Confetti rained down outside City Hall on Monday.

A sky blue and white exclamation point on a morning spent celebrating the 2025 National Women’s Soccer League Champions: Gotham FC.

What You Need To Know

City hosts championship celebration for Gotham FC with double-decker buses, sky blue and white confetti and gold keys to the city

Gotham FC won its second NWSL championship in three years on Saturday, beating the Washington Spirit 1-0 in San Jose, California

The team was the eighth seed in the playoffs — the lowest seed ever to win an NWSL title

“This team doesn’t follow storylines. This team rewrites them,” Carolyn Tisch Blodgett, Gotham FC’s governor, said.

The club won its second NWSL Championship in three years Saturday, beating their rival, the Washington Spirit, in the title game 1-0.

Most of the match was a midfield stalemate until the 80th minute of play when midfielder Rose Lavelle rippled the net with what would prove to be the championship winner.

At Monday’s celebration, Lavelle took the podium to chants of “MVP.”

“This is literally so sweet and so fun,” Lavelle said. “I always say, when you get to do what you love with people you love, it makes the journey that much sweeter.”

The morning kicked off with a procession through Lower Manhattan, with the team atop double-decker sky blue buses and supporters cheering them on along the route.

The party was capped with a ceremony at City Hall, where Mayor Eric Adams handed each player an honorary key to the city.

“You’ve got the New York City grit, resiliency and determination,” Mayor Adams said.

Captain Mandy Freeman has been with the team throughout her entire career. She was drafted in 2017 when the team was called Sky Blue.

“I mean, it’s a one-of-a-kind experience,” Freeman told NY1. “I don’t think I can adequately put into words the feeling. Just truly overwhelmed, filled with gratitude, and having fun. We worked hard all year for a moment like this, so just trying to be present and enjoy it.”

“We all know how hard it is sometimes, life, and we know football. It brings you that little bit of happiness when you are on your sofa or on a morning when you wake up and you’re going to the stadium,” Gotham FC Head Coach Juan Carlos Amorós said. “This sport illustrates that, and you’re excited about it, so that’s the reason you guys are the reason we do what we do.”

And they’ll continue to do so. Just as the team’s motto suggests, “Always building, never finished.”