Rose Lavelle celebrated her return from injury and 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 club or country match since injuring his leg while on duty with the USWNT during the W Gold Cup earlier this year. She entered Sunday’s match as a replacement for Lynn Williams in the 74th minute with the score tied at 0-0.
Reilyn Turner had seemingly made it three away points for Louisville with a goal in the fifth of 10 minutes of injury time, but Lavelle’s equalizer came soon after, courtesy of an assist from Ella Stevens in the 97th minute.
“I mean, it’s never fun to start the year hurt,” Lavelle said after the game. “So it was a little frustrating but, I think it’s a credit to loving the team and the staff, they helped me a lot to get back on the field, made it fun for me, and I think the crowd was great You should never fall behind in stoppage time, but I think our reaction to that was really great and to score the goal straight after was good.
I rose to the occasion 🤩
Lavelle reaches Gotham’s level just in time! pic.twitter.com/QLCNNcQIA8
– National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 28, 2024
“I didn’t really have the best footing on this thing,” Lavelle said. “It’s thanks to Ella, she really did the heavy lifting…I think sometimes in those moments it’s tempting to just want to break it. So I tried to place it, didn’t get the most contact, but luckily it still worked.
The goal marks a milestone for Lavelle, who, if healthy, will likely be part of the first USWNT squad to be named by new head coach Emma Hayes next month.
“I’m super proud of her,” Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amoros said after the game. “We were all very happy that she was finally able, after all this work, to debut in the Gotham jersey, and achieving that goal, I think, was special, not only for her, but for everyone… We are very careful, because we know that she was injured in the Gold Cup when she was playing several minutes in a row, and we have to manage it.
Despite the positive result, Gotham is still looking for its first home win of the season and finishes the NWSL weekend in 11th place out of 14 teams.
Required reading:
(Photo: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports)