Is Gotham a dynasty now? Plus: Watching the NWSL final with the Lavelles

Is Gotham a dynasty now? Plus: Watching the NWSL final with the LavellesStory byIs Gotham a dynasty now? Plus: Watching the NWSL final with the LavellesEmily OlsenTue, November 25, 2025 at 3:13 PM UTC·9 min read

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Gotham midfielder Rose Lavelle scored the NWSL Championship-winning goal, but somehow this wig stole the show.

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I just walked off a flight home from San Jose, dreaming of a nap induced by some mid-week turkey. But first, we need to break down that epic final …

Gotham Wins

Same-but-different for the NWSL champs

Gotham FC did it again. For a second time in three years, the New Jersey/New York team went from the lowest seed in the playoffs to champion, this time with a 1-0 win over the Washington Spirit. But the team that captured Saturday’s NWSL Championship is far from a repeat of 2023.

Lavelle was on the losing side last time, playing for the Seattle Reign. The 30-year-old has a long list of accomplishments in her career, but Saturday marked her first NWSL title and only second NWSL playoff goal. (More on her in Meg’s Corner.)

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Gotham’s first title was a Cinderella story, as midfielder Midge Purce described it, with players rallying around USWNT defender Ali Krieger, who was retiring at the end of the season. This time, the team played spoiler, powering its way into the final with brute force and technical savvy, taking down the Nos. 1, 4 and 2-seeded teams.

Gotham refused to be called “underdogs” (thanks to Jaedyn Shaw), and don’t love the idea of being the villains (except Purce).

The team will be the first to admit it underperformed this season, despite the success in the Concacaf Champions Cup and the NWSL postseason. Still, it’s been intentional throughout a season which many described as a “roller coaster.”

The defense-splitting pass from Sarah Schupansky was on purpose. The dancing double stepover by Bruninha to catch the Spirit off balance comes with practice. And Lavelle’s late run onto the ball needs vision. No part of Gotham’s run to the title was happenstance.

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💬 Quote of the night goes to Purce, who likes to celebrate with a Cuban cigar: “I’ve been trying to be the villain for six years, and it seems not to have stuck. I don’t know how you can be a villain with Rose Lavelle on the team — she’s like America’s sweetheart.”

👀 Watch yesterday’s “Full Time,” live from PayPal Park, for a recap of one of the biggest NWSL Championships yet.

Celebrations in NYC

Another difference between 2023 and this year is that Gotham finally got a parade. Despite a spectacular club rebrand and rebound from the previous season, Gotham did not organize any public-facing events in 2023.

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But earlier today, the group rode open-top buses in a downtown procession to City Hall. (It’s important to note the team pulled this off despite many players leaving for international duty tomorrow and that other big parade that happens on Thursday.) I texted Melanie Anzidei to give me a sense of what it was like on the ground:

💬 It’s a sea of scarves and NWSL 2025 championship gear as fans of all ages came together at City Hall for the team’s long-anticipated celebration. There are drum lines, sounds of horns and the usual NYC traffic — and while it’s not a ticker tape parade, it certainly feels like it.

✨ Be sure to follow “Full Time” on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube to see what we got up to last week.

Spirit’s doomed 6 minutes

When Washington’s Trinity Rodman entered as a substitute for Sofia Cantore in the 57th minute, it should have been a sea change for the 2024 NWSL Championship runner-up. Instead, despite a roar from the crowd with an extra jolt of energy from seeing its superstar, the move left my fellow journalists and me scratching our heads a little.

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Rodman played just a handful of minutes in the semifinal against Portland. She had just worked back from an MCL sprain that had kept her out since Oct. 15. She was still building in-game chemistry back up with her teammates, and on top of that, she spent the week answering questions about her future and how it impacts the entire league. That’s a lot to put on a 23-year-old’s shoulders, let alone ahead of the biggest game of the season.

Rodman wasn’t able to make much of an impact before the six minutes that sealed the Spirit’s fate. Here’s how a championship slipped away:

73:18 — Midfielder Hal Hershfelt goes down after a collision with Lavelle, grabbing her ankle. Hershfelt is the keystone of the Spirit’s midfield, connecting the defense to the offense and intercepting the opponents. Simply put, her absence throws the balance off.

75:18 — Hershfelt is down for two minutes before limping off to the far sideline opposite the Spirit bench to get treatment.

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75:48 — Referee signals for Spirit keeper Aubrey Kingsbury to restart play.

78:45 — The Spirit is stuck playing with 10 players for nearly three minutes against a pressing Gotham before Hershfelt re-enters the pitch, still walking gingerly, but she’s able to get a few runs in before …

79:30 — Gotham’s Bruninha dances around defender Esme Morgan, passing across the box and trickling just out of Hershfelt’s reach. Lavelle hits the game winner one time.

Hershfelt was immediately subbed off, but at that point, all Gotham needed to do was close down the game. A second consecutive loss for the Spirit in an NWSL final brings about some (BIG) soul-searching questions, whereas the win means it’s time for us to start considering Gotham as the new dynasty club.

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Meg’s Corner: Watching ‘your heart on the field’ with the Lavelles

Rose Lavelle was the championship MVP, but a different pair of Lavelles captured the stands. The midfielder’s parents, Janet and Marty, have become known for gathering the families of other players to share in the ups and downs from their special vantage point.

“I have to be with folks that have a dog in the fight,” Janet said, gesturing to the players’ families seated around her at the stadium, including the respective parents of Tierna Davidson, Jaelin Howell and Rookie of the Year Lilly Reale. This is a community in its own right — one with its own culture of joy and stress, distinct from those on the pitch.

“Your heart is on the field,” Janet tells me. “You just want them to feel like they did a good job.” It’s her role as a mom to be there for Rose the human, not Rose the MVP or former No. 1 draft pick who until Saturday had not lifted the NWSL trophy.

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Much like their daughter in midfield for Gotham FC, the Lavelles are connectors. Another parent once told Janet the families sometimes felt like a bunch of strangers all watching a game together before the Lavelles came along. And the Lavelles have come a long way from the 3,000 average attendance at Jordan Field on the Harvard campus during the one season Rose played in Boston to the 18,000 who watched her lift her first NWSL Championship trophy.

“Marty,” Janet said, “is the mayor. I just follow behind him.” That last part is not exactly true, with Janet just as instrumental in leading the group from tailgates under Batman flags to the stands.

The network — and the closeness of the friendships — grows every year, with the Lavelles pulling everyone together.

The family’s years of sacrifices, support, celebration and worry paid off when Rose scored her 80th-minute winner against the Spirit. Even before Bruninha opted for the pass, the family section stood, hands on shoulders, waiting and waiting. They exploded as Rose made contact and scored.

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After the goal, Marty picked Janet up in a hug that felt endless, both of them whooping with joy.

What To Watch

📺 USWNT vs. ItalyFriday at 7 p.m. ET on TNT and Universo 

USWNT head coach Emma Hayes was at the NWSL Championship this weekend. She told reporters before the game that, while she said she can’t turn her brain off tactically, she enjoys being able to watch the important match as a neutral. Her only issue? That American soccer suites are at field level. She would much rather watch from above than get phantom coach syndrome from the sideline. Seven of the players from Saturday’s final now head to Florida to join the rest of the national team in the final two international games of the year.

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We actually have a full slate of international games later this week to cure your turkey hangover, including leg one of Germany-Spain for a Nations League title Friday, and England returning after Mary Earps’ book drama for a game against China on Saturday.

Full Time First Looks

What’s next? Rodman didn’t want to talk about her future before the NWSL Championship. Still, she was asked about it at every turn. The forward is a free agent this winter and has interest from Europe as well as a shocking offer from DC Power in the Gainbridge Super League, the other Division I women’s league in the U.S. Her decision will not only dictate her career — it will also have a lasting impact on the NWSL as a whole.

Changes looming: NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman’s state of the league address was largely about the salary cap and Rodman, but she also talked about the impact of MLS’ recent calendar shift. To say the offseason will be busy is an understatement. You should also definitely read this profile of the commissioner by Tamerra Griffin.

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TemVP: The least surprising news of last week was that Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga is the NWSL’s MVP for a second consecutive year. I will never get tired of watching the 27-year-old ball out in the league. I don’t doubt she is a favorite to make it a three-peat.

Dancing shoes: Former England Lioness Karen Carney has been competing on “Strictly Come Dancing” (what we call “Dancing with the Stars” in the U.S.) and doing really well. She told Caoimhe O’Neill that she feels like herself on the dance floor and “never wants it to end.”

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This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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