Gotham and Washington Spirit reach final & will Trinity Rodman stay in the NWSL?
Full Time: A show about women's soccer
The Athletic
4.8 • 756 Ratings
🗓️ 17 November 2025
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
NJ/NY Gotham FC and the Washington Spirit are heading to the NWSL Championship Final.
On this week's Full Time Review, Jillian Sakovits is joined by Meg Linehan, and Melanie Anzidei to break down the weekend's dramatic NWSL semifinals. The pod discusses Jaedyn Shaw's buzzer-beater in Orlando and how the 8th-seeded Gotham continued their unlikely journey at the expense of the defending champions, the Orlando Pride. And, whether the Washington Spirit just put in their best performance of the season as they breezed past the Portland Thorns at a sold-out Audi Field.
PLUS: What is the latest on Trinity Rodman's contract? After The Athletic reported ongoing interest from Europe, will we see the NWSL change the existing salary cap rules to keep the U.S. women's national team star at the Spirit?
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HOST: Jillian Sakovits
GUESTS: Meg Linehan, Melanie Anzidei
PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes
VIDEO PRODUCER: Lia Griffin
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Emily Olsen
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Referenced on the show:
Marta won’t exit quietly from NWSL playoffs after Orlando Pride loss: ‘It should not end like this’
Jaedyn Shaw free kick sends No. 8 Gotham FC to NWSL championship with win over Pride
NWSL can’t keep Trinity Rodman and its current salary cap. It’s up to the league to choose
Trinity Rodman negotiations reach NWSL commissioner as English teams express interest in U.S. star
Washington Spirit advance to NWSL Championship with 2-0 win over Portland Thorns
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Yeah, Mitch saying, quote, was a particularly poor performance on our part and my part. |
| 0:10.4 | And I think that there is a level of accountability that we see from this team that you don't, that you don't always get Meg. |
| 0:16.4 | Yeah, I mean, it is so interesting. |
| 0:18.1 | When I hopped into Gotham's post-game press conference, right? |
| 0:21.3 | I mean, I was at that 2023 championship. |
| 0:23.6 | I remember the Gotham FC team rolling in and having these vibes. |
| 0:27.5 | Like, I just remember being like, oh, this feels different than every other team I've covered. |
| 0:32.7 | They have built this culture in such an interesting way under Juan Carlos Ambrose. |
| 0:51.4 | The 2025 NWSL semifinals are in the books. And what a semifinal weekend that was. |
| 0:55.9 | Hello, everybody. Welcome on in to Full Time Review. I'm your host, host jillian sackovist we've got a very special playoff edition for you with melanie ansey day and mag |
| 1:01.4 | linahan on today's show we're going to be getting into yes the jaden shaw buzzer beater in |
| 1:06.5 | Orlando and how the eighth seed gotham continued their unlikely journey all the way to the NWSL |
| 1:12.5 | championship kicking off this weekend. Final score 1-0 at the expense of the defending champions, |
| 1:19.2 | the Orlando Pride. And of course, we'll be diving into the other semi-final on Saturday, |
| 1:23.4 | the Washington Spirit perhaps putting together their best performance of the season as they breezed past the Portland Thorns to no. |
| 1:31.8 | So yes, your NWSL championship finalists are confirmed in what is being dubbed District versus Empire. |
| 1:39.0 | The Washington Spirit taking on Gotham FC. |
| 1:41.6 | It'll be on Saturday, November 22nd, PayPal Park in San Jose, California. |
| 1:47.0 | It'll be Gotham's second ever NWSL final when they went on to win it in 2023. |
| 1:52.1 | As for the Spirit, this is their fourth visit champions in 2021. Runners up, 2016, and last year in |
| 1:59.5 | 24. Fun fact for you, the 2025 NWSL championship final is going to runners-up 2016 and last year in 2024. |
| 2:08.2 | Fun fact for you, the 2025 NWSL championship final is going to be the 44th meeting between these two sides and all competitions, which means it is the most ever played game in NWSL history, surpassing the Thorns versus the rain at 43. |
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