Rose Lavelle celebrated her return from injury and her debut for Gotham FC with a stoppage-time equalizer in a 1-1 draw against Racing Louisville on Sunday.
Lavelle has not appeared in a match for club or country since suffering a leg injury while on USWNT duty at the W Gold Cup at the start of this year. She entered Sunday’s match as a 74th-minute substitute for Lynn Williams with the score tied 0-0.
Reilyn Turner had seemingly delivered three points away from home for Louisville with a goal in the fifth of 10 minutes of stoppage time, but Lavelle’s equalizer came not long after, off an assist from Ella Stevens in the 97th of stoppage time.
“I mean, it’s never fun to start the year injured,” Lavelle said after the game. “So that was kind of frustrating but, I think credit to like the team and the staff, they helped much of me get me back out there, made it fun for me, and I think the crowd was great. You never want to fall behind in stoppage, but I think our reaction to that was really great and to get the goal immediately after was it was good.”
Rose to the occasion 🤩
Lavelle pulls Gotham level just in time! pic.twitter.com/QLCNNcQIA8
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 28, 2024
The goal marks a significant milestone for Lavelle, who will likely…
