A cruel ending to Megan Rapinoe’s bright career played out in San Diego on Saturday night in the National Women’s Soccer League championship.
But the pall cast by the third-minute injury that felled the 38-year-old Rapinoe, who said she felt her Achilles tendon pop, didn’t linger long at Snapdragon Stadium.
The players saw to it. Before an announced crowd of 25,011, playmakers scored three first-half goals you’d expect to see in a championship. It was the type of soccer Rapinoe would’ve enjoyed. Aggressive and skillful.
Ultimately, Ali Krieger-led NJ/NY Gotham earned the trophy, winning 2-1 over Rapinoe’s OL Reign to claim the franchise’s first NWSL title, just one year after finishing last in the 12-club league.
“It was my last game, and I always felt we were going to win it,” said Rapinoe, who watched the second half while wearing a walking boot. She praised Gotham, captained by her longtime friend Krieger, who as did Rapinoe, said this week it would be her final match.
“I’m so happy for Ali,” Rapinoe said.
OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe sits on the ground after suffering an injury during Saturday’s NWSL Championship match.
(Meg McLaughlin/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
San Diegans did their part, if somewhat reluctantly, to enliven the event.
Though it was the largest crowd of NWSL’s 11 championship-match crowds, it would’ve been much larger if not for the San Diego Wave’s 1-0 loss to the Reign six nights before a crowd of 32,262 that set an NWSL postseason record.
So it goes in “San Diego Soccer Boom Town” — where the Wave’s playoff crowd more than doubled the turnstile count for the football Aztecs the previous night.
Instead of seeing the Wave, locals finally saw up-close vulnerability in the Reign, who’ve never lost to the Wave in nine matches; and they witnessed a victory from Gotham, against which the Wave are 4-0 with two victories this year.
From Gotham’s Margaret “Midge” Purce, the game’s MVP, fans saw playmaking that exceeded any Wave player’s efforts this year against OL Reign’s defense.
By driving past three Reign players and forcing the goalkeeper to commit to her, the 28-year-old Harvard alum set up the match’s first goal, an easy putaway by Lynn Williams.
An apt answer came from Rose Lavelle, the Reign’s world-class midfielder.
She finished a breakaway with a 14-yard laser to the goal’s right edge.
NJ/NY Gotham FC forward Margaret Purce (23), center, dances with teammates after winning the NWSL Championship.
(Meg McLaughlin/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Purce responded. She pinpointed a corner kick to Esther Gonzalez, and the Spaniard headed it home for the goal that would stand as the game-winner.
Only after Gotham survived being a player down on LaVelle’s free kick, from 19 yards in the final minute of second-half stoppage time, could the East Coast team close out the win. LaVelle’s straight-on shot caromed off a wall player’s head, repulsing Seattle’s final charge.
As fans cheered her afterward, Rapinoe dabbed her eyes. “I feel so lucky to play as long as I’ve played,” she said.
NJ/NY Gotham FC defender Ali Krieger (11), center, and teammates celebrate beating the OL Reign.
(Meg McLaughlin/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Fans sent up chants for “Krieg-er,” the 39-year-old defender who won a pair of World Cup titles with Rapinoe and this night played all 90 minutes.
San Diego won’t host another NWSL championship for a number of years. Commissioner Jessica Berman said Friday the league will bid out future championship matches to other clubs, including three expansion teams that will debut within two years.
She praised San Diegans for enticing the league by making the Wave the league’s attendance champion this season.
