Ahead of a big semifinal in Portland, The Equalizer caught up with NJ/NY Gotham FC head coach Juan Carlos Amorós as well as midfielder Delanie Sheehan and Rookie of the Year finalist Jenna Nighswonger. Gotham enters the match as underdogs but arguably riding greater momentum, having played and won more recently than Portland–who is coming off a quarterfinal bye, and who have lost three of their last five.
“[Portland] are probably the best team offensively in the league by statistics so they have a lot of tools to hurt us,” Amorós said of the challenges that the Thorns may present. “[It will] be important that we have that under control, but at the same time, they are a very good team defensively so that’s why they’ve been [at the top end of the table] all year and they’re very regular in their performances… For us, the main challenge that they’re going to give us is they’re going to be demanding the best of ourselves and that’s what we need to do—be the best version of us.”
We’re all just really excited,” Nighswonger said. “I’m looking forward to the game. We’re all feeling pretty confident in each other, ourselves, and what the coaching staff has laid out for us.”
