FLUSHING, New York -- Forward Sam Kerr made her official return to Gotham FC and the National Women's Soccer League on Wednesday, and her team defeated the Washington Spirit 1-0 thanks to a sublime goal from Rose Lavelle, in front of an announced crowd of 42,175 fans at Citi Field.
Kerr's return to Gotham was nearly a decade in he making after she won the 2017 NWSL MVP award, and it came on a momentous occasion for the franchise.
"It was a bit weird, to be honest," Kerr told ESPN after the match. "Obviously, exciting and fun in front of a big crowd, but it was a bit weird to be back, I can't lie."
The announced sellout crowd at the home of Major League Baseball's New York Mets is the second largest in NWSL history and a new attendance record for a women's sports event in New York City.
Kerr made an immediate impact in her first game for Gotham since joining Gotham on a free transfer this summer. She was officially registered to the roster when the NWSL's transfer window opened on Monday.
Kerr forced Spirit goalkeeper Sandy MacIver into a kick-save less than one minute after entering the match.
"It's still as crazy as it was back then," Kerr said of the NWSL. "It's go, go, go."
Two minutes later, Lavelle's pass went through the legs of Spirit defender Esme Morgan as Kerr ran behind Washington's back line and in on goal. Still, the Australian forward pulled up from a challenge as MacIver came off her line to clear the danger.
"Sam's just a world-class player," Lavelle said of Kerr. "Just even in the 30 minutes we got to play, it was fun to link up with her. She obviously is such a threat in behind and I think as a 10, that's always really exciting when you can get on the ball and have somebody who's going to be so dangerous making those runs in behind and such an excellent finisher. I am really excited to keep building that."
Lavelle's game-winning goal stood as the winner just as it did in Gotham's 1-0 victory over the Spirit in last year's NWSL Championship.
Kerr last played for the club, which then played in New Jersey and was named Sky Blue FC, in 2017. She last played in the NWSL in 2019 before spending six years at English powerhouse Chelsea.
Kerr won the 2017 NWSL MVP and Golden Boot awards with Sky Blue FC, scoring a (since broken) record 17 goals that season.
She recently agreed to return to her former team on a deal through 2030.
Wednesday's game at Citi Field was the first for Gotham inside New York City limits. The team usually plays at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, but it was unavailable this week due to the 2026 Men's World Cup final being played in the vicinity.
Speaking at halftime, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman praised Gotham control owner Carolyn Tisch Blodgett and her leadership team for coming up with the idea to play the match at Citi Field.
Poor air quality cast a literal haze over the game, which kicked off under a smoky orange-brown sky as airplanes flew into LaGuardia Airport next door.
The game required two hydration breaks per half due to the poor air quality, which saw excessive heat mix with smoke in the air from wildfires in Canada.
It was the first time this season that an NWSL game required two breaks per half. The league recently updated and simplified its extreme heat policy for how to implement delays.
Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amoros called the four hydration breaks "necessary" for player protection. Spirit head coach Adrian Gonzalez and many of his players said the constant breaks made it hard to establish a flow in the game.
"If we have to have a hydration break every 15 minutes, then we shouldn't be playing the game and that's my opinion," Spirit forward Trinity Rodman said. "If we can't go longer than 15 minutes then [motions], but at the end of the day, there's 40,000 people, it's a whole event, so it is really tough. I think it was a really hard situation for everybody to work around."
The low air quality combined with a heat advisory in New York City on Wednesday due to exceptionally high temperatures. Wednesday's high reached 99 degrees in Queens, with a heat index of 104 degrees.
The air quality index (AQI) in Queens hovered between 150 and 170 before kickoff per AirNow.gov, which the NWSL uses to monitor the air.
An AQI between 150 and 180 requires two hydration breaks, per league rules.