Rose Lavelle scored in stoppage time as Gotham FC defeated the Portland Thorns 2-1 on Sunday to advance to the semifinals of the NWSL playoffs and put an end to the career of Canada star Christine Sinclair.
Gotham, the defending NWSL champions, will face the second-seeded Washington Spirit next weekend. The Spirit defeated visiting Bay FC 2-1 in extra time earlier on Sunday in the quarterfinals.
It was the final NWSL game for Thorns forward Sinclair, who is retiring after 12 seasons with the club.
“The competitor in me hates losing, so that’s all I feel right now,” Sinclair said after the game. “We played pretty well tonight, hit the post. The game could have gone either way, so that’s pretty much all I’m feeling right now.”
A club record 15,540 fans were on hand for the match at Red Bull Arena. Gotham finished the season with the third seed, going 17-4-5.
The Thorns struggled down the stretch but defeated Angel City in the final regular season match to secure the eighth and final seed.
Sophia Smith, who played for the United States at the Olympics this summer, appeared to put the Thorns up in the 43rd minute but she was offside.
There was a lengthy video review in the second half to determine if Portland defender Becky Sauerbrunn…
