NJ/NY Gotham FC advanced to the National Women’s Soccer League Championship for the first time with a 1-0 victory over the defending champion Portland Thorns on Sunday. Gotham, the lowest-ranked team in the six-team playoff field, will play OL Reign in next Saturday’s NWSL Championship after Laura Harvey’s side defeated San Diego Wave 1-0 in Sunday’s other semifinal.
Portland Thorns 0-1 NJ/NY Gotham 1 (AET)
A tactical chess match played out in the first semifinal, to the advantage of a NJ/NY Gotham FC team that preferred to slow the game against a talented and athletic Portland Thorns side. Ultimately, NJ/NY Gotham FC head coach Juan Carlos Amoros made the decisive move in extra time.
Gotham forward Katie Stengel scored the game-winning goal in the 107th minute to lift Gotham, the team that finished last in the NWSL a year ago, to the NWSL Championship. Stengel came off the bench seven minutes earlier, during the first half of extra time, as Amoros sought to unlock a Thorns defense that stood firm for most of the night.
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Veteran center-back Becky Sauerbrunn anchored that effort for…
