Soccer-Lavelle’s late strike earns underdogs Gotham second NWSL title

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SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) -Rose Lavelle’s late strike secured a 1-0 victory for Gotham FC over Washington Spirit on Saturday to deliver an unlikely second NWSL Championship title for the eighth-placed regular season side at PayPal Park in San Jose, California.

Gotham, who also won the title in 2023, started the final brightly and created some early half-chances but were unable to find a way past Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury.

Both teams had chances in the second half and Washington looked to seize the momentum by introducing Trinity Rodman from the bench in the 57th minute for Sofia Cantore.

However, it was Gotham who got the breakthrough with 10 minutes left on the clock.

Brazilian right back Bruninha split Washington’s defence with a dazzling dribble, before delivering a pinpoint through ball to midfielder Lavelle.

The 30-year-old fired in a powerful shot past Kingsbury to claim her sixth goal of the season and crown a memorable campaign for the underdogs, who became the first team to capture the championship after finishing eighth in the regular season.

“We worked so hard and it was such a tough game, credit to Spirit, they played a great game,” Lavelle said.

“We know we didn’t perform to our full potential this season. This playoffs were about showing ourselves, most of all, what we can do. We knew that if we played our best, that would show the great potential of this group.”

It was a second straight runners-up finish for Washington, who lost last year’s final to Orlando Pride.

(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City; Editing by Peter Rutherford)