SAN JOSE, Calif. — All Gotham FC needed was one big moment Saturday night. One perfectly timed strike in what had been a mostly balanced, physical championship battle against the Washington Spirit.

Bruninha danced with the ball, keeping the defender in front of her on her toes before sending the ball across the field.

Rose Lavelle stepped in and took a one-time strike, sending the ball past Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury to give Gotham the 1-0 lead in the 80th minute.

It was her second career goal in a championship game; her first coincidentally came in 2023 against Gotham.

Lavelle’s lone goal ultimately was enough to clinch Gotham’s second championship in three years.

“Bruninha did all the heavy lifting,” the modest Lavelle, the game’s MVP, said. “And then she just slid it across and thank God it worked out.”

Just two days prior to Saturday night, Midge Purce couldn’t believe Lavelle, a World Cup and Olympic champion, had yet to win an NWSL title over the course of her eight seasons in the league.

It’s one of the only accomplishments missing from her stacked résumé.

But on Saturday, in typical Lavelle fashion, she delivered.

“That girl deserves everything,” Purce said after taking a drag from her cigar. “She’s easily one of the best players I’ve ever played with. I couldn’t be happier for her.”

It was easy to make comparisons to Gotham’s 2023 title run to this year’s postseason.

Two years ago, Gotham earned the final playoff spot and penned a magical Cinderella story to win the franchise’s first championship.

Similar to that run, Gotham clinched the eighth and final seed in this year’s field.

But Gotham felt and looked very different this time around.

There weren’t many holdovers from that 2023 team. The roster had seen a lot of turnover over the past two seasons as the team shored up its depth.

The past nine months have been a roller coaster between the injuries, the challenging schedule and loads of travel.

Gotham won the inaugural Concacaf W Champions Cup in May. They stumbled late in the season and were disappointed — even frustrated — that they failed to secure better seeding at the end of the 2025 regular season.

Outsiders were quick to write Gotham off, especially considering the path back to the NWSL championship was steep.

But it didn’t deter Gotham.

They went to Kansas City and knocked off the runaway Shield winners in the quarterfinals.

Then, they traveled to Orlando and topped the defending champions Pride in the semifinals before beating the Spirit on Saturday.

Underdogs?

More like top dogs.

That’s what Gotham proved Saturday night, and why the champagne-soaked celebration in the locker room after the game was so sweet.

“It’s just the girls being girls,” Purce said. “Everyone’s just put in a lot of work and feeling not just excitement but the peace that you get from knowing that everything paid off and was worth something more than just hard work.”

It was fitting that Gotham’s last battle was against the Spirit, who ended their pursuit of back-to-back titles in last year’s semifinals.

This match was personal.

The Spirit and Gotham know each other well. No teams had played each other more in league history than these two.

Gotham’s press had the Spirit on their heels in the first half. They were aggressive but intentional, and frustrated Washington with their attack.

Jaedyn Shaw fired off several shots early. Esther González found the back of the net within the first five minutes, too, but it was waved off because of offsides.

The battle got physical and, at times, testy.

Emily Sonnett put her body on the line early in the second half as she slid to stop Leicy Santos’ goal attempt in front of Gotham’s net like a hockey player.

“I felt that was the best way to take almost every angle away,” Sonnett said of her impressive save, “and thank God it worked.”

Moments later, Bruninha found Lavelle for the win.

“Thank God that mine worked out as well,” Lavelle said.