerr had a goal, an assist and four shots. Per the club, the assist tied her with Alex Morgan for sixth on the NWSL's all-time regular-season assist list with 28, and the two contributions gave her the Gotham record for goal contributions in all NWSL competitions with 42.

Rose Lavelle tied Kerr for the team lead with four shots and set up the third goal, her second assist of the season and her second straight game with one, according to the club.

Gotham coach Juan Carlos Amorós liked the whole package. "Today was a really good game from the team," Amorós said. "They really deserved that performance."

The milestones kept piling up around them. Per the club, Howell made her 100th NWSL regular-season start, Denise O'Sullivan passed 15,000 career regular-season minutes and Torres reached 50 regular-season appearances for Gotham. And when Gotham scores first, it has now avoided defeat in 15 straight league matches, which is a terrifying stat for anyone who has to face them the rest of the way.

For Chicago, Naeher made four saves and kept the margin from getting uglier. Julia Grosso made her 50th NWSL start, all of them with the Stars, according to the club.

Stats That Matter

• Possession: Gotham 71.6 percent, Chicago 28.4.
• Shots: Gotham 16, Chicago 6; on target, Gotham led 7-1.
• Passing: Gotham completed 532 of 605 passes; Chicago completed 159 of 241.
• Corners: Gotham 3, Chicago 0.
• Saves: Naeher 4, Ann-Katrin Berger 0.

What It Means

Gotham improved to 16-6-4 with 54 points and, per the club, sits six points clear of San Diego at the top of the table with four games left. The win was Gotham's third straight, following road wins at Racing Louisville and North Carolina, and it extended a club-record home unbeaten run to 11 regular-season matches. Gotham also swept the season series after winning 2-0 in Chicago in April. The NWSL Shield is very much in play.

Amorós framed the result as a reward for a grind. The team was coming off "a very difficult month being away from home, three trips in a row," the coach said, "and we wanted to have that performance today where we were dominant, but we were able to score goals and we were able to enjoy on the pitch. I think it ticked all the boxes."

Chicago fell to 5-2-19 with 17 points, its second straight loss after a 3-0 home defeat to Washington the previous Sunday. The Stars begin their final homestand against Denver on Oct. 4. Gotham hosts Angel City FC that same day.

Closing Take

Most 21-year-olds are still figuring out what they want to be. Shaw is playing like someone who skipped the tutorial level entirely. Gotham looked like a team that knows exactly what it is, and Chicago looked like a team still searching for answers. Every box ticked, as the coach said.

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