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  • US star Rose Lavelle scores late to give Gotham FC another NWSL title

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    (Photo credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images)

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — Rose Lavelle already was a queen of international football.

    Now she is finally an NWSL champion after leading Gotham FC to the title, scoring the lone goal in a 1-0 win over the Washington Spirit on Saturday.

    The 30-year-old U.S. women’s national team star fired home an 18-yard left-footed shot in the 80th minute. Bruninha, who came off the bench in the second half, dribbled the ball down the left flank and rolled the ball across the top of the box. Lavelle ran onto it from the right side and blasted a shot into the left side of the net.

    Washington had a chance to equalize in the third minute of second-half stoppage time when Gotham goalie Ann-Katrin Berger spilled an attempted catch outside the 6-yard box. The Spirit’s Paige Metayer was first to the ball, but her right-footed shot went wide to the left.

    Gotham FC completed a surprise run through the playoffs after sneaking in as the eighth and final seed. They upset the top-seeded Kansas City Current in quarterfinals 2-1 with a goal in the 121st minute before edging the fourth-seeded Orlando Pride 1-0 in the semifinals on a goal in second-half stoppage time.

    Lavelle starred for the U.S. women’s national team when it won the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, scoring a goal in the final, and she added a gold medal to her trophy case at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Her only previous appearance in an NWSL final came with OL Reign in 2023, when they lost 2-1 to Gotham in the final despite a goal from Lavelle.

    The Cincinnati, Ohio native was named Most Valuable Player of the finals.

    On Saturday, Lavelle knocked the opening kickoff a few yards forward, and teammate Jaedyn Shaw ran onto it and immediately booted a shot toward the Washington goal, with Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury far off her line. Had the attempt been on target, Gotham would have been ahead within five seconds, but the ball sailed harmlessly wide of the left goalpost.

    Then in the fifth minute, Gotham striker Esther Gonzalez put another scare into the Spirit when she appeared to score, but the play was called back for an offside call.

    Neither team had another significant chance until the 45th minute, when Shaw chested down the ball to Gonzalez near the penalty spot. Gonzalez nearly had an open look at the net, but Washington defender Tara McKeown made a last-ditch block.

    Washington got its first corner kick of the night in the 67th minute, then had two more in quick succession but didn’t generate a scoring opportunity from any of them.

    The game might have been the NWSL farewell for Washington striker Trinity Rodman.

    Rodman entered to a roar from the crowd in the 57th minute. She was out for a month due to a knee injury before returning to the field for the final few minutes of the Spirit’s 2-0 win over the Portland Thorns in the semifinals last weekend.

    On Saturday, Rodman wore a wrap around her right knee and did not appear to be running at full strength.

    The 23-year-old U.S. women’s national team forward is weighing offers from teams in other leagues, even as NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman vowed Thursday that her league will ‘fight’ to retain her.

    Gotham FC won the title for the second time, adding to its 2023 crown. The Spirit, who won their lone championship in 2021, fell in the final for the second year in a row.

    –Rick Kaplan, Field Level Media

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  • Trinity Rodman, Spirit size up Gotham FC in NWSL championship

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    (Photo credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images)

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Washington Spirit fell one win short of capturing the NWSL championship last year.

    They get another chance at grabbing the trophy on Saturday when they face Gotham FC.

    ‘Super pumped to be in the final again back-to-back years,’ Spirit star Trinity Rodman said. ‘Just focused on us and being able to take it home to D.C.’

    Rodman, and her team, also are focused on her health.

    The 23-year-old U.S. women’s national team star sustained a knee injury in mid-October that kept her out of action until she returned for a brief cameo at the end of the Spirit’s semifinal win last weekend.

    The extent of her availability for Saturday remained uncertain as of media day on Thursday.

    ‘Getting another week under my belt is nothing but positive,’ Rodman said. ‘I was able to get those minutes last week, and I’m really grateful for that. (The recovery) has been extremely smooth, and I’m hoping that we do really well this weekend and I can see the field again, hopefully for a couple more minutes.’

    Rodman acknowledged that the game will carry extra spice considering the Spirit beat Gotham in a penalty-kick shootout in last year’s semifinals. Gotham won the teams’ first meeting this season before the sides played to two scoreless draws.

    ‘Whenever we play Gotham, I think you never know what you’re going to get, which I think is the coolest thing about our sport,’ Rodman said. ‘… You have no idea what the result is, who’s going to score, what arguments are going to happen on the field. So I’m extremely excited to play Gotham again.’

    Gotham FC are seeking something of a rerun of their lone previous championship. They were the last playoff seed (then No. 6) in 2023 when they emerged on top. This year, they are the eighth and final seed in the playoffs, yet they are back in the final.

    The similarities end there, though, according to forward Midge Purce.

    ‘I think (2023) was a true Cinderella story where we really overcame, and I don’t look at this team and think Cinderella,’ Purce said. ‘(The final) is where we deserve to be for the amount of talent we have.’

    Gotham FC squeezed into the last playoff spot this year after going winless in their final four regular-season games (0-2-2).

    Then Gotham opened the playoffs against the league’s dominant top seed, the Kansas City Current, and pulled off a stunning 2-1 win in extra time. Katie Stengel’s goal in the 121st minute completed the upset.

    Gotham provided more dramatics in the semifinals at Orlando. Jaedyn Shaw’s 96th-minute free kick from just outside the penalty area bounced in the box and sailed into the far corner of the net, giving Gotham FC a 1-0 win.

    Shaw said of the postseason turnaround, ‘It’s the mentality. We knew that the past few games leading into the playoffs weren’t great for us, weren’t good performances, we weren’t getting results. So I think we knew coming in … we had to lock in and come together as a group and bring that mentality to win.’

    The Spirit, who fell 1-0 to the Orlando Pride in the 2024 NWSL championship match, finished second in the regular season this year despite failing to win their final three contests (0-2-1).

    Washington needed a penalty-kick shootout to get past Racing Louisville after a 1-1 draw in the quarterfinals.

    The semifinals weren’t as stressful for the Spirit. Washington jumped on top of the Portland Thorns in the 27th minute when Rosemonde Kouassi’s end-to-end run down the right flank set up Gift Monday for the opening goal. A second-half tally from Croix Bethune secured a 2-0 victory.

    Spirit midfielder Hal Hershfelt said, ‘We’re young, we’re fiery, but keeping our heads. It’s a huge game (on Saturday), but I feel like if we don’t deviate from the stuff we do all year, we’ll find ourselves (winning).’

    –Rick Kaplan, Field Level Media

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