NJ/NY Gotham FC announced the re-signing of defender Imani Dorsey, keeping the player with the NWSL side until 2024.
Dorsey is set to return for her fifth season.
“Imani is the heartbeat of our team – our moral compass and a fantastic footballer,” head coach Scott Parkinson said in a statement.
“Being able to work with Imani every day is an absolute honor. Her growth over the past couple of years has been amazing and we believe there is plenty more development to go.”
In 2021, the 25-year-old made 16 appearances for Gotham. She managed to win 61.5 percent of her tackles, 63.6 percent of her aerial duels and formed part of a back line that conceded the second fewest goals in the league.
“I am so happy to be re-signing with Gotham FC,” Dorsey said in a statement. “This club has become my home and I’m ready to win a title with this group.”
Dorsey first joined Gotham in 2018 after being selected fifth overall by the then Sky Blue FC in the NWSL Draft. She is a product of Duke University.
During her first season with the club, she recorded four goals and one assist and was named rookie of the year.
Internationally, the defender was recently called up to represent the USWNT for two friendlies in Australia. She earned her first cap during the international matches.
Dorsey was also named to Vlatko Andonovski’s 25 player roster for a training camp in Austin, Texas in January, but was ruled out due to injury.
The Gotham defender is one of the founding board members of the Black Women’s Player Collective, a non-profit organization. Last month she was awarded U.S. Soccer’s first ever One Nation Social Impact Award for her work with the BWPC.
During the 2021 campaign, Dorsey also served as the club’s ambassador for the Nationwide Community Impact Program. Along with members of Gotham FC’s Player Community Outreach Committee, she worked with a CareSparc, a Newark-based consulting firm to participate in a Health and Wellness Festival that featured a soccer clinic among other things for local youth.