Rose Lavelle scored in extra time and Gotham FC beat Portland Thorns 2-1 on Sunday to advance to the semifinals of the National Women’s Soccer League playoffs.
Gotham, the defending NWSL champions, will face the second-seeded Washington Spirit next weekend. The Spirit beat visiting Bay FC 2-1 in extra time in the quarterfinals on Sunday morning.
It was the final NWSL game for Thorns forward Christine Sinclair of Burnaby, BC, who is retiring after 12 seasons with the club.
The match at Red Bull Arena was attended by a club record 15,540 fans. Gotham finished the season as the third seed with a record of 17-4-5.
The Thorns continued to struggle, but defeated Angel City in their final regular season game to secure the eighth and final seed.
City Hall | Christine Sinclair leaves the football pitch for the last time:
Christine Sinclair was substituted in the NWSL’s final game for the Portland Thorns on Sunday, a 2-1 loss to Gotham FC.
Sophia Smith, who represented the United States at this summer’s Olympics, appeared to put the Thorns through in the 43rd minute but was offside.
There was a lengthy video review in the second half to determine if Portland defender Becky Sauerbrunn committed a handball in the box, which would have resulted in a penalty being awarded to Gotham. In the end, no penalty kick was issued.
Tierna Davidson scored her first goal of the season to put Gotham up 1-0 in the 67th minute. It came from a free kick that Ravel sent into the crowd in front of goal.
In the 75th minute, rookie Reilyn Turner equalized for Portland with a header from a set piece. Morgan Weaver almost put the Thorns on top but her shot went wide of the target before Lavelle scored the winner seven minutes into added time.
“It’s always good to score in extra time so we don’t have to go into overtime,” Lavelle said.
Sinclair, 41, has played for Portland since the NWSL’s inception in 2013 and helped the Thorns win NWSL championships in 2013, 2017 and 2022. She scored a club-record 65 goals in the regular season for the team, ranking her third all-time. in the league
Sinclair retired from the Canadian national team last year as the all-time leading scorer in international soccer for both men and women, with 190 goals.
Shield winners Orlando Pride (#1 seed) will face the Kansas City Currents in the other semifinal next weekend. The NWSL Championship is scheduled for November 23rd at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City.
