Gotham FC looking to ‘shock everybody’ against juggernaut Kansas City in playoff opener

Two years ago, Gotham FC entered the playoffs as the lowest seed before plowing their way through the field to win the franchise’s first NWSL title.

Entering this weekend, Gotham finds itself in a familiar situation.

Gotham earned the eighth and final seed in the playoffs after finishing with a 9-9-8 record for a total of 36 points. But the journey to the championship is perhaps steeper than ever before, as they head to Kansas City to play the top-ranked Current on Sunday in a quarterfinals match.

This iteration of the Current might be the best team to ever grace this league, as Kansas City dominated the field this season.

The Current won 21 and drew two of their 26 games to finish a whopping 21 points ahead of the second-seeded Washington Spirit. They also posted an outrageous plus-36 goal differential, having scored seven more goals than any other team while allowing 12 fewer than anyone else.

Gotham FC midfielder Jaelin Howell (7) celebrates after scoring a goal during the first half against Racing Louisville FC. Lucas Boland-Imagn Images

But Gotham is up for the challenge that lies ahead.

“For us going to K.C., we just think it’s a great opportunity to have a huge upset and shock everybody,” Gotham midfielder Jaelin Howell told The Post. “And we’re all confident in each other and excited for it.”

Howell said he doesn’t believe Gotham’s eighth-place finish is reflective of the team’s ability, and she might have a point.

Gotham entered the NWSL international break in eighth place, and it dipped as low as 10th in the league standings in early August. But then something clicked. Gotham found its mojo. It went 7-4-0 over a two-month span and surged into third place.

Gotham hit a snag over the past month, dropping two of its final three games, including their season finale Sunday against North Carolina Courage.

But belief can be a powerful thing, especially in do-or-die situations, and Gotham has plenty of that.

“When we put all the pieces together, we are the best team,” Howell said. “And so yeah, for us, it’s just going in there, believing that. And season is one thing, but playoffs is basically a second season where anything can happen, so we just look at it that way and going to K.C. with that mentality.”

The Current may have won their two matches against Gotham. But the end results don’t paint the full picture. In each of the two matches, Gotham led the Current in time of possession and attempted shots.

“[The matches came] down to the very small details,” Gotham midfielder Josefine Hasbo said. “The two goals that they get is, yeah, that’s some of the details that we need to pay more attention to. … But I believe that we can go into the game very confident knowing that we have the abilities on the ball to keep moving them and then be very, very organized.”

What’s it going to take to pull off the ultimate upset?

Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga (6) and Gotham FC midfielder Josefine Hasbo (5) compete for a ball at CPKC Stadium. Kylie Graham-Imagn Images

“We can’t allow any foolish mistakes ultimately, because it is a team that has shown that they have the quality upfront to take advantage of those moments,” Hasbo said. “I also think it’s very much about showing what Gotham wants to represent, right? Like how do we want to show up as a club? And that is a team that has the ability to assist the ball but also has the tactical intelligence to take advantage of the spaces that are given.”

Added Howell: “It’s just going to have to be everybody clicking at the same time, everybody together. Everybody believing. It’s a tough environment to play in but if anything, our team has so much experience with girls playing in World Cups and Euros and high-quality games in the league and playoff games. And so we just got to lean on our experience, lean on each other, stick to our game plan, and I think we have a really good chance.”