da pinup bet： An early injury to OL Reign and USWNT superstar Megan Rapinoe doomed Seattle in the NWSL final vs Gotham as Rose Lavelle couldn't manage on her own.

da pinnacle： Rapinoe falling to injury in the third minute, which saw her removed from her final career game, was the turning point for Seattle – even if it was just minutes in.

Their attack struggled to click after, and Canadian international Jordyn Huitema struggled to link up with USWNT star Rose Lavelle – who scored the lone Reign goal in their 2-1 loss to Gotham.

A pair of assists from Midge Purce and a game-winning header from 2023 World Cup winner Esther Gonzalez sealed a first-ever NWSL title for Gotham.

GOAL rates OL Reign's players from Snapdragon Stadium…

USA Today Sports Goalkeeper & Defence

Claudia Dickey (6/10):

Nothing impressive from the 23-year-old, who stepped in midway through the season after the departure of Phallon Tullis-Joyce—but her defense let her down on both goals.

Alana Cook (5/10):

A tough night for the USWNT defender, who gave the ball away cheaply multiple times.

Lauren Barnes(5/10):

Overcommitted in her challenge against Midge Purce as the winger set up the opening goal.

Sofia Huerta (X/10):

Seattle’s crossing specialist had a few good services into the box, but didn’t end up impacting the game much.

Phoebe McClernon(6/10):

A middling performance for McClernon, who gave the ball away just as often as she won it back.

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Emily Sonnett (7/10):

The Emily Sonnett experience: the converted center back was by turns ruthlessly effective and reckless in controlling the midfield, both combining with the Reign attacking corps and coughing up the ball needlessly.

Megan Rapinoe (N/A):

The USWNT legend, who was playing her final career game, exited the match just three minutes in due to injury.

Jess Fishlock (7/10):

A similarly mixed performance to Sonnett. The Welsh international was fairly effective as a ball-winner, but had a number of uncharacteristically careless giveaways.

Veronica Latsko (6/10):

The goalscorer in Reign’s two previous playoff matches failed to impress in the championship, missing several scoring opportunities.

USA Today Sports Attack

Rose Lavelle (9/10):

Lavelle has been the missing ingredient for Reign all season, and her creative wizardry in the final was her team’s best hope.

Jordyn Huitema (6/10):

Largely quiet on the attack and lost an aerial duel to the shorter Esther when she scored Gotham’s go-ahead goal.

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Bethany Balcer (6/10):

Balcer came on for the injured Rapinoe and put forth a valiant effort, but not enough attacking prowess came with it.

Quinn (6/10):

Arrive with 15 minutes to spare, didn't make much of an impact.

Elyse Bennett: (NA):

Subbed on with minutes to spare.

Laura Harvey (6/10):

The longtime Reign manager suffered another gutting championship loss. Her second-half adjustments were too little, too late.