Gotham FC Suffers Decision Day Defeat at North Carolina

The North Carolina Courage’s fast start made the difference in a 3-2 win over Gotham FC on a rainy Sunday evening in the Tar Heel State.

Gotham FC (9-8-9, 26 points) got two late goals from Rose Lavelle and Gabi Portilho to make it a contest, but the visitors fell short in their torrid rally. The loss moved Gotham FC to eighth place in the final NWSL standings, setting up a road matchup against top-seeded Kansas City in the quarterfinals of the 2025 NWSL Playoffs.

The date and time of Gotham FC’s playoff opener will be announced soon.

“The first 20 minutes – that's not who we are,” said Gotham FC coach Juan Carlos Amorós. “We were not ourselves. We were pressing. We were not good on the ball. … We know that, to win this tournament, this competition will have to be the best ones, something that we are ready for when we are at our best. So, off we go now to (Kansas City).

“We will have to be the best version of ourselves.”

North Carolina needed a win over Gotham and a Racing Louisville draw or loss to qualify for the playoffs, but Racing’s 1-0 win over Bay FC bumped the Courage out of the postseason picture and altered Gotham’s playoff path on a night it could’ve finished as high as fourth in the NWSL standings.

Meredith Speck opened the scoring for the home team at WakeMed Soccer Park, finishing a quick counter in the 14th minute. Manaka Matsukubo shocked Gotham with a second just two minutes later. An own goal early in the second half ultimately sealed Gotham’s fate.

Amorós’s team fought back with substitutes Bruninha, Sofia Cook, Gabi Portilho and Lilly Reale, who provided a spark in chasing the game. Cook, Portilho and Reale each had two shots, with Cook nearly finishing a spectacular move through multiple defenders before skimming her shot wide.

Portilho drew a penalty in the 85th minute with her dribbling prowess, and Lavelle slotted home the ensuing shot. The Brazilian knocked in a second Gotham goal in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, but the game only had a minute more to go at that point.

“Playoffs are like a whole new season, so it doesn’t matter what anyone’s done up to this point – ourselves included,” Lavelle said. “You go into the playoffs with a fresh slate. Kansas City is a great team and has had an incredible season, so we have to start strong from the beginning. We know they’re very good in transition, so we’ll have to be switched on. We’ll use this week to prepare – it’s going to be a tough matchup.”

Key Match Points

• Midfielder Rose Lavelle scored her fifth goal of the NWSL regular season and her second in Gotham FC’s last two matches.
• Forward Gabi Portilho recorded her third goal of the campaign and her first since Sept. 7 against Angel City, netting Gotham’s second of the night.
• Forward Katie Stengel registered her first assist of the regular season, setting up Portilho late in second-half stoppage time.
• Defender Emily Sonnett made her 26th NWSL regular season start, surpassing Delanie Sheehan and her own 2024 mark for the most starts in a single regular season in Gotham history.
• Both Sonnett and defender Lilly Reale became the third and fourth players in Gotham history to appear in every match of a 26-game season, joining Sheehan and Jenna Nighswonger, who accomplished the feat in 2024.
• Defender Mandy Freeman made her 91st NWSL regular season start, tying Erica Skroski for second-most in Gotham FC history.
• Goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger made her 46th NWSL regular-season start for Gotham, passing Brittany Cameron for the second-most by a goalkeeper in club history.
  • Berger also made her 46th regular-season appearance, surpassing Cameron for the second-most by a goalkeeper in club history.
• Defender Kayla Duan made her first NWSL start and seventh appearance of the regular season.

Gotham FC at North Carolina Courage

Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025

5:20 p.m. ET kickoff

First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park; Cary, North Carolina

Attendance: 11,170

Weather: 62 degrees, overcast

Gotham FC (0, 2 – 2)

North Carolina Courage (2, 1 – 3)

Scoring Summary

Gotham FC

87’ - Rose Lavelle (P)

90+5’ - Gabi Portilho (Katie Stengel)

North Carolina Courage

14’ - Meredith Speck (Payton Linnehan)

16’ - Manaka Matsukubo

51’ - Jess Carter (OG)

Gotham FC (4-3-3): 30 – Ann-Katrin Berger (GK); 19 – Kayla Duran (61’ 4 – Lilly Reale), 6 – Emily Sonnett, 27 – Jess Carter (76’ 18 – Gabi Portilho), 22 – Mandy Freeman (C) (61’ 3 – Bruninha); 7 – Jaelin Howell, 16 – Rose Lavelle, 5 – Josefine Hasbo (61’ 21 – Sofia Cook); 23 – Midge Purce, 28 – Katie Stengel, 2 – Jaedyn Shaw

Unused substitutes: 1 – Shelby Hogan (GK), 12 – Ryan Campbell (GK); 11 – Sarah Schupansky, 17 – Mak Whitham, 34 – Khyah Harper

Head coach: Juan Carlos Amorós

North Carolina Courage (4-3-3): 1 – Casey Murphy (GK); 13 – Ryan Williams, 3 – Kaleigh Kurtz, 27 – Maycee Bell, 4 – Nat Jacobs; 10 – Denise O’Sullivan (C), 16 – Riley Jackson, 20 – Shinomi Koyama (70’ 2 – Ashley Sanchez); 15 – Payton Linnehan (70’ 14 – Tyler Lussi), 34 – Manaka Matsukubo (82’ 8 – Brianna Pinto), 25 – Meredith Speck (70’ 22 – Cortnee Vine)

Unused substitutes: 44 – Marisa Jordan (GK); 12 – Talia Staude, 17 – Dani Weatherholt, 30 – Hannah Betfort, 77 – Aline Gomes

Interim head coach: Nathan Thackeray

Stats Summary

GFC / NCC

Expected Goals: 2.25 / 2.67

Shots: 21 / 12

Shots on Goal: 7 / 6

Saves: 4 / 5

Corners: 6 / 3

Fouls: 8 / 12

Offside: 3 / 2

Misconduct Summary

Gotham FC

77’ - Katie Stengel (Yellow Card - Reckless Offense)

Officials

Referee: Abdou Ndiaye

Assistant Referee 1: Jennifer Garner

Assistant Referee 2: Kendall McCardell

4th Official: Nicholas Strednak

VAR: Katja Koroleva

AVAR: Matthew Rodman