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 a pass 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.
"Bruna did all the heavy lifting, and then she just slotted it across, and thank god that worked out," Lavelle said.
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.
"We have so much talent on this team and we underperformed," Gotham defender Emily Sonnett said of the team's regular-season results. "To be able to have that reset going into the postseason, it was for us (the chance) to put it aside. ...
"The games were not easy making it to the final. We really had to hone in as a group. ... We started peaking at the right 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.
Now the Cincinnati native has two additional honors: a winners medal and the Most Valuable Player award from the NWSL final.
Seeing Lavelle make the decisive play was no surprise to her teammates and opponents.
"I remember cutting in to maybe get that ball, and as soon as it got past me, I saw Rose coming for it, and I said, 'Goal'" Gotham FC forward Midge Purce said while smoking a Cuban cigar postgame. "She is so clinical in the final third, you can always depend on her."
Washington goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury said, "Great final. It just came down to a moment of brilliance from Rose Lavelle."
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 their 2023 crown. The Spirit, who won their lone championship in 2021, fell in the final for the second year in a row.
"I'm gutted," Spirit defender Esme Morgan said. "I really, really believed we'd win today. I had so much confidence in the team that we've got, in the togetherness and the character and talent. ... We'll be back again next year and third time lucky."
--Rick Kaplan, Field Level Media
