Gotham FC’s NWSL repeat hopes crushed in semifinal heartbreaker to Spirit

So after all that, after six combined yellow cards and the two from Bruninha that forced Gotham FC to operate down a player, after the two frames of extra time and the one final Washington Spirit corner in the 121st minute that Ann-Katrin Berger barely — feet on one side of the goal line, ball smothered on the other side — kept out of the net, it came down to three consecutive goals by the Spirit and three consecutive saves from Aubrey Kingsbury in the penalty shootout.

And instead of a chance to become just the third team in NWSL history to win consecutive titles, the reigning champions — revamped with a collection of stars in the offseason, the superteam label following them throughout the year — are eliminated after a final score 1-1 (3-0) at Audi Field on Saturday/

Five minutes away from a second consecutive trip to the NWSL title match, all it took was a costly yellow card, a free kick and a header to unravel Gotham’s playoff run, with Kingsbury’s final save against Jenna Nighswonger in penalties securing Gotham’s exit.

Near the end of regulation, Nighswonger picked up a yellow card — Gotham’s third of the match — in the second minute of stoppage time, and the Spirit’s Hal Hershfelt headed the ensuing free kick past Berger and sent the sold-out crowd into a frenzy. 

But for most of the final 40 minutes of the second half, though, Gotham was positioned for a chance at history. Only two teams had ever won consecutive championships in NWSL history.

The Current did it first in 2014-15. Then, the North Carolina Courage in 2018-19.

And even before her team-leading nine goals during the regular season, Esther González had already etched her place into Gotham FC history with her final tally of the 2023 campaign — when she found a pocket of space inside the 18-yard box, flicked her head to the right and redirected the corner into the net to snap a tie in the NWSL championship match. 

One year later, when Gotham needed to snap a tie against the Spirit in the semifinals, Gonzalez found a pocket of space inside the 18-yard box, flicked her head — to the left this time — and redirected a pass from Yazmeen Ryan into the net.

That gave Gotham a 1-0 lead in the 56th minute.

The Spirit, which won two of their three meetings with Gotham, generated plenty of chances in search of an equalizer.

Five minutes after González’s goal, Paige Metayer cut behind a pair of Gotham defenders and had a clear chance, but Berger — who made nine saves but was examined by a trainer on the field four times Saturday — stepped up in the box and disrupted the chance.

Then, defender Tierna Davidson used her foot to knock down a shot from Rosemonde Kouassi. 

Washington out-shot Gotham and sent many of them on net, and after a handful of strong scoring chances in the first half, the Spirit started creating the bulk of the opportunities — and forced Gotham’s defense to adjust.

Berger needed to make saves. That remained the case at the start of the second half, too.

In the 101st minute, though, Bruninha shoved Trinity Rodman while fighting near the benches and knocked the United States women’s national team and Spirit star to the field.

Rodman mimicked the motion of showing Bruninha a card. The referee followed with a similar motion moments later.

And for the rest of the match, that forced Gotham to operate down a player.

They survived until penalties. Then, their chance at NWSL history evaporated.