Midge Purce looks to thrive in biggest moments again as Gotham FCs postseason begins

When the temperatures dip and the leaves fall, Gotham FC forward Midge Purce gets a hankering to win.“During warmups, she’s like, ‘Playoffs.The air smells different,’ ” midfielder Taryn Torres said.Purce has been one of Gotham’s most reliable players all season, but she lives for big moments.

She’s the type of player teams want on their side when their seasons are on the line, who can make clutch plays and stabilize a team.There’s a certain level of grittiness, resilience and confidence that the playoffs demand.It doesn’t always produce the prettiest soccer.

But every team needs that one player who serves as a ceaseless energy source.For Gotham, that’s Purce.She’s confident in herself and her skills, intense in her actions, direct in her communication and ultra competitive.“[She] wants to win by any means necessary,” defender Mandy Freeman said.The postseason officially begins Sunday, with top-seeded Gotham FC hosting the eighth-seeded Seattle Reign.

But those around Gotham will tell you it felt like the postseason started last month with the NWSL Shield race coming down to the wire.Purce scored one of Gotham’s two goals in their Oct.25 win against the Orlando Pride.

Then, in the regular-season finale, Purce not only helped set up Guro Reiten’s goal in the ninth minute, but she was credited with the assist on Jaedyn Shaw’s insurance goal late in the 2-0 win against the Utah Royals.Consider “Playoff Midge” already activated.“She just turns into a different beast,” Freeman said.“She’s really good at getting the team amped up and on her energy level as well because we all try to match that competitiveness, that urgency that she brings.

And again, just like a competitiveness that is just on a different level.Every game, every play could be her last and our last as a team.”Purce is a foundational piece of Gotham’s championship culture.

After being traded to Gotham in 2020, she helped end the club’s seven-year playof...