Washington Spirit defeated by Gotham FC 1-0 in NWSL Championship match
For the second year in a row, Washington Spirit’s Championship hopes were dashed in a finals defeat. NJ/NY Gotham FC, who held the Spirit scoreless over four matches this year, became NWSL Champions in San Jose on Saturday night, thanks to a second-half goal by Rose Lavelle.
It was a fast-paced, physical match on which Gotham were largely able to impose their style of play, meaning limited big chances for either team. Especially in the first half, Gotham’s Jaelin Howell and Sarah Schupansky controlled the midfield, and the team was effective at stopping Washington’s attacks.
They began the match pressing high and seemed to score a goal in first minutes of the match. However, Jaedyn Shaw’s strike was ruled offside, as Spirit defenders had stepped forward just before the ball was passed to her. After weathering a flurry of attacks — and shots from Shaw in particular — in the first 10 minutes, the Spirit were able to even up play, launching their own attacks and defending well against Gotham’s until halftime.
The Spirit made some adjustments at halftime that allowed them to regain some control, beginning the half with a series of attacks on Gotham’s goal. They also subbed in Trinity Rodman early in the half, though the star appeared to still be slowed a step by her recent knee injury.
Rose Kouassi also gained some freedom to move along the wing after a first half yellow card to Lily Reale limited the Rookie of the Year’s ability to defend against Washington’s strongest dribbler. That didn’t stop Reale from shoving Kouassi to keep her away from the ball near the 60th minute, a move that had Spirit fans calling for a second yellow and likely led to her substitution for Bruninha shortly thereafter.
In the 73rd minute, Hal Hershfelt rolled an ankle and had to be attended by trainers. She was quickly moved off the field so that play could resume, and Gotham used the temporary numbers advantage to swing the attack in their favor.
After several minutes, Hershfelt returned to play but was still limping slightly and slowed down by her injury. Just moments afterward, Gotham scored their only goal. Bruninha dribbled into the box and with her path forward blocked by Esme Morgan, passed back to the top of the area. Hershfelt nearly got a foot to the ball, but it sailed past her to an open Rose Lavelle. Lavelle’s first-touch strike sailed past Aubrey Kingsbury’s outstretched hand and into the corner of the goal.
Washington desperately sought an equalizer, bringing in Deb Abiodun and later Paige Metayer to try to make a difference in the match. They couldn’t gain much of a foothold, though, and after a final set piece attempt in stoppage time, were forced to accept their fate: a second year full of promise and success in which they came up just short of a trophy.
Rodman, injured in the final minutes of the game, summed things up after the match: ““I need the year to be over. To be honest, I need a break and a reset.”
Three takeaways
- Converting chances. Washington’s biggest problem in this match was one that has plagued them throughout the latter half of the season: difficulty being truly dangerous in the box. Despite the threats posed by the Spirit’s many talented attackers, their offense sometimes fizzles in the final third. Gotham was particularly effective in keeping the Spirit’s attackers off the ball in the midfield and smothering any activity in the box, holding Washington to 0.49 expected goals (though not putting up much more themselves) and zero shots on target.
- Spirit fandom stays strong. Many Spirit fans traveled to San Jose for the match, wearing their Spirit yellow and shouting their support for the team. Though some reported they felt outnumbered by Gotham supporters, their chants could be heard loud and clear on the CBS broadcast. Leading up to the match, DC’s other sports teams and public figures wished the team well, bars showing the game were packed to the gills, and Metrobuses are still proclaiming “Go Spirit” on Sunday. Despite the disappointing result, it’s clear that both the players and front office have earned the lasting support of this city that will follow them into next year’s campaign.
- On to 2026. The Spirit will have a lot of physical and mental recovery to do after last night’s game, but in sports, there’s always next year. We at The District Press will have more to come on the seasons behind and ahead of them, but in many ways, 2026 looks like another strong opportunity for the Spirit to win success. Their roster is largely set to return (with one glaring exception), and the injury woes of this season seem to be behind them. Can they rise to the enormous challenge of a third straight finals match? We’ll have to wait and hope.
Box Score
NWSL Championship Match
Washington Spirit 0
NJ/NY Gotham FC 1 (Lavelle 80′)
Lineups
Washington Spirit (433): Aubrey Kingsbury (C); Kate Wiesner (Paige Metayer 90′), Tara McKeown, Rebeca Bernal, Esme Morgan; Hal Hershfelt (Deb Abiodun 81′), Leicy Santos, Croix Bethune; Sofia Cantore (Trinity Rodman 57′), Gift Monday, Rosemonde Kouassi
NJ/NY Gotham FC (4231): Ann-Katrin Berger; Lily Reale (Bruninha 63′), Jess Carter, Emily Sonnett, Mandy Freeman (C); Rose Lavelle, Jaelin Howell, Sarah Schupansky; Jaedyn Shaw, Esther González, Midge Purce
Misconduct Summary
Washington Spirit: none
NJ/NY Gotham FC: Reale 45’+3, Bruninha 90’+3
Annie, I want to commend the earlier “Hey Spirits” podcast which (unlike the pregame CBS show) accurately called the makeup of the game. Much of the first half was disjointed and ugly with Gotham’s high press leading to a lot of short possessions, not build-up play.
My take: too much standing around by the Spirit in the first half. A player would get the ball, you’d see high pressure and they had no-one other pass to. Second half changed dramatically (more movement off the ball, players off the ball reacting to pressure on a teammate) and the Spirit began to punish that pressure. And consequently, the game tilted the other way.
First half, a lot of shots by Gotham (especially by Shaw) but almost nothing that was dangerous. The Referee’s reluctance to toss cards allowed a lot of delaying tactics by Gotham in the first half and then made it nearly impossible to punish Gotham when they delayed further after the goal. Case in point point: look at Berger going down after the goal, holding her ribs and milking a good 60 seconds off the clock–she wasn’t touched by any player. Numerous other people (Donovan for one) have lamented this tactic in NWSL (GK going “down” to allow the team to get coaching on the sideline). I can understand why the referee didn’t issue the second yellow on Reale–with it being a final. But that non-call had huge consequences. Instead of Gotham being down a player, the Spirit went down a player later (allowing Gotham to get off their back foot) and then exploit Hershfelt being half a player even later.
A couple of other thoughts: Monday has had a tremendous season. I thought this was a poor game by her. I’ve praised her movement off the ball but this game, not so much. Shaw is a beast–technically strong, assertive, and a combination of speed and size that makes her a handful.
Last of all, I think the world of Adrian Gonzalez. The players love him, he’s truly a players coach, very positive, has encouraged competition without breeding a cut-throat internal culture. That said, I think he had a poor game. The team wasn’t ready for the predictable Gotham high press–it took them a half to adjust. He should have subbed out Hershfelt right away–they had Gotham on the back foot and Hal coming off (and then being gimpy) let them get back in the game. Finally, his sub decisions were off. I’m not sure it made sense to put in Rodman. She definitely attracted attention but her game and speed wasn’t there. Abiodun should have come on as soon as Hershfelt went down–she would have fit that game situation well. The Metayer sub was far too late–that’s the sort of thing Gotham would have done to burn time off the clock. If you’re going to put her on for ability to run the legs off Gotham on the flanks, she needs to come on sooner. Additionally, I might have consider Radcliffe as a sub for her quickness and ability to punish Gotham when you break the high press. I know with Hershfelt off and if you sub out Monday, you’ve lost a lot of your height but Monday just wasn’t having a strong match and one of the assets the Spirit has is their depth.