Nothing about Sunday's NWSL quarterfinal was normal.

The Kansas City Current entered as the most dominant No. 1 seed in league history. Gotham FC , the reigning Concacaf champions and 2023 league champions, was the most talented No. 8 seed in the league's short history of staging a quarterfinal round. And both teams played without their star forwards, the two leading scorers in the NWSL.

The result was jarring, too -- at least for outsiders: Gotham's 2-1 victory in extra time at CPKC Stadium brought an early ending to the season of arguably the best NWSL team in history.

"We're not an eighth-place team," said Gotham forward Jaedyn Shaw after registering a goal and an assist on Sunday. "I'm sorry, but underdog my a--. We are not an underdog."

Shaw scored in the 68th minute and a

See Full Page