Cook, Rookie Kitahata to Make Debut NWSL Starts
NWSL NJ/NY Gotham FC

Cook, Rookie Kitahata to Make Debut NWSL Starts

Published on March 25, 2026 under National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
NJ/NY Gotham FC News Release


After making her first NWSL regular season debut this past weekend, rookie Andrea Kitahata will make her first NWSL start when Gotham FC faces expansion side Denver Summit FC at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

Kitahata will join Sarah Schupansky and Sofia Cook, who is also making her first career NWSL start, as the changes in coach Juan Carlos Amorós's starting XI for the second match of a three-game homestand in eight days. Victory+ will carry the broadcast, streaming the game for free on victoryplus.com and the Victory+ app.

Cook, 21, previously started each match in the 2025-26 Concacaf W Champions Cup group stage, including the scoreless draw to the Washington Spirit on Oct. 1 in Philadelphia.

Kitahata, who signed with Gotham FC in January from Stanford, made her professional debut during the FIFA Women's Champions Cup, appearing in the third-place victory over ASFAR. The 23-year-old made her NWSL regular season debut against the North Carolina Courage on Saturday, entering in the second half.

Kitahata and Schupansky, who is making her second start of the NWSL regular season, join veteran Katie Lampson, rounding out the attack in her 24th appearance for Gotham FC since re-joining the club in July 2025.

In the midfield, Cook replaces reigning NWSL Championship MVP Rose Lavelle and slots in alongside Jaelin Howell, who ranks second among Gotham players with 13 possession wins this season. Howell once again partners with Savannah McCaskill, making her fifth straight appearance for Gotham since her December signing.

The defense is a carbon copy from last Saturday's backline quartet, with Kayla Duran joining regular starters Lilly Reale, Emily Sonnett and Jess Carter, who captains the team. Through two matches, Gotham has allowed just five shots on target, tied for the fewest in the NWSL, in two shutouts.

In goal, Ann-Katrin Berger looks to secure her fifth consecutive NWSL clean sheet, dating back to the 2025 NWSL semifinals. The veteran goalkeeper enters the match having gone 391 minutes without conceding in NWSL play.

The substitutes bench features goalkeeper Shelby Hogan; defender Tierna Davidson; midfielders Rose Lavelle and Talia Sommer; and forwards Jordynn Dudley, Esther González, Khyah Harper, Midge Purce and Mak Whitham.

Defenders Bruninha and Mandy Freeman as well as midfielders Jaedyn Shaw and Taryn Torres were previously listed as out through injury on the NWSL player availability report. Newest signing Guro Reiten is still awaiting visa approval before traveling to the U.S.

Gotham FC lineup vs. Denver Summit FC

30 - Ann-Katrin Berger (GK)

19 - Kayla Duran

27 - Jess Carter (C)

6 - Emily Sonnett

4 - Lilly Reale

7 - Jaelin Howell

13 - Savannah McCaskill

21 - Sofia Cook

24 - Andrea Kitahata

28 - Katie Lampson

11 - Sarah Schupansky

Substitutes: 1 - Shelby Hogan (GK); 2 - Jordynn Dudley, 9 - Esther González, 14 - Talia Sommer, 15 - Tierna Davidson, 16 - Rose Lavelle, 17 - Mak Whitham, 23 - Midge Purce, 34 - Khyah Harper

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National Women's Soccer League Stories from March 25, 2026


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