Sports
Gotham rides series of magic moments to win NWSL Championship
SAN JOSE, Calif — The week leading into Saturday’s NWSL Championship was dominated by distress over the future of Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman, and the league’s inability to retain its biggest star due to the limitations of the salary cap.
But as the final minutes ticked away at PayPal Park on Saturday, Gotham FC midfielder Rose Lavelle was the star of the moment, the player who found that “magic,” as head coach Juan Carlos Amoros called it the day prior, for a 1-0 victory over Washington.
Brilliance in those moments that matter carried Gotham through another unlikely playoff run to its second championship in three seasons.
Lavelle’s trademark left foot curled a shot into the net in the 80th minute in one of the rare moments of transition in a match that was mostly a midfield stalemate. Gotham’s victory completed a storybook playoff run and left the steady, consistent Spirit stuck as runners-up for the second straight year.
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Gotham’s championship triumph is the epitome of knockout soccer and the right timing to survive and advance. Gotham did exactly that throughout these playoffs, scraping by at times to defeat the record-setting Kansas City Current in the final seconds of extra time before knocking off the defending champions Orlando Pride in stoppage time on their only shot on goal in that semifinal.
On Saturday, a series of unfortunate events upended the Spirit and benefitted Gotham. Moments before Lavelle’s goal, Spirit midfielder Hal Hershfelt went down with an injury and Washington played several minutes down a player as Hershfelt received treatment on the sideline. She eventually hobbled back onto the field to bring the Spirit back to 11 players as head coach Adrian Gonzalez prepared a substitute, but the match went on, and Gotham fullback Bruninha broke through down the left side and delivered a cutback cross to Lavelle 18 yards out in the central area that Hershfelt had otherwise commanded throughout the match.
Hershfelt and Croix Bethune patrolled the midfield for Washington, but Lavelle, Jaedyn Shaw, and Jaelin Howell canceled out the Spirit’s attempt to control the central areas. Gotham was neither flashy nor spectacular, but they were once again successful. It wasn’t luck, and in truth it wasn’t really magic — not in the Hocus Pocus kind of intangible way.
The “underdog” label for this Gotham team was always superficial. This is a team that won the Concacaf title earlier this year, a team that pushed toward the top of the league a year ago, a team filled with stars, from Lavelle to Shaw and Esther González.
But it is also a team that has wildly underperformed throughout the year, which is why it had to take the hard road to this title.
Gotham’s success is also ironic: A team that Amoros built to be interchangeable and fluid was dragged through the playoffs largely by its stars.
Shaw registered a goal and an assist in the quarterfinal win over the top-seeded Current, followed by the game-winner in the semifinal over the 2024 champion Orlando Pride. On Saturday, it was Lavelle’s left foot that made the difference.
Gotham, with two championships in three years and a Concacaf crown, has mastered the art of knockout soccer.
And that is the beauty of the NWSL and the playoff system, the unpredictable “superpower” the commissioner Jessica Berman and executives rave about. Nobody could be fooled into thinking that Gotham was the best team over the course of the NWSL season. Kansas City set records for points and wins while clinching the Shield by a commanding 21 points.
But Gotham earned its trophy by beating that Kansas City team, followed by last year’s champions.
The NWSL’s biggest story was and still is Rodman and her future. Rodman, however, was mostly a non-factor for the 30-plus minutes that she played off the bench on Saturday due to the limitations of the MCL sprain that she sustained last month. For the second straight year, the USWNT star played through pain on the losing end in an NWSL Championship loss.
After the match, she sat on the bench briefly before slowly walking across the field to embrace her boyfriend, tennis star Ben Shelton. Whether that was Rodman’s last walk across an NWSL stadium for the foreseeable future is unknown.
Saturday, however, was about a Gotham team that kept finding a way to win throughout November, even when it was outplayed. This is the sweet uncertainty of sports, and especially the NWSL, at its finest.
Sports — and championships — are about moments. They are moments of brilliance for one team and poor fortune for another. Gotham bided its time through the “high highs and low lows,” as Lavelle described it on Friday.
A day later, one moment of brilliance from Lavelle delivered the ultimate high.
FORT WORTH, Texas — The first semifinal session of the NCAA gymnastics championships included LSU, Florida, Georgia and Stanford — with Florida and LSU advancing to Saturday’s final (4 p.m. ET; ABC).
Next up, Oklahoma, UCLA, Arkansas and Minnesota will compete in Semifinal II, beginning at 9 pm ET (ESPN2). Once again, the top two teams will move on.
Individual event titles and an all-around winner will also be awarded today — but not until both semifinal sessions are complete.
Who will make it to the next round? Will an upset surprise us all? We’ll have you covered with all the action here.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Wednesday joined U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer in calling on FIFA to contribute toward World Cup transit security costs.
MetLife Stadium will host eight World Cup games, including the tournament final. The Athletic reported earlier this week that NJ Transit is considering charging $100 for train tickets to shuttle fans between New York Penn Station and the stadium. Standard fare is $12.90.
Parking will be restricted at the Meadowlands stadium complex compared to NFL games — making public transport one of the only options to attend World Cup matches, which get underway June 11.
“We inherited an agreement where FIFA is providing $0 for transportation to the World Cup,” Sherrill said on X. “And while NJ TRANSIT is stuck with a $48 million bill to safely get fans to and from games, FIFA is making $11 billion. I’m not going to stick New Jersey commuters with that tab for years to come.
“FIFA should pay for the rides. But if they don’t — I’m not going to let New Jersey get taken for one.”
Speaking on WNYC on Wednesday, Sherrill said she would approve the fare increase if FIFA doesn’t step in.
“I will, if that’s what it takes, because I’m not putting this on the back of New Jerseyans,” she said.
On Wednesday, NJ Transit’s board of directors unanimously approved a resolution to set transport prices to “cover any and all costs” to transport fans and comply with Sherrill’s directive.
NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri on Wednesday said he supported Sherrill’s plea to FIFA and confirmed that commuters would not pay extra costs, according to NJ.com.
“The governor said whatever the fare will be, it will not be cross subsidized by our regular commuters. I’d think every NJ Transit customer would stand behind that,” Kolluri told NJ.com. “It will cost us $48 million. We will charge FIFA fans for those tickets, and it will not be subsidized by our commuters.”
Schumer on Monday said FIFA should be helping pay for World Cup transit security costs.
“FIFA is set to reap nearly $11 billion from this summer’s World Cup, yet New York area commuters and residents are being handed the bill,” Schumer wrote on X. “The least FIFA can do is ensure New York residents can go to the stadium without being gouged at the turnstile. I am demanding FIFA step up.”
We inherited an agreement where FIFA is providing $0 for transportation to the World Cup.
And while NJ TRANSIT is stuck with a $48 million bill to safely get fans to and from games, FIFA is making $11 billion.
I’m not going to stick New Jersey commuters with that tab for years… pic.twitter.com/pugU8davkW
— Governor Mikie Sherrill (@GovSherrillNJ) April 15, 2026
Earlier this month, New Jersey’s host travel committee released a detailed plan for transport and parking during the matches, outlining a park-and-ride plan with specific parking lots and shuttle buses that will run to and from the stadium.
“While rideshare and limited premium parking options will be available, the FIFA World Cup at NYNJ Stadium will be a public transportation first event, largely relying on NJ Transit rail and Host Committee bus shuttles,” Natalie Hamilton, a host committee spokesperson, told NJ.com.
“We are strongly encouraging all ticket holders to utilize expanded NJ Transit rail service and the Host Committee’s Stadium Shuttle.”
A FIFA spokesperson insisted the host city had previously agreed to provide free or at-cost transportation to fans at all matches.
“We are quite surprised by the NJ governor’s approach on fan transportation,” FIFA said in a statement Wednesday.
“The original FIFA World Cup 2026 host city agreements signed in 2018 required free transportation for fans to all matches. Recognizing the financial strain this placed on the host cities, back in 2023 FIFA adjusted the host agreement requirements across all host cities as follows: All match ticket holders and accredited individuals shall be able to access transport [public or additionally planned transport] at cost to allow travel to stadiums on match days.
“Moreover, FIFA has worked for years with host cities on their transportation and mobility plans, including advocating for millions of dollars in federal funding to support host cities for transportation.
“The FIFA World Cup will bring millions of fans to North America along with the related economic impact. Many of these fans will travel to NYNJ to enjoy the eight matches scheduled, including the FIFA World Cup final.
“FIFA is not aware of any other major event previously held at NYNJ Stadium, including other major sports, global concert tours, etc, where organizers were required to pay for fan transportation.”
During the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022, ticket holders enjoyed free transport on the city’s Metro system, funded by the country’s government.
UEFA bore the cost of ticket holders using German public transport in host cities on match days during Euro 2024.
Kansas City, where England’s training camp will be based, will offer free bus travel for fans from the airport close to the Fan Festival in the city center, and daily, weekly and tournament passes for unlimited regional travel costing $5.25 and $50, respectively.
Ticket holders will also be able to use a Stadium Direct service, which connects four park and ride locations as well as the Fan Festival to the Arrowhead Stadium for $15 per person, the host city committee said.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) said that there will be no fare increases connected to the staging of World Cup matches in Philadelphia.
The spokesperson said most if not all of the added operating costs of running the services during the World Cup would be covered by a recently awarded federal grant.
Information from Press Association and The Associated Press was used in this report.
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The Baltimore Orioles fell victim to an accidental challenge.
In the second inning of the Orioles’ 8-5 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday, third baseman Coby Mayo was forced to challenge a pitch he didn’t want to.
Mayo took a 3-0 pitch from Diamondbacks starter Eduardo Rodríguez on the outside and began walking toward first base, thinking he had a walk. Instead home plate umpire John Tumpane called it a strike.
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Baltimore Orioles’ Coby Mayo talks with umpire John Tumpane during the second inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Baltimore, Maryland. April 15, 2026. (Stephanie Scarbrough/AP Photo)
Mayo expressed his displeasure with the call and raised his right hand toward his helmet, but did not tap his head, as he did not want to challenge the pitch. Tumpane thought he did indeed challenge the pitch and initiated a review.
The call was confirmed to be a strike as Mayo argued he did not challenge the call. The Orioles ended up losing the challenge, one of their two on the day. A replay confirmed that Mayo never actually touched his head.
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Baltimore Orioles’ Coby Mayo celebrates hitting a double during the second inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Baltimore, Maryland. April 15, 2026. (Stephanie Scarbrough/AP Photo)
Mayo, however, still had a successful at-bat. On the ensuing 3-1 pitch, Mayo ripped a 91-mph fastball down the left-field line for a double and ended up scoring the game’s first run.
Mayo’s unintentional challenge is one of a few that have occurred so far this season. Last week, Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Nick Gonzales challenged a pitch but immediately tried to reverse his decision, as the team only had one challenge left.
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Baltimore Orioles’ Coby Mayo celebrates with Blaze Alexander after scoring on an RBI hit by Sam Huff during the second inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Baltimore, Maryland. April 15, 2026. (Stephanie Scarbrough/AP Photo)
Gonzales ended up winning the challenge, and the Pirates retained their last challenge.
Mayo and the Orioles (9-9) will hope they don’t have any more ABS snafus when they play the Cleveland Guardians (10-9) on Thursday at 6:10 p.m. ET.
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