Last November, Lilly Reale looked around Gotham FC’s visiting dressing room at Kansas City’s CPKC Stadium and gazed upon a group of teammates who were locked in once playoff time had arrived.

The lower 20s pitchside temperature made it even clearer that if Gotham wasn’t ready to ignite under the postseason spotlight, they would feel the bitter chill of elimination.

A capacity crowd of 11,500 showed up with blankets and hand warmers, most of whom were fanatical Kansas City Current supporters who were anticipating a quarterfinal victory.

After all, the No. 1-seeded Current had set a slew of NWSL regular-season records by achieving 65 points, 21 wins, a streak of 17 games unbeaten and 16 shutouts.

It was time for Reale and her Gotham teammates to defend their badge, their colors, their city and their inner belief that they had the collective spirit and an assemblage of talents needed to be crowned as 2025 NWSL champions.

“What you really saw in the playoffs was that New York grit and passion that comes out,” Reale told South Ward Central in an exclusive interview. “Just a group of girls who really wanted to work for one another.”

Inside Gotham’s NWSL Championship Run

The Current would soon learn that Gotham was ready to kick into an extra gear in their quest for championship glory. Gotham had already captured the inaugural 2024-25 Concacaf W Champions Cup earlier in the season. They knew that they had the courage and the tenacity of title-winners.

“Our team was so special in that regardless of how things were going, we always felt like we could go the extra inch and put in the extra tackle for one another,” Reale recalled. “So maybe we weren’t getting the results at times throughout the season, but there was always that belief that we can really pick things up here and put on a good run, and I think that’s what you really saw.”

Gotham upset the Current behind a 68th-minute Jaedyn Shaw goal and Katie Stengel’s (now Katie Lampson) dramatic 121st-minute winner. Shaw would serve up a clutch winning goal of her own by scoring a 97th-minute free kick to send the then-defending champion Orlando Pride packing in the semifinals.

Playing for One Another

The Bats kept pushing each other harder and harder in search of the ultimate prize. Rose Lavelle scored an 80th-minute edge-of-the-box strike to secure the 2025 NWSL Championship for Gotham against the Washington Spirit at San Jose’s PayPal Park.

Lavelle would be voted as the NWSL Championship MVP, and Reale would take home the NWSL Rookie of the Year award, but it was a team-wide ethic that guided Gotham to glory.

Reale on Finding Her Place as a Gotham FC Rookie

As a burgeoning rookie, Reale was able to lean on the wealth of experience and sage advice that veteran defenders Emily Sonnett, Jess Carter, Mandy Freeman and captain Tierna Davidson had accumulated by winning nearly every possible trophy at club and international levels.

“It’s not only unique in that I get to play with some of those stars and people who have succeeded and earned so many different things at the international level, but also for them to be so open to really just guiding me and giving me little pieces of advice and talking about some of the things they struggled with,” she said. “[They’re] just trying to set me up as much as they can to not have to deal with certain things that they face. I think there are little things that are inevitable, especially as a defender and then also just being a rookie. But yeah, I really can’t say enough good things about just how they’ve leaned in and really guided me and taken me under their wing.”

In losing to the North Carolina Courage on NWSL Decision Day, Gotham fell to the eighth and final playoff seed, qualifying by the skin of their teeth.

How a Gut Check Moment Inspired an Unquenchable Winning Desire

Some teams would have crumbled. Others would have pointed fingers. Not Gotham. The gut check moment of the Decision Day loss to North Carolina fueled their fire.

“I think without it, I honestly don’t know if we would have had as much of a fire lit going into the playoffs,” Reale remembered. “So I think as much as it hurt in the moment, I also think it was just a really good learning moment for the team to then go into the playoffs and really just think about what do we want to get out of this and how are we going to clean little things up and bring a different mentality into this next string of tests that will push us far.

“We really had to do a lot of reflecting and understanding [about] the things that are going to make us susceptible in the playoffs, so how can we fix them? It was definitely a turning point for us, but there were also so many different times throughout the year where we felt like we were losing a little bit of momentum and had to pick ourselves up in that way. I think that was just another example of that. Without it, I honestly don’t know if we would have had as much success.”

What’s Ahead in 2026…

Gotham swung into the 2026 NWSL regular season with a 1-0 away victory over expansion newcomers Boston Legacy FC. Only months removed from last season’s trophy double, Reale is still somewhat in disbelief at what Gotham was able to accomplish in 2025.

Following this Saturday’s home opener against the Courage, she and her teammates will look back on those memories when they receive their NWSL championship rings.

“It’s really hard to put into words a lot of the time because it’s something that at times didn’t feel possible,” she said. “For that reason, I think it makes it more special because to really enjoy the process and the people that I did it with. It makes it that much more enjoyable to look back on.”

Now entering her sophomore NWSL season, Reale will have the chance to help rookies along their paths while continuing to be integral to head coach Juan Carlos Amorós’ plans.

Gotham supporters are eager to see what year two will bring for the 22-year-old who has already accomplished so much for club and country.

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