By OkayGoal 
Photo Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images
Gotham FC defender Emily Sonnett was stretchered off the field after appearing to suffer a left knee injury, ten minutes into her team’s Friday night matchup against the Thorns in Portland.
In the seventh minute, Sonnett lunged to challenge Thorns attacker Pietra Tordin for the ball, making minimal, if any, contact. In the same motion, she went to ground. Sonnett then quickly grabbed at her left knee and started waving to the bench. After a few minutes of attention from the medical staff, she was stretchered off the field. The Portland crowd gave the former club legend and U.S. women’s national team defender a standing ovation as she was carried away. Mandy Freeman came on in Sonnett’s stead.
During the second half of the broadcast, the announcers shared an update from Gotham confirming Sonnett left the game with a suspected left knee injury and saying that she will receive further evaluation back in New Jersey.
Before being subbed out, Sonnett was making her 13th regular season appearance of the season for the NJ/NY club in their 16th match. The veteran was a key piece of last season’s Gotham team that won the 2025 NWSL Championship and was named to the NWSL Best XI Second Team for her contributions.
