USA FOOTBALL LEGEND Megan Rapinoe will have a chance to add to her trophy collection before calling time on her iconic career, while there will be Irish representation in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) final in the form of Sinead Farrelly.
Rapinoe’s OL Reign reached the decider on Sunday with a 1-0 victory over the San Diego Wave, meaning there was disappointment for late San Diego replacement and Republic of Ireland international Kyra Carusa.
However, earlier on Sunday, Carusa’s Ireland teammate Farrelly featured as NJ/NY Gotham FC stunned reigning champions Portland Thorns to book a spot in their first ever final.
It was a significant return to Providence Stadium for Farrelly and her fellow former Portland player Mana Shim, both of whom came on as second-half replacements against her former employers.
In 2015, then-Thorns coach Paul Riley was accused of sexually coercing and harassing both Farrelly and Shim. He was fired for cause by the Thorns in 2015 but the reasons for his dismissal were not made public until 2021 — even though both U.S. Soccer and the NWSL were aware of the Thorns’ internal investigation into his termination six years prior.
On Sunday night, Farrelly and Shim celebrated a famous win at their former place of work, with Katie Stengel’s deflected strike in extra time was enough to send Gotham through at the Thorns’ expense.
In the second semi-final, Veronica Latsko’s 47th-minute goal saw Reign through their semi-final and means Rapinoe will be back for one more match when her Seattle-based club face Gotham for the title in the same Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego next Saturday.
“This is really the last one,” said the 38-year-old Rapinoe, who can claim a title she has never won in 11 years in the league.
“This is the perfect way to end it,” she added. “Gotta win it now.”
- with reporting from AFP
