HARRISON, N.J. — United States women’s national team midfielder Rose Lavelle played her first match in sixth months on Saturday in NJ/NY Gotham FC’s 2-1 loss to the league-leading Kansas City Current at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
Lavelle entered the match in the 74th minute for her first competitive appearance of any kind since Dec. 3, 2024, with the USWNT. Lavelle underwent ankle surgery shortly after that December match and had been recovering since.
“It was the first time I had to get surgery, which is a blessing, but I definitely was a little naïve to what that entailed,” Lavelle said after Saturday’s match. “So, it was definitely a lot harder than I anticipated.”
Lavelle said that her recovery timeline was about what she initially expected it to be.
“I’m healthy,” Lavelle said. “I feel good, I feel really strong. I think it’s more just it will be a little bit for my ankle to be at 100%, but the rest of me is feeling good.”
Lavelle nearly scored five minutes after entering the match on Saturday when she cut inside onto her left foot and narrowly missed the frame on a shot from just outside the penalty area. She was around the ball for Gotham’s lone goal, which was credited as an own goal to Kansas City midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo in second-half stoppage time.
“I think the profile of Rose Lavelle is probably the most rare to find when it’s a player that can basically do everything at such a high level,” Gotham FC head coach Juan Carlos Amorós said. “And then on top of that she does the special things on the ball that create — why we all watch he sport.
“Obviously, you want to see goals, but those actions that she produces and how she understands the game is something very different to everyone else and that’s what makes her special.”
Lavelle said her time on the sideline forced her to look for the positives.
“Any time you spend time away from the game I always find some silver lining in it,” she said. “I think I’ve found a lot of silver lining during this time away. I think [some] of that is learning how to be a good teammate when I can’t be on the field with them, staying present, still having a voice and helping people where I can. Being out for so long really forced me to do that 10-fold.”
Lavelle entered a chaotic game marred by multiple extensive and confusing VAR stoppages.
The most controversial came in the 63rd minute when Gotham forward Esther González appeared to score. Kansas City then restarted play, but referee Danielle Chesky blew the whistle to stop the action so VAR could check the goal for possible offside.
Amorós said the communication in the moment was unclear and pointed out that Kansas City restarting play should have voided any potential to review the play — “completely against the rules of the game,” he said.
Chesky said via a statement to the pool reporter that Current defender Ellie Wheeler’s “action was determined to not be a deliberate play per Law 11.” Esther was offside on the initial cross.
“I think there are too many things that we really need to look to, one, protect the players and two, to increase the level of the game. It has to be better,” Amorós said.
Absent from Saturday’s match was Kansas City Current midfielder and captain Lo’eau LaBonta, who earned her first USWNT call-up at 32 years old and last week became the oldest player to debut in the program’s 40-year history. LaBonta sustained what Current head coach told ESPN is a “minor knee injury” with the USWNT.
LaBonta joins a list of injured starters for Kansas City that includes forward Debinha, who is out until late summer with a knee injury, and defender Alana Cook, who recently tore her ACL, MCL and meniscus.
“The leadership,” Andonovski told ESPN about what the team misses without LaBonta. “In those chaotic moments when teams are bombarding with balls, with numbers, Lo’eau is always there to calm us down.
“She motivates us when we need it, she encourages us when we need it, she calms us down when we need it. It’s pure leadership besides the quality, obviously.”
Kansas City’s victory extended its lead atop the NWSL table nearly halfway through the NWSL season. With the loss, Gotham, which recently won the first Concacaf women’s club title, sits outside NWSL’s playoff line.
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