Overview:
Rose Lavelle has scored in a Women’s World Cup final for the winning team.
Rose Lavelle provided her heroics in the 80th minute for Gotham FC. (Photo courtesy of Gotham FC)
Rose Lavelle has scored in a Women’s World Cup final for the winning team.
Now, the U.S. women’s national team veteran has accomplished the same in the National Women’s Soccer League.
Lavelle scored in the 80th minute to boost Gotham FC to a 1-0 victory over the Washington Spirit to capture the NWSL championship at PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif. on Saturday night.
Gotham FC completed a Cinderella run in the playoffs. As the eighth and final seeded team, the squad surprised the top-seeded Kansas City Current in the quarterfinals before upending defending championship Orlando Pride last week.
It also was Gotham’s second NWSL title in three seasons, having won the crown in 2023.
Lavelle, who scored for the Seattle Reign in a losing effort to the eventual champion Gotham FC in 2023, also tallied for the USWNT in its 2-0 win over the Netherlands in the 2019 Women’s World Cup final in Lyon, France.
The match did not have many, if any shots, or close scoring encounters.
In fact, as the game went on, it appeared that it could enter extra time before Lavelle produced her heroics.
Second-half substitute Bruninha slipped a pass from the left flank to Lavelle, who smashed a left-footed shot past goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury into the net for what proved to be the winning goal.