Gotham FC are NWSL Champions! Winners and Losers as OL Reign's Megan Rapinoe was lost to injury while the Bats' Midge Purce rose to the occasion
Midge Purce earned the MVP honors of the 2023 NWSL Championship game while Megan Rapinoe ended her career on a bleak note, with a torn Achilles.
NJ/NY Gotham FC are the 2023 NWSL Championships following a drama-packed final match that saw Reign and USWNT star Megan Rapinoe limp off the pitch in the third minute of her final career game. Meanwhile, Gotham defender Ali Krieger, also playing in her last match, ends her career in fairytale fashion.
Lynn Williams, Rapinoe and Krieger’s USA teammate, notched the opener and was a standout throughout the match, but the real star on the night was forward Midge Purce, who won the MVP award for the game and tallied the assist on both Gotham goals.
A stoppage-time red card for New Jersey keeper Mandy Haught forced midfielder Nealy Martin into goal, but Haught’s mistake turned out not to matter as Rose Lavelle sent her close-range free kick into the opposing wall.
Gotham, who finished dead last in 2022, completed their “worst-to-first” comeback in convincing style and left their first-ever championship appearance with the trophy.
GOAL'S winners and losers from Snapdragon Stadium.
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