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- OL Reign's Lavelle back to top fitness
- Gotham boss Amoros not worried
- Says Lavelle should worry more about Gotham
WHAT HAPPENED? This year’s NWSL Championship finalists, NJ/NY Gotham and OL Reign, split the results in the regular season this year, with Reign winning 2–0 in New Jersey in April, and Gotham paying them back with a 4–1 win in Seattle a month later. But one thing has changed since the two teams last met: midfielder Rose Lavelle, who was injured playing with the USWNT early in the NWSL season, is back on the field.
WHAT THEY SAID: Lavelle is a difference maker for Seattle, as Gotham head coach - and 2023 NWSL Coach of the Year - Juan Carlos Amoros readily acknowledged. "Rose is a fantastic player and she changes the team,” said the Spaniard. “She's been out for a long time, and she played half an hour [against LA] and then started the next game, and she already looks like she never was injured.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Lavelle's return to the pitch has been a spark of positivity for Reign this playoff run, but Amoros isn’t losing sleep about the dynamic playmaker being back on the field. “For us it's the same that we've done all year,” he said. “We don't focus too much on [the opponent]. Obviously, we tell the players that are going to be around her certain things. But we try to make sure that we focus a lot on us and that we let Rose worry about us. I'm very happy to see her back on the pitch. Hopefully, she can be on the pitch, nothing happens on Saturday in terms of her physical performance, and she can play - but we come out on top and win the game.”
IN TWO PHOTOS:
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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR LAVELLE AND AMOROS? The two will clash Saturday in the NWSL final as the USWNT star and OL Reign face Gotham FC and their boss for the championship.