In this week’s women’s soccer news, NJ/NY Gotham FC won the 2025 NWSL Championship; the future of Trinity Rodman in the NWSL is in question; Ohio State got a big upset; and more!
High of the Week
NJ/NY Gotham FC are the champions again. They won their first championship as a club in 2023, and this weekend they defeated the Washington Spirit 1-0 to lift their second. Gotham came into the playoffs as the eight seed, as the lowest seed, they were faced with a daunting task of traveling to the shield winners in the quarterfinals. While it was a test, they were still able to knock off the Kansas City Current, who were the favorites and the best team throughout the regular season.
Then they had to travel to the Orlando Pride, who were the reigning champions, but they didn’t back down from that task either, knocking the Pride off 1-0. The underdog mentality fueled Gotham, and they were able to knock off two very good teams to set up a meeting with the Washington Spirit in the Championship match.
Gotham played very well all game defensively and were able to limit Washington’s offensive chances. The game stayed scoreless until the 80th minute when Rose Lavelle scored what would become the game-winner. Gotham was the better team on the day, and they had a great game plan to shut down the Spirit and win the match.
It was a heartbreaking loss for the Spirit, who have made it to the NWSL Championship in back-to-back years but just have not been able to get the win in the big game.
Low of the Week
The talk of the league this week has become the future of Trinity Rodman. The star forward is set to become a free agent this offseason, and all eyes will be on what she decides to do. The problem that the NWSL is running into is that they can’t offer the same amount of money to keep Rodman as clubs in Europe or the Super League can offer. The NWSL has a salary cap for each team that is set at $3.3 million, and if the league wants to keep star players like Rodman, they have to get rid of this cap or, at the very least, increase it tremendously. Women’s soccer is growing, which means that more and more teams are going to be willing to invest in big players. It was reported this week by The Athletic that Rodman has received a contract offer from the DC Power in the Super League that is larger than what the Washington Spirit or any team in the NWSL can offer.
It will come down to what the commissioner Jessica Berman is willing to do to try and keep Rodman in the league.
During the Championship, Rodman did go down with a back injury toward the end of the match, so her health could play a factor in where she ends up as well. Earlier this season, she missed time with a back injury, and then at the end of the regular season, she missed time again with an MCL sprain.
News of the Week
The NWSL Awards were this week, with Temwa Chawinga taking home the big MVP award for the second season in a row after scoring 15 goals on the season. Chawinga’s Current teammate, Lorena, won Goalkeeper of the Year after having 14 clean sheets on the season.
Tara McKeown won Defender of the Year after another stellar season with the Washington Spirit. North Carolina Courage star Manaka Matsukubo won Midfielder of the Year after a standout season. Gotham FC defender Lilly Reale won Rookie of the Year. Racing Louisville’s Bev Yanez won Coach of the Year after coaching Louisville to their first playoff appearance in club history.
Portland Thorns defender Sam Hiatt won the Lauren Holiday Impact Award for her work and partnership with Candlelighters for Children with Cancer.
Signing of the Week
The Denver Summit has added another player to its inaugural roster through free agency. Defender Megan Reid signed a three-year deal with the expansion side through 2028. Reid comes to Denver from Angel City, where she spent four seasons and made 81 appearances for the club. Denver also signed defender Kaleigh Kurtz in free agency last week.
Goal of the Week
Rose Lavelle scored the game-winner in the NWSL Championship, and it was a beauty. It started with Bruninha showing off some fancy footwork in the box to beat her defender and slide the ball around a defender and across the box for Lavelle to come running in and perfectly place the shot into the back of the net. It was a beautiful strike from Lavelle, who ended up winning the game MVP for her performance as well.
Upset of the Week
Ohio State pulled off the massive upset in the NCAA Tournament with a 1-0 defeat over No. 2 overall Notre Dame. It wasn’t an easy match with it staying scoreless all the way through regulation, forcing overtime. In the second overtime period, though, Jadin Bonham scored the game-winner for the Buckeyes. Ohio State had to be perfect defensively, and they were weathering the storm from the Fighting Irish’s offense, which had 36 shots in the game. It was just Notre Dame’s second loss of the season.
Team of the Week
Stanford has been magnificent this season with only one loss in 21 games, and that loss was back in September. In the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the Cardinals had an incredible offensive performance to advance to the Sweet 16. Alabama played Stanford tough in the first half, with Stanford leading 3-2 at the break but the Cardinal offense exploded in the second half with four goals to defeat the Crimson Tide 7-3. Jasmine Aikey and Elise Evans both scored braces for the ACC Champions. Stanford will face off against BYU on Monday at 4 p.m. ET with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line.
What To Look Forward To
The USWNT is back in action this week with two matchups against Italy. The first match will be in Orlando, Florida on Friday and then on December 1st, they’ll take on Italy again in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It’ll be the last action for the USWNT in 2025, with their next match not scheduled until January 24.
GIRLS SOCCER NETWORK: YOUR SOURCE FOR GIRLS SOCCER NEWS