​When Sam Kerr sprinted onto the Citi Field pitch in her official return to the NWSL on Wednesday night, the sellout crowd of 42,175 fans in New York City roared. Their cheers only grew when, in her first minute back with the club, she nearly scored.Kerr’s return was the moment fans had been waiting for — like a cherry on top of an already exhilarating occasion as they faced the Washington Spirit in the Queens Classic.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“It was a bit weird,” a smiling Kerr told ESPN. “Obviously exciting and fun in front of a big crowd, but it was a bit weird to be back. I can’t lie.”Gotham topped the Washington Spirit, 1-0, thanks to a stunning goal from midfielder Rose Lavelle in the 37th minute. Gotham played before the second-largest crowd in league history, with the turnout setting the record for the largest crowd at a women’s sporting event in the city. That was even in spite of harsh weather conditions of the extreme heat and poor air quality in the city, with the latter triggering two hydration breaks per half.Kerr entered the game in the 64th minute and had an immediate impact.Less than a minute after subbing on for 22-year-old Sarah Schupansky, Gotham goalkeeper and former Chelsea teammate Ann-Katrin Berger’s long ball reached Kerr. She timed her run perfectly to sneak behind Spirit defender Tara Rudd, before driving towards goal.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementGotham announced Kerr’s signing late last month. Even with limited training sessions, Kerr, 32, seemed to fit seamlessly into Gotham’s system. Before her debut, Kerr told reporters that Lavelle was one of the many players she looked forward to playing with – and their chemistry on the pitch is already bubbling.“Sam’s just a world-class player. Even in the 30 minutes we got to play, it was fun to get to link up with her,” Lavelle said. “She obviously is such a threat (getting) in behind. As a 10, that’s always really exciting when you can get on the ball and have somebody who’s going to be so dangerous making those runs in behind, and such an excellent finisher. I’m really excited to keep building that.”Kerr has returned to the NWSL after six-and-a-half years at Chelsea, where the Australia striker developed into one of the best players in the world. She last played for Gotham — then called Sky Blue — in 2017, where she ended the season as NWSL MVP and the league’s Golden Boot winner. She remains the NWSL’s all-time leading regular-season goalscorer with 77 goals.She teased with reporters in her introductory press conference that she is “happy to extend that record” every time she scores — which she came close to on Wednesday.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“It’s a good preview of what she’s capable of bringing to the club,” said Gotham defender Mandy Freeman, who was a rookie at Sky Blue in 2017. “We’re hoping to see more of her stretching ability, the way she can connect with the mi