Kelley O’Hara made her long-awaited return to the field on Monday night and fans at Red Bull Arena were thrilled to see the U.S. Women’s National Team legend back in action.
O’Hara received a standing ovation when she replaced McCall Zerboni during NJ/NY Gotham FC’s 3-1 friendly loss to Chelsea.
It was O’Hara’s first appearance since March 30, after ankle and knee injuries kept the veteran on the bench for Gotham since then. In May, the 36-year-old announced that she would retire at the end of the 2024 NWSL season.
A pre-match social media post from Gotham revealed that O’Hara would be in uniform against Chelsea. The two-time World Cup winner came on in the 85th minute and Zerboni presented O’Hara with the captain’s armband as the pair embraced on the halfway line.
O’Hara has at least 15 games left before she officially hangs up her boots. The Bats have 10 NWSL regular season games remaining, as well as four Concacaf W Champions Cup games and the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup final in October.
Gotham sits in fourth place with 31 points and is comfortably on course to make the NWSL playoffs. With Racing Louisville 15 points behind in ninth place, it stands to reason that O’Hara will get a chance to win the NWSL championship for the third time.
Watch the applause as O’Hara returns
Kelley O’Hara enters the field wearing the captain’s armband 🫶 pic.twitter.com/ogmj4FVub9
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) 20 August 2024
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