Gotham FC won their first NWSL crown Saturday at Snapdragon Stadium, holding on for a 2-1 win over OL Reign despite losing their goaltender late in the match.
The club rose from last place last season to be NWSL champions, and as a No. 6 seed.
With Gotham’s win, of the two retiring stars appearing in the championship game, Ali Krieger walked away with bragging rights, rather than OL Reign‘s Megan Rapinoe, who barely had a chance to make an impact on the match.
Rapinoe went down with a non-contact leg injury just three minutes into the game and had to give way for substitute Bethany Balcer. She told CBS after that game that she’s “pretty sure I tore my Achilles.”
She received a ringing ovation from the Snapdragon crowd of 25,111 – an NWSL championship record – as she left the field, and play resumed on an active first half, with Gotham striking first, and OL Reign quickly answering.
In the 24th minute, Gotham’s Lynn Williams sent a right-footed shot from the center of the box to the center of the goal, off an assist by Midge Purce, her first in the playoffs, for a 1-0 lead.
It held for just five minutes as OL Reign’s Rose Lavelle’s left-footed shot from the center of the box landed in the bottom right corner of the goal for a 1-1 tie. Balcer had the assist on a through ball following a fast break.
Just before the break, in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, Esther González’s goal would prove to be the difference in the match as she sent a header from the box to the top left corner of the goal. Purce got her second assist on a cross following a corner.
The Reign threatened, but Gotham held them off until the match turn a late dramatic turn when Gotham goalkeeper Amanda Haught received a red card for handling the ball outside the box with Elyse Bennett charging toward a pass.
After a review, and much to the displeasure of Gotham coach Juan Carlos Amorós, his team had to finish the close game with just 10 players and midfielder Nealy Martin acting as goalkeeper in the face of a free kick awarded to OL Reign.
Lavelle stepped up to take the shot, to no avail, ending the Reign’s best opportunity to even up the score.
Krieger was the final Gotham player to collect her medal, to a mighty cheer from both her team and the Snapdragon crowd. Purce was named MVP. González can boast of two championships in 2023 – she won at the World Cup with Spain and now in the NWSL.
“We trusted in the plan that we had and we know how good we can be,” Krieger told CBS Sports. “We applied everything that we worked on all season. We had so much experience to the very last game, and we were so so excited, to just come out here and enjoy the atmosphere, and enjoy the crowd and enjoy each other one last time. And I’m so happy we can go home with this trophy.”
