Esther González Brace Ties Gotham's Club Regular-Season Scoring Record in 3-1 Win at Utah Royals

Esther González started Friday night by sending a chip over the crossbar 17 seconds in, per Gotham FC. She finished it with two goals, a share of the club's regular-season scoring record and a milestone win to celebrate.

Gotham came from behind to beat the Utah Royals 3-1 at America First Field. Cece Delzer put Utah ahead in the 23rd minute, González leveled from the penalty spot three minutes later, Tierna Davidson gave Gotham the lead in first-half stoppage time, and González sealed it in the 70th. Per the club, the brace gave González 28 regular-season goals for Gotham, tying Sam Kerr for the club record, and the result was the 100th regular-season win in Gotham history.

Utah Strikes, Gotham Answers Fast

This one opened like a blooper reel for goalkeepers. According to Gotham, González's early chip came after Mandy McGlynn was caught off her line following a misplaced pass. A few minutes later, Utah's recap said, Kiana Palacios pressured Ann-Katrin Berger into a weak pass, and Mina Tanaka fired over the bar from the middle of the box in the eighth minute.

Utah then took control for a stretch. Cloé Lacasse forced Berger into saves in the 20th and 21st minutes, and Tanaka had a header saved in the 21st. Two minutes later, the Royals broke through. Palacios slipped a through ball to Delzer, who finished with her right foot high into the center of the goal. Utah said it was Delzer's second goal of the season and her second in as many matches, after a penalty at Chicago the week before.

The lead lasted three minutes. Jordynn Dudley drew a foul from Nuria Rábano in the box in the 24th minute, and González rolled the penalty into the bottom right corner in the 26th. Gotham said that made her four-for-four from the spot in regular-season play for the club.

Then Gotham started rattling the frame. González hit the left post with a left-footed shot off a Dudley cross in the 31st minute, and Jaedyn Shaw smacked the crossbar from outside the box in the 34th, again set up by Dudley. Utah survived both, plus a Kameron Simmonds chance at the other end that Berger saved in the 42nd.

The Stoppage-Time Swing

The moment that tilted the night came five minutes into first-half stoppage time. Gotham won a corner, Guro Reiten swung it in, and Davidson hit it first time with her right foot from the middle of the box. It was Davidson's second goal of the season, per the club. Utah's own recap called the corner that led to it controversial, which tells you how the home side felt about it.

Shaw nearly added a third before the break, but McGlynn saved her shot in the eighth minute of stoppage time. Gotham went to the locker room up 2-1, and that matters. The club said it has won all six games this season in which it led at halftime.

González Seals It

Utah sent on Lara Prasnikar for Tanaka at the half and kept probing. Simmonds forced another save from Berger in the 50th minute, and González answered with a shot that McGlynn saved in the 51st.

Gotham coach Juan Carlos Amorós made his move in the 58th, bringing on Midge Purce and Sarah Schupansky for Dudley and Rose Lavelle. Twelve minutes later, Schupansky delivered the pass of the night, a through ball that González ran onto. She knocked it past McGlynn and finished with her right foot for 3-1. Gotham said it was Schupansky's first assist of the season.

Utah kept coming. Dayana Pierre-Louis fired over in the 77th minute, Berger saved from Lacasse in the 79th, and Delzer headed wide in the 81st. None of it changed the scoreboard.

Who Ran the Show

Esther González had two goals, six shots, three on target and the post for good measure. Gotham said this was her eighth career regular-season brace, tied for third in league history behind only Kerr and Megan Rapinoe, and that her six regular-season goals against Utah are the most by any player against the Royals.

Jordynn Dudley, the rookie Gotham praised for a menacing performance, drew the penalty, drew five fouls and set up both woodwork moments before coming off in the 58th.

Ann-Katrin Berger made six saves. Utah put more shots on target than Gotham did, so she earned every bit of this one.

For Utah, Cloé Lacasse put all three of her shots on target, and Delzer made her chance count.

Amorós was happy, even if the numbers were closer than his opening line. "We dominated," he said. "We had the best chances that came out of our own work. They also had big chances, but some of them came from mistakes from us. So, the resilience and the commitment from everyone, it was outstanding."

The Numbers Behind the Comeback

• Shots: 12 apiece.
• On goal: Utah 7, Gotham 5.
• Saves: Berger 6, McGlynn 2.
• Possession: Gotham 55.3 percent, Utah 44.7.
• Offsides: Utah 5, Gotham 2.

Where Both Clubs Stand

Gotham moves to seven wins, three draws and three losses with 24 points, bouncing back from a 2-0 loss at San Diego on July 4. Per the club, Gotham is the sixth NWSL team to reach 100 regular-season wins and is unbeaten in its last five meetings with Utah. "Being able to celebrate the hundredth victory for the club is really another landmark," Amorós said.

Utah falls to seven wins, three draws and four losses, also with 24 points. It was the Royals' second straight loss after a 3-2 defeat at Chicago on July 5, and it came in what Utah described as its first home match since the month-long break in NWSL play.

Gotham heads home to host the Washington Spirit at Citi Field on Wednesday, July 15. Utah stays home to face the Orlando Pride on Saturday, July 18.

Final Word

González and Kerr now share the top line of Gotham's regular-season scoring chart like co-headliners on a festival poster. Somebody is going to get top billing eventually. On a night when Gotham collected its 100th regular-season win, González made a strong case that the next encore belongs to her.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and additional details as reported by GothamFC.com and the Utah Royals on RSL.com.