What you are about to read is a collective piece chronicling the experience of watching The NWSL Final that took place Saturday, November 22nd of 2025. It features submissions from several writers you’ll be familiar with, along with a special contribution from Jason Taylor, a professional sports photographer who provides the blog with his work with astounding generosity. Jason was present at The Lincoln Theatre watch party event, and we’re grateful that he wrote for this piece, as well as the rest of the staff members for their time and effort.

If you would like to see the photos Jason took of The Lincoln Theatre, here is the link!

Walking Into the Viewing Space…

Jason Taylor: Washington Spirit fans packed the historic Lincoln Theatre on Saturday night for an unforgettable NWSL Championship watch party. When I arrived 45 minutes before the doors opened, there were already around 200 fans waiting in line. When the supporters were let in, they filled the venue with energy from the moment the doors opened. Fans of all ages turned out… families, long-time season ticket holders, first-timers, and supporters’ groups… transforming the theater into a true home-match atmosphere.

Annie Elliott: My first attempt to watch the Championship game was quickly thwarted when I arrived at Franklin Hall (where my friend was hoping to snag some giveaways) at 7 p.m. and saw the line wrapped all the way around the building. We quickly diverted to beloved dive Jackie Lee’s, which normally does not show sports but boasts a number of Spirit fans as patrons. When we arrived at 7:30, the bar was full with people in Spirit gear and buzzing with excitement for the game.

Patrick Maziarz: I was excited for this match in a way I haven’t been for a while. Most of the day I didn’t feel nerves, I just wanted the game to start. Rather than head out to a sports bar in Minneapolis, my wife and I decided to stay at home and watch from the comfort of our living room.  

As an added benefit, two of my oldest friends are Gotham FC season ticket holders. This matchup gave me the opportunity to talk a little smack with them prior to the match.

Talonesque: I watched the final at Astro Beer Hall in Arlington. When I arrived about 6:30, chairs were already at a premium, and I was lucky to acquire one of two free seats at the bar downstairs that was already heavily populated. Standing room became a thing soon, and anticipation started to build. The bar stool with a back was designed for a more casual posture. This was a problem.

Dennis Nolasco:  I watched the final at Denizens Brewing Co. in Silver Spring which was one of the official Spirit watch parties. I was grateful I had made a reservation for me and my friends earlier in the week. The place was anxiously buzzing long before kickoff. The energy felt like a mix of cautious optimism and “we’ve been here before” nerves. 

I overheard one of the servers say that they had over 80 reservations made for the game. I arrived at 7 PM (an hour before kickoff) and they were turning people away who had not made a reservation. I grabbed a table, got myself one of the themed drinks of the night (The Spirit Sangria), and the opening whistle hit with that electric sense that something special could happen.

You Don’t Need a Stadium…

Jason Taylor: Throughout the night, I kept thinking how much this was basically Rowdy Audi on a smaller scale. We got the “Rise Up, DC” and “Free DC” chants and the crowd erupted for key plays, rode every wave of momentum, and showed the passion and pride that defines Spirit Nation. 

Annie Elliott: A few fans rallied the bar throughout the match with cheers of “Rise up, DC” and “When I root, I root for the Spirit…”

Along Came Sonnett…

Patrick Maziarz: Up until Sonnett’s block, I was starting to worry a bit about the Spirit. It felt like Gotham’s press was preventing the Spirit from finding their game and I wasn’t fully sure they would find their way into the game. I remember thinking to myself watching Rose (Kouassi) fly down the wing and cross the ball into the Croix for the backflick to Santos, “This is more like it.” It was the first moment I thought the Spirit were in this and had a chance.

Talonesque: 55th minute. This did not stand out to me as the significant action it was at first. Dang, great opportunity, but we’ll get another. It was only on the replay that I realized that the defender, Sonnett, had had to get her entire body all the way to the floor to snuff out the danger. This moment, in hindsight, proved pivotal.

A Reale Injustice…

Annie Elliott: Excitement slowly turned to anxiety over the first 70 minutes of the match. The first big outcry of the second half was when the ref declined to show a yellow card to Lily Reale for a shove on Rose Kouassi. 

Patrick Maziarz: Hope kept growing after that, especially when Rose forced Reale to take the yellow right before the half. Hal’s injury definitely popped that balloon.

Hal’s Ankle…

Talonesque: Initially, it appeared as just another clear foul by a Gotham player that the ref refused to call. It wasn’t clear how important this was until Hal Hershfelt showed real signs of pain and struggled to rise for an unnerving period during treatment.

Annie Elliott: Hal’s injury had everyone concerned, talking about who could be subbed in and what would be the impact and why it wasn’t happening sooner.

Patrick Maziarz: That moment was one of the few times I ended up yelling at the TV and it was definitely the loudest. My wife and I immediately looked at each other and said variations of “That’s not good.” Watching Hal on the sideline try and test out whether she could continue on, just hurt. You could tell how much this game meant to her.

I started getting a bit of a pit in my stomach as Gotham started to assert themselves with the player advantage and after Hal returned. At about this time my friends texted from New Jersey saying Hal needed to be subbed off.

Dennis Nolasco: You could feel the energy at Denizens dip instantly. The watch party got noticeably quieter, and even though play resumed, it felt like the Spirit were emotionally gut punched, and so were we watching on tv until…

Lavelle Arrives…

Dennis Nolasco: It really felt like it came out of nowhere. I was watching and conversing with a friend at the table. I saw Bruninha attempt a pass across the penalty box to what appeared to be no one. Then from off screen, you see Lavelle glide in, hit it first-time past Kingbury, and the room went silent. Immediately a sense of dread hit me. 

Patrick Maziarz: If it is possible to suck all the air out of a room of just two people, Lavelle’s goal did just that. All I could manage was a single curse. 

Annie Elliott: The goal stunned them all into silence, with a few mixed groans, and the vibe never really recovered.

Dennis Nolasco: There was only 10 minutes or so left of regulation. Gotham are masters of bunkering down and locking in. I tried to keep my spirit up, but the rational side of my brain told me that was it. That was the defining moment of the match.

The Agony of Trinity Rodman…

Patrick Maziarz: After Lavelle’s goal, I didn’t lose hope that the Spirit would find a way to equalize. That belief stuck with me almost to the very end. Seeing Trinity on the turf in pain dashed that hope. After that I resigned myself to the result. As the medical staff treated her, I started thinking about how rough a year she’s had and how it would be unfortunate for her time with the Spirit to end on this note.

Talonesque: With seconds ticking down, and The Spirit desperately trying to get up the field, Trin was involved in contact with a Gotham defender. It was a tussle, but seemed like Trin was the victim if anything. She collapsed to the ground. It wasn’t clear where in her body she was feeling it. It seemed like perhaps all of her. 

Dennis Nolasco: When Trin came on early in the second half, the whole taproom clapped. We all believed that Trin could come in and pop up with a magical moment. What followed was 30 minutes of anonymity. This is no fault on Trin as she worked her butt off to create chances, but it was more a testament to Gotham’s tenacity and ability to stick with their game plan which was to disrupt the Spirit play at every opportunity. 

The Whistle Sounds…

Annie Elliott: No one left early, but people started quietly paying their bills as stoppage time began and the crowd cleared within 10 minutes of closing. 

Dennis Nolasco: The entire vibe had shifted from anticipation to a heavy, resigned kind of sadness. It was a tired and stunned quiet you get after a really hard loss. This was hurt. It hurt more than last year.

Talonesque: The people who knew each other in the bar exchanged sullen glances. The rest of us were more strangers than if we had passed each other in the street. What should have been the site of a party was now just a business to check out of, and the crowd did.

Patrick Maziarz: I texted my friends “Congratulations” but felt hollow. The mood in the house was the exact opposite of the start. The result left me feeling sad as this team was special and deserved more. 

Dennis Nolasco: It wasn’t supposed to end this way. DC NEEDED this win after the past year of turbulence in the DMV. People quickly finished their drinks and quietly slipped into the night. I grabbed another drink, a 9.1% lager called the Third Party, to wash away the feels. Walking out of Denizens, the earlier buzz had faded, replaced with that ache that only comes from watching a club you love fall just short.

A Night at the Theater…

Jason Taylor: When the final whistle sounded, everyone quietly stood up, picked up their trash, and walked out of the theater. There was no anger. There was no complaining. Just a collective quiet broken up with sighs and groans. And as a fan, I was going through everything myself. Disbelief. Frustration. Sadness. A little anger. As a photographer, I had been around these players after games and at training. I felt sad and disappointed for them. I knew how much this meant to them.

Even though the final result didn’t end in a championship trophy, the night was a celebration of the team’s remarkable season and the supporters who have stood behind them all year.

The Lincoln Theatre proved to be the perfect backdrop for a communal, electric night of soccer, solidarity, and Spirit pride. The event captured everything that makes this club special: community, resilience, and belief.

In Our View: How The District Press Saw The 2025 NWSL Final

With Contributions by Jason Taylor, Annie Elliott, Patrick Maziarz, Talonesque, and Dennis Nolasco