Reporting from Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

“One more year! One more year!” The chants rang around Red Bull Arena and the crowd was on their feet following NJ/NY Gotham FC defender Ali Krieger’s epic goal-line clearance late in the first half. 

The two-time World Cup champion was certainly making the most of her final regular season National Women’s Soccer League match. Krieger, who announced her retirement at the start of the season, helped steer Gotham to a 2-2 draw at home against the Kansas City Current. The result allowed Gotham to secure a playoff spot, settling into the sixth and final perth on a goal-differential tiebreaker. 

“I just wanted to give everything that I had because I wasn’t sure if it was going to be my last,” Krieger said after the game. “I might as well just go out there and kick some butt and hopefully encourage my team to do the same.”

But the celebrations that evening were not just about Gotham’s third-ever playoff berth. Instead, an announced crowd of 9,005 fans flocked to Red Bull Arena for a very special reason: to say goodbye to Ali Krieger.