“Lilly is a player of real quality and competitive character, and her NWSL Rookie of the Year award last season proves that."
By Emma Healy
2 minutes to read
It’s been a quiet month for Boston Legacy FC during the National Women’s Soccer League break for the men’s World Cup, but the club made a splash Tuesday with the signing of Hingham native and 2025 NWSL Rookie of the Year Lilly Reale.
The Legacy will send $350,000 in allocation money and $50,000 in intraleague transfer fee funds to Gotham FC for Reale, 22, who joins the Legacy on a four-year deal that runs through December 2029.
The defender has made 39 appearances for Gotham, including every league game for the club in her debut season. Reale has nine caps with the US women’s national team.
“Lilly is a player of real quality and competitive character, and her NWSL Rookie of the Year award last season proves that,” Legacy general manager Domè Guasch said in a release. “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.”
Reale grew up in Hingham and played at Hingham High School and club team South Shore Select, where she was teammates with fellow NWSL and US national team player Ally Sentnor. Reale was a four-year starter at UCLA and won a national championship in 2022.
Reale joins fan favorite Sammy Smith (Hanson) as the Legacy’s second local player. She is one of three South Shore products playing in the NWSL, along with Smith and the Kansas City Current’s Sentnor.
The South Shore also produced Sam and Kristie Mewis, sisters from Hanson and longtime cornerstones of the US women’s national team. (Sam retired in 2024.)
Coming from the reigning NWSL champion Gotham, Reale joins a Legacy team still working out the kinks in its inaugural season. The Legacy sit 14th in the standings (2-7-3, 9 points) and are coming off two consecutive losses entering the World Cup break.
“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 — I think that really excites me, just being able to understand different playing styles and play whatever role I can on this team to help us get some wins,” Reale said in the release.
Reale had a crucial role when Gotham played spoiler at the Legacy’s inaugural game in March, beating Boston, 1-0, in front of 30,207 fans at Gillette Stadium. She grew up attending Patriots games at the venue and said that atmosphere “doesn’t really compare” to the energy at the Legacy’s home opener.
“Boston just has that standard of grit and passion and a lot of attitude and confidence that we carry into the sports around us,” Reale said after the game. “So I think you saw a lot of that today, and a lot of my Boston roots coming out.”
Reale is expected to be available when Boston returns to action at noon on July 5 against Bay FC at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, R.I.
⚽ Get the latest World Cup news
Receive updates on the 2026 FIFA World Cup