U.S. soccer legend Carli Lloyd plays final match as Red Stars eliminate Gotham FC
Spirit advance to NWSL semifinals with win over Courage
Mallory Pugh scored the lone goal and the Chicago Red Stars knocked Gotham FC out of the National Women's Soccer League playoffs with a 1-0 quarter-final victory Sunday.
Pugh's goal in the 61st minute went into upper right corner, out of the reach of Gotham goalkeeper and Canadian Olympic champion Kailen Sheridan.
"For me, [it's] bittersweet obviously, I would have liked to have kept going," Lloyd said afterward. "But overall just really proud of the group and the future is really, really bright for Gotham FC."
Lloyd choked back tears in the post-game, saying that it's finally hitting her that her career is over.
The 🐐 sounds off for the final time 😢<br><br>Thank you for everything, <a href="https://twitter.com/CarliLloyd?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CarliLloyd</a> 👏 <a href="https://t.co/cqh7Us5Hfm">pic.twitter.com/cqh7Us5Hfm</a>
—@NWSLThe Red Stars move on to face the top-seeded Portland Thorns in the semifinals next Sunday. Chicago (11-8-5) finished fourth in the league standings, riding a three-game winning streak into the playoffs.
Gotham (8-5-11), which finished fifth in the standings, hadn't been to the playoffs since 2013.
The teams met three times this season, with Gotham winning once and two scoreless draws.
WATCH | Red Stars claim quarter-final victory over Gotham FC:
Hatch scores winner as Spirit take down Courage
Golden Boot winner Ashley Hatch scored in extra time and the Washington Spirit defeated the North Carolina Courage 1-0 in the quarter-finals of the NWSL playoffs on Sunday night.
The third-seeded Spirit (11-7-6) went undefeated in their final six regular season games. Hatch, who won the league's Golden Boot award with 10 regular-season goals, scored against the Courage in the 113th minute.
WATCH | Spirit advance to semis with win over Courage:
The Spirit last went to the playoffs in 2016, when they finished as the league's runner-up.
NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird resigned in the wake of the scandal, and both the league and U.S. Soccer launched independent investigations.
Washington had its share of upheaval this season, too, when coach Richie Burke was fired in September for violation of the NWSL's anti-harassment policy.
