Boston Legacy lose debut game 1-0 to NWSL defending champions

FOXBOROUGH — Nearly three years of anticipation and a raucous crowd of 30,207 at Gillette Stadium brought some understandable jitters to Boston Legacy FC in the club’s home opener.

Legacy remained competitive, keeping NWSL champion Gotham FC scoreless through the first half, but Esther González’s 55th-minute goal was the difference in a 1-0 loss.

“I was really proud of the team and how we got along,” said Ella Stevens, a sixth-year NFL veteran. Join Legacy from Gotham As a free agent this season. “We have a lot of new players, a lot of players who haven’t played in this league yet. We have a lot of development to do, but for what we did out there today, I’m really proud of the group. I think they all showed up.”

The tension and chaotic moments on the pitch were to be expected for a team that had only trained together for eight weeks, but Gonzalez’s goal seemed to change something on the pitch for Legacy, who settled down and looked more comfortable on the ball.

The crowd – an NFL record for a home opener – made it difficult at times for coach Philippa Patau’s players to listen, but the demanding fan base is exactly the kind of challenge the coach has sought throughout her career.

“It’s great to have this kind of environment,” Patau said. “What I ask for every time in my life as a coach is to have that good pressure from outside. Our fans want more, they want to see a good game, a beautiful game, and they want to see the team win.”

The attendance record — and the NFL’s overall attendance record of just over 40,000 — will fall on March 28, when fellow expansion club Denver Summit FC hosts its home opener. The club sold more than 50,000 tickets for the match at the former Mile High Stadium.

Perhaps it was a result of inexperience, nervousness or energy from the crowd, but officials issued nine yellow cards to eight different players – five on the Legacy team, including two on St George’s, who was sent off in the 77th minute.

“We knew we were going to have that battle,” goalie Casey Murphy said. “We are excited. We have everything to build on now. We will learn from the moments of this match, and I know that our future is bright for this club.”

Physical strength is part of football, and pressing hard is part of the identity that Patau is trying to build among its players. But with a young team, learning to control that physicality will come with time.

“We need to grow up in this kind of situation,” she said. “Try to control our emotions a little more. Try to control the game a little more, the mistakes and the physicality of the game.”

Gotham’s Lily Reale, a Hingham native who grew up attending Patriots games in Gillette, set up Gonzalez’s goal when she controlled a long ball from Murphy at midfield, ran to the corner, and sent a cross into the box. The St. George clearance landed directly at the feet of Gonzalez, who buried it.

“I was trying to keep the main thing the main thing, at least before and during the match, but what an atmosphere,” Reali said.

Legacy played in possession and struggled at times to stretch the field, but the best chances came through balls over the top to Aïssata Traoré, a powerful and quick striker.

Traoré, who left the field with the help of two coaches after sustaining an apparent injury in the final minutes of the match, is the first Malian player signed by an NWSL team and looked keen to prove herself in her first match. Legacy had its best chance of the first half when it received the ball at the top of the 6-yard box from a corner kick and fired it high.

It forced Gotham to double and triple team at times, opening up space on the outside, but Legacy struggled to recognize and utilize it.

“Again, that’s the process,” Patau said. “We know we’ll be better the next day, and we’ll get to know the space better the next day.”