Boston Legacy make NWSL history but lose long-awaited opener

FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts — Gillette Stadium was not where the Boston Legacy planned to play their franchise’s first game, and losing 1-0 to Gotham FC was not how they hoped the party would end.

But after roughly three years of planning, stadium renovation setbacks and a branding mulligan, Boston’s arrival in a competitive NWSL match was a moment for the club and the league to celebrate.

“I know that, at this point, standing here today, today is a win,” Boston Legacy control owner Jennifer Epstein said moments before Saturday’s match kicked off.

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Esther González, an MVP finalist last season as Gotham won a second NWSL Championship in three years, came off the bench at halftime and scored 10 minutes later to lift Gotham to three points on opening weekend.

A Boston team with a significant international flair clogged up the midfield and slowed the game in the scoreless first half.

Esther’s goal broke the stalemate, and Legacy defender Bianca St-Georges‘ second yellow card in the 77th minute reduced her team to 10 players and stifled the comeback effort.

An announced crowd of 30,207 turned up for the market’s first women’s professional soccer game since the now defunct Boston Breakers played this same Gotham franchise (then named Sky Blue FC) in September 2017.

The crowd set a record for an expansion team’s inaugural home game, although that record will fall in two weeks when a crowd of over 50,000 fans is expected for the home opener of the other 2026 expansion team, Denver Summit FC.

On Saturday, a Boston team with a significant international flair clogged up the midfield and slowed the game in the scoreless first half. Legacy goalkeeper Casey Murphy, who has 20 caps for the United States, made three saves on the day, including a diving save to the ground in the first half on a shot by Jaedyn Shaw.

Esther broke the stalemate when she latched onto a loose ball off a mishit clearance by Legacy defender Bianca St-Georges. Gotham defender Lilly Reale won the ball around midfield and found Shaw, who spun out of pressure and played the ball back to Reale on the left flank. Reale’s cross just missed rookie debutante Jordyn Dudley at the near post, but Esther was lurking in the penalty area for the tidy finish.

“She’s Esther; she’s world-class,” Gotham midfielder Jaelin Howell said. “She’s always going to come in and bring the same quality in front of goal. That’s what we needed her to do, and big-time players show up in games and that’s what she did.”

St-Georges’ second yellow card in the 77th minute reduced her team to 10 players and stifled the comeback effort.

The NWSL board of governors first green-lit Boston’s expansion bid over three years ago (although it was not publicly announced until months later), marking the longest runway in league history for expansion teams.

Several setbacks followed. An ambitious project to renovate White Stadium, which is inside Boston city limits, was a flashpoint in the city’s mayoral race and faced local pushback. Delays in construction eventually cost the team the chance to play the 2026 home slate there as originally planned. The new White Stadium, which will seat around 10,000 fans, is set to open sometime next year.

The Legacy also launched the brand “BosNation” last year before abandoning it after widespread scrutiny and settling on the Boston Legacy name and branding.

So, Saturday’s game marked a significant step forward for the Legacy. “Our Legacy Takes Flight,” was what Boston’s supporters group’s tifo in the North End read before the game.

“Today I’m just thinking about today and the celebration,” Epstein said. “We’re doing something big; we’re doing something historic. And yes, it’s been hard — harder than one would have thought, but I couldn’t be more proud of the effort of the whole organization. Today I feel pride and honestly, a sense of awe that we got here, that we are playing in a world-class stadium.”

Saturday’s match was the first played on the temporary grass laid down for the 2026 men’s World Cup. A snowy New England winter delayed installation of the surface, which played slowly on Saturday, and caused MLS’ New England Revolution to postpone their home opener earlier this month.

Players from both sides said the pitch played fine, although the difficulty posed by the strong winds was a common frustration.

Boston head coach Filipa Patão said she thought the emotions of the game, which featured seven yellow cards and an ejection, were normal for the occasion.

She said she saw a team that is “going to be fine in this league” once it gets in a rhythm.

“If we won the game, I would say the same to you: It’s a process,” Patão said. “We need more games; we need more time. But we’re going to achieve the identity that we want. We already showed something I think — a team that tried to play, a team that tried to have the ball, a team that wants to press, wants to recover fast. It’s a process.”

Murphy, who has played for two other NWSL teams in addition to time abroad, was encouraged by her team’s debut.

“A lot of players, you could just see the grit, the attitude to give their all,” Murphy said. “I love fighters. I love leaving it all out there. We were a man down and we still didn’t give up. We kept pushing forward until the final whistle.

“That’s what makes great teams. I’ve been in this league long enough to know that’s what it takes. I see so much potential in our group.”