Lavelle leads Gotham past Spirit to 2nd NWSL Championship - ESPN

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