Esther Gonzalez scored the decider just before halftime, Nealy Martin endured some nervy late moments as an emergency goalkeeper, and NY/NJ Gotham FC earned their first NWSL Championship with a 2–1 victory over OL Reign on Saturday night, Nov. 11, in San Diego.
Lynn Williams scored the opening goal for Gotham, which survived a dramatic late twist when goalkeeper Mandy Haught was sent off for handling outside the box and denying Reign an obvious goal-scoring opportunity deep in second-half stoppage time.