Midge Purce signs new one-year deal with Gotham FC

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Forward Midge Purce has agreed to a new one-year contract with NJ/NY Gotham FC, ending a long spell of uncertainty about the U.S. international’s future that stretched into the start of the 2025 preseason.

Purce, who was the MVP of the 2023 NWSL Championship game, became a free agent at the end of last year. She had publicly debated her future with the team at the beginning of 2024 in scenes that were later aired on the reality show, “The Offseason.”

She remained unsigned as the team began preseason in late January and departed for training camp in Marbella, Spain, where she will now travel to join the squad.

“I’m excited to continue my journey with Gotham FC,” Purce said in a statement. “I can’t wait to get back on the pitch to play with this team and for our incredible fans.”

Purce joined the club, then known as Sky Blue FC, in 2020 via trade from the Portland Thorns. She spent two years in Portland after beginning her career with the Boston Breakers, a franchise that folded following her rookie year in 2017.

Purce assisted on both goals in Gotham’s 2-1 victory over OL Reign (now Seattle Reign FC) in the 2023 NWSL Championship, earning her the game’s MVP award and securing a first NWSL trophy for the franchise. She tore her ACL in a game last March and missed most of the 2024 NWSL season.

“Midge brings a number of great qualities to our team, and her dynamism and experience are great additions to our talented attacking group,” Gotham FC general manager and head of soccer operations Yael Averbuch West said in a statement. “We are very excited to welcome her back into the mix.”

Purce debuted for the U.S. women’s national team in 2019 before earning more regular playing time beginning in 2021.

She was on the U.S. team that won the 2022 Concacaf Women’s Championship, which doubled as qualifying for the 2023 World Cup and 2024 Olympics. She was also part of three consecutive SheBelieves Cup teams from 2021-23, as well as the U.S. team that won the Concacaf Gold Cup last year.

Major tournaments have eluded Purce, however. She was not selected for the 2023 World Cup team as she struggled through injuries that year, and she missed out on an opportunity to earn a spot at the 2024 Olympics — where the U.S. won the gold medal — due to the timing of her torn ACL.