Ifeoma Onumonu’s Gotham FC clinch NWSL Championship title

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde 

Nigeria forward, Ifeoma Onumonu and her American side, Gotham FC have emerged as the winners of the 2023 NWSL Championship after a hard-fought 2-1 win against OL Reign in the early hours of Sunday.

The victory marked a new era in the history of the United States of America (USA) National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and Gotham FC in particular.

This was because the 2023 NWSL Championship winners finished bottom of the table the previous season and smiled home with the title a season later (2023).

Lynn Williams scored the first goal of the encounter for Gotham FC in the 24th minute of play from Margaret Purce’s assist.

Five minutes later, Rose Lavelle evened the scoreline for OL Reign as Bethany Balcer set her up for the equaliser.

Purce once again in the second munites of the first half additional time provided the assist which Gonzalez Rodriguez converted for the winner.

Juan Amoros’s side were reduced to ten players after goalkeeper, Amanda Haught was sent off in the additional minutes of the second half but that couldn’t stop the celebration party.

Onumonu was not dressed for the match as the 29-year-old last played for the team during a 1-0 loss to Portland Thorns in the league on October 7, 2023.

She has played two games for Nigeria’s senior women’s national team during the Paris 2024 Olympic Qualifiers against Ethiopia as the Super Falcons sealed a place in the third round of the qualifiers after a 5-1 aggregate victory.