NWSL champion Midge Purce will return to NJ/NY Gotham FC on a new one-year deal, the club announced on Wednesday, extending her stay at the club to a fifth season after tearing her ACL last season.
Purce was a free agent this offseason and will join the team during their preseason trip to Marbella, Spain. The 29-year-old is following return-to-play protocol but there is currently no timeline for her return after tearing her ACL last March.
Purce has spent the bulk of her professional career at Gotham after she was traded to the team ahead of the 2021 season. She quickly became an essential player for the team, finishing second in the golden boot race in 2021 and later being named the MVP in the 2023 NWSL Championship as Gotham won their first-ever title in the league. Purce’s time at Gotham has not been without injury woes, though – she missed time in 2023 after tearing her quad that April and played just two games in 2024 because of the ACL injury, which came just as she was returning to the U.S. women’s national team player pool.
The winger will be a welcome addition for Gotham during a busy season – the team will be balancing NWSL regular season games with games in the inaugural edition of the Concacaf W Champions Cup. Gotham will face Tigres in the semifinals of the competition on May 21 and will also take part in either the third-place match or final on May 24.
Stability during a busy offseason
So far, Gotham’s offseason has been highlighted by their outgoings – and there have been several. California native Lynn Biyendolo (formerly Williams), the NWSL’s all-time leading goalscorer, left for the Seattle Reign because she wanted to finish her career on the west coast, while 2024 breakout Yazmeen Ryan joined the Houston Dash as they undergo an ambitious rebuild. Crystal Dunn and Jenna Nighswonger also left for Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal, respectively, while the likes of Maitane Lopez and Delanie Sheehan departed as free agents.
The 2023 champions have made one marquee signing this winter, though, with Olympic silver medalist Gabi Portillo. The Brazil international was the standout in her side’s run to the podium in Paris, and enjoyed a breakout year in 2024 that included two goals and two assists at the Olympics, a Ballond’Or nomination and a spot on FIFA’s Women’s World XI. She will be counted on to help replace Biyendolo and Ryan’s output, and so will a healthy Purce.
Purce joins a handful of other free agents to stick around at Gotham, whose super team status evolved as the 2024 season went on. Though three of the six players that were on the USWNT’s gold medal-winning squad have since left, all but one starter – Sheehan – from their final playoff game is still around. That includes defender Mandy Freeman, who has been with Gotham since 2017 and has dealt with injuries for much of her career but earned a coveted spot at left back that could have gone either to Nighswonger or Dunn.
As it pertains to their attack specifically, Gotham still boast a lot of quality in those areas. Women’s World Cup winner Esther Gonzalez is still with the group after scoring 10 goals in 2024, while Ella Stevens had a breakout year with seven goals. NWSL veteran Cece Kizer is also in the mix after joining the team as a free agent in September.
USWNT star Rose Lavelle is also still in the mix after a seven-goal season, though she is currently recovering from ankle surgery. Lavelle underwent surgery in December and has been rehabbing for several weeks and with the team in Spain for preseason. There is currently no timeline for Lavelle’s return but she said last week that she “hopefully shouldn’t miss too much of the season.”
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