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Consider the NWSL summer transfer window officially in full swing.The Boston Legacy acquired 2025 Rookie of the Year Lilly Reale on Wednesday via trade with Gotham FC in a shocking exit for the young U.S. defender. Reale, a Boston native, joins the club on a four-year deal through December 2029.
As part of the trade, Gotham will receive $350,000 in allocation money and $50,000 in intraleague transfer fee funds, setting the 2025 NWSL champions up for a potential major signing.
“Understanding where this club is going and the direction that it’s going in excites me the most,” Reale said of Boston in a club statement. “Being able to understand not only the investment that ownership from top down has really put into this club and then also the team and the direction they’re going in, understanding that this is the beginning, but that they’re really hungry and asserting a style that you don’t see as often in the NWSL – that really excites me.”
Reale leaves Gotham after one and a half impactful years with the club. The UCLA alumna helped guide them to their second NWSL Championship season in her rookie campaign, replacing Tierna Davidson after a season-ending ACL injury early in the season. Her versatility and flexibility in the backline were critical throughout the season, earning her ROTY honors as well as a call-up to Emma Hayes’ U.S. women’s national team.
She made her debut with the USWNT last summer and has earned nine caps under Hayes. Reale’s familiarity with veteran defenders like Davidson and Emily Sonnett, as well as existing chemistry with her now-former Gotham teammates Rose Lavelle and Jaedyn Shaw, allowed her to fit seamlessly into their system. The 22-year-old remained a consistent call-up for Hayes as the team now looks ahead to World Cup qualifiers later this year.
It is no surprise that Reale is heading back to Boston, where her friends and family are. What is surprising, however, is how soon this move came for the young player. When she first joined Gotham from UCLA in 2023, she arrived on a multi-year contract that was set to run through 2027. Then she played a game in Boston.
In March, Gotham opened their season against the Legacy at Gillette Stadium. Reale headlined post-match media availability as the Boston native basked in welcoming the return of professional women’s soccer to her home city. After Gotham’s 1-0 win, she took a break from meeting with family and friends to speak with reporters about the moment.
“Just, what an atmosphere,” a smiling Reale said at the time. It was “so much fun to have so many of my friends and family here, we live 30-35 minutes from here, so it’s definitely special. You know – growing up, going to the Patriots games (at Gillette), and now playing in a stadium that had 30,000 fans, is just surreal.”
Then in May, when Boston drew 1-1 against Gotham in New Jersey for their second match of the season, Reale once again spoke with reporters after the game. This time, while fielding hellos from members of the Legacy, including several coaches and players.
Boston currently sits 14th in the 16-team NWSL, and bringing in a proven player like Reale is a welcome boost as they pivot to the next half of their inaugural campaign. The league is in the middle of its month-long pause for the start of the men’s World Cup, with regular-season play returning July 3.
“Lilly is a player of real quality and competitive character, and her NWSL Rookie of the Year award last season proves that,” Legacy GM Domènec Guasch said in a club statement. “But she’s also a young player with enormous room to grow, and part of what drives this move is our belief that her best years are still in front of her. This is her city, she understands what it means to compete here, and we intend to be the club that helps her fulfill that potential.”
Boston returns to the pitch July 5 against Bay FC at Centreville Bank Stadium in Rhode Island. The team will return to Gillette Stadium after the conclusion of the men’s World Cup, as the stadium is currently hosting matches for the FIFA competition.
Reale has featured in nearly all of Gotham’s regular-season games this season, though her minutes dropped beginning in late April. This followed a foot injury she sustained in March while on U.S. duty. She last featured for Gotham on May 16 in their 2-0 win over Seattle, subbing on for Midge Purse in the final 16 minutes of the match.
Trading Reale is an interesting decision for Gotham, who has struggled this year with player availability in their backline. Veteran defenders Bruninha and Mandy Freeman have yet to play this season as they return from injuries, forcing players like new signee **** Reiten and Purce to play out of their usual positions. Freeman recently confirmed to The Athletic that she is back training with the team and hopes to return to the pitch following the league’s month-long pause. Her return would be a welcome boost for the reigning NWSL champions.
Still, Gotham has managed to maintain an impressive clean sheet this year — only conceding five goals in 11 regular-season matches, the fewest league-wide. The club currently sits fifth in the table as they push toward their third NWSL crown. It is worth noting, too, that not all teams in the NWSL have played the same number of games so far this year.
Gotham is one of the first clubs to return to play when they face Kansas City in Columbus in this year’s edition of the Challenge Cup on June 26.
Reale’s departure from Gotham to Boston adds a fun twist to the budding feud between the nearby clubs — though we aren’t yet calling it a rivalry. She joins former Gotham teammates Josefine Hasbo and Ella Stevens, who signed with Boston earlier this season after winning the championship with Gotham and Reale last year.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
US Women's national team, Gotham FC, Boston Legacy FC, NWSL, Women's Soccer
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