Lavelle leads Gotham to 2nd NWSL title in 3 years

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Gotham FC claimed the NWSL championship on Saturday, defeating the Washington Spirit 1-0.

Gotham midfielder Rose Lavelle scored the winner in the 80th minute in front of an announced sellout crowd of 18,000 at PayPal Park. Substitute Bruninha's centering feed across the top of the box set up the goal for Lavelle, who was named the game's MVP.

It was the second goal in an NWSL final for Lavelle, who also scored while playing for the Seattle Reign in their 2-1 loss to Gotham in 2023.

It was Gotham's second title in three years under coach Juan Carlos Amorós, who guided the club from the eighth seed to the championship. Gotham enjoyed a storybook run to the title, eliminating the top-seeded Kansas City Current and the Orlando Pride before defeating the Spirit. Amorós becomes the third manager in league history with multiple NWSL titles.

The Spirit lost in the final for the second year in a row after falling to the Orland Pride 1-0 last season.

Much of the pre-game chatter focused on the status of Spirit forward Trinity Rodman, who has been dealing with an MCL sprain to her right knee for the last month. While Rodman wasn't listed on the pregame injury report, she was once again on the bench to start the match. She eventually came on in the 56th minute, but was unable to have much of an impact on the game, and was clearly less than 100%, lacking some of her trademark explosiveness.

Perhaps mindful of how few chances they created in its semifinal victory over Orlando, Gotham were the aggressor at the start of the match, pressing Washington deep in its own half. Gotham forward Jaedyn Shaw seemed determined to shoot whenever possible, including straight from the kickoff. That attempt had Spirit keeper Aubrey Kingsbury scrambling for a moment, but it went wide, and neither of Shaw's other two attempts in the first 10 minutes forced Kingsbury into a difficult save.

While Washington threatened on a couple of occasions through Rosemonde Kouassi in the early going, the match settled into a stalemate for the remainder of the half, one characterized by an increasing level of physical play.

Gotham appeared to have created an opening late in the half when Shaw chested down Mandy Freeman's cross into the path of Esther González, but Spirit defender Tara McKeown got a piece of the ensuing shot allowing Kingsbury to easily collect.

The second half began with Kouassi having more of an influence, and she nearly forced a breakthrough in the 55th minute. Kouassi's run down the right wing saw her connect with Croix Bethune who laid it off for Leicy Santos, but Gotham defender Emily Sonnett was there to save the day, delivering a vital block on the subsequent shot.

Kouassi was having an impact in other ways as well. She had already forced Lilly Reale into a yellow card foul late in the first half, and continued to attack the reigning NWSL Rookie of the Year. She forced Reale into a foul again in the 59th minute, and Amorós, sensing Reale was in danger of getting sent off, subbed her out for Bruninha in the 63rd minute.

The move proved a master stroke for the Gotham manager, as not only was Kouassi's influence limited thereafter, but Bruninha's pass helped set up the game-winner.

Washington did what it could to find an equalizer, but Gotham's defense, marshalled superbly by Sonnett and Jess Carter, was able to see the match out and claim the title.