USWNT's Lavelle returns after long injury absence

HARRISON, N.J. -- United States women's nationalist squad midfielder Rose Lavelle played her archetypal lucifer successful sixth months connected Saturday successful NJ/NY Gotham FC's 2-1 nonaccomplishment to the league-leading Kansas City Current astatine Sports Illustrated Stadium.

Lavelle entered the lucifer successful the 74th infinitesimal for her archetypal competitory quality of immoderate benignant since Dec. 3, 2024, with the USWNT. Lavelle underwent ankle country soon aft that December lucifer and had been recovering since.

"It was the archetypal clip I had to get surgery, which is simply a blessing, but I decidedly was a small naïve to what that entailed," Lavelle said aft Saturday's match. "So, it was decidedly a batch harder than I anticipated."

Lavelle said that her betterment timeline was astir what she initially expected it to be.

"I'm healthy," Lavelle said. "I consciousness good, I consciousness truly strong. I deliberation it's much conscionable it volition beryllium a small spot for my ankle to beryllium astatine 100%, but the remainder of maine is feeling good."

Lavelle astir scored 5 minutes aft entering the lucifer connected Saturday erstwhile she chopped wrong onto her near ft and narrowly missed the framework connected a changeable from conscionable extracurricular the punishment area. She was astir the shot for Gotham's lone goal, which was credited arsenic an ain extremity to Kansas City midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo successful second-half stoppage time.

"I deliberation the illustration of Rose Lavelle is astir apt the astir uncommon to find erstwhile it's a subordinate that tin fundamentally bash everything astatine specified a precocious level," Gotham FC caput manager Juan Carlos Amorós said. "And past connected apical of that she does the peculiar things connected the shot that make -- wherefore we each ticker helium sport.

"Obviously, you privation to spot goals, but those actions that she produces and however she understands the crippled is thing precise antithetic to everyone other and that's what makes her special."

Lavelle said her clip connected the sideline forced her to look for the positives.

"Any clip you walk clip distant from the crippled I ever find immoderate metallic lining successful it," she said. "I deliberation I've recovered a batch of metallic lining during this clip away. I deliberation [some] of that is learning however to beryllium a bully teammate erstwhile I can't beryllium connected the tract with them, staying present, inactive having a dependable and helping radical wherever I can. Being retired for truthful agelong truly forced maine to bash that 10-fold."

Lavelle entered a chaotic crippled marred by aggregate extended and confusing VAR stoppages.

The astir arguable came successful the 63rd infinitesimal erstwhile Gotham guardant Esther González appeared to score. Kansas City past restarted play, but referee Danielle Chesky blew the whistle to halt the enactment truthful VAR could cheque the extremity for imaginable offside.

Amorós said the connection successful the infinitesimal was unclear and pointed retired that Kansas City restarting play should person voided immoderate imaginable to reappraisal the play -- "completely against the rules of the game," helium said.

Chesky said via a connection to the excavation newsman that Current defender Ellie Wheeler's "action was determined to not beryllium a deliberate play per Law 11." Esther was offside connected the archetypal cross.

"I deliberation determination are excessively galore things that we truly request to look to, one, support the players and two, to summation the level of the game. It has to beryllium better," Amorós said.

Absent from Saturday's lucifer was Kansas City Current midfielder and skipper Lo'eau LaBonta, who earned her archetypal USWNT call-up astatine 32 years aged and past week became the oldest subordinate to debut successful the program's 40-year history. LaBonta sustained what Current caput manager told ESPN is simply a "minor genu injury" with the USWNT.

LaBonta joins a database of injured starters for Kansas City that includes guardant Debinha, who is retired until precocious summertime with a genu injury, and defender Alana Cook, who precocious tore her ACL, MCL and meniscus.

"The leadership," Andonovski told ESPN astir what the squad misses without LaBonta. "In those chaotic moments erstwhile teams are bombarding with balls, with numbers, Lo'eau is ever determination to calm america down.

"She motivates america erstwhile we request it, she encourages america erstwhile we request it, she calms america down erstwhile we request it. It's axenic enactment too the quality, obviously."

Kansas City's triumph extended its pb atop the NWSL array astir halfway done the NWSL season. With the loss, Gotham, which precocious won the archetypal Concacaf women's nine title, sits extracurricular NWSL's playoff line.