Gotham wins NWSL title as an eighth seed

Rose Lavelle scored in the 80th minute, and the eighth-seeded Gotham FC beat the Washington Spirit 1-0 on Saturday night to win their second National Women’s Soccer League championship.

- ASSOCIATED PRESS

ROSE LAVELLE, second from right, is mobbed by teammates after scoring the only goal on Saturday.

(JUSTINE WILLARD Associated Press)

Second-half substitute Bruninha drove into the box on the left wing and sent the ball across to Lavelle, whose left-footed shot sailed past Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury into the bottom corner of the net.

“It was maybe the one moment I had in the game to step up,” Lavelle said. “I keep saying Bruninha did the heavy lifting on that.”

It is the first NWSL championship title for Lavelle, who had scored in the 2023 final when she was playing for the Seattle Reign against Gotham in a 2-1 loss.