Denver Summit FC heads to Foxborough to face Boston Legacy FC — the only other expansion team in the league, and the only one still searching for its first win. Their first win cannot come against us.

In this episode, Kate breaks down everything you need to know ahead of Sunday's road trip to Gillette Stadium. We dig into why a 0-5 Boston side is more dangerous than their record suggests, what Filipa Patão's system is actually trying to do, and why Casey Murphy is going to be a real problem for Denver's attack. Plus — the injury news on Kössler and Flint heading into the match, and what it means when your only two goal scorers are both question marks.

You'll hear from Nick Cushing at practice this week — including his honest take on how far apart this team's highs and lows have been, what the players did on their day off after San Diego, and why he believes Denver should be nine points better off right now. Carson Pickett on staying mentally present for 95 minutes. And Emma Hayes on what she sees happening in Colorado.

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Denver Summit FC led the #1 team in the NWSL 2-0 at halftime. Then San Diego scored three goals in 16 second-half minutes to break a 30-match curse and walk out of Dick's Sporting Goods Park with a 3-2 win.

It hurts. It also tells you something about where this team really is.

In this episode, Kate breaks down the full match — from the rehearsed buildup that produced Denver's first ever home goal, to the second-half collapse, to the Pickett own goal that sealed it. We dig into the formation switch Cushing made for this match, why it worked for 45 minutes, and what changed after the break.

Plus: an introduction to expected goals (xG) and what the underlying numbers actually say about Denver's performance against the league leaders. Standout individual performances from Kaleigh Kurtz, Janine Sonis, and Abby Smith. The Eva Gaetino comeback story — from crutches at Mile High to subbing on against San Diego in four weeks. And the discipline issue that cost Denver in the back half.

You'll hear postgame audio from Tash Flint, Yazmeen Ryan, Nick Cushing, and San Diego head coach Jonas Eidevall — whose quote about Denver Summit FC after the match might be the most important thing said all weekend.

The 5280 Pitch — women's soccer at altitude. New episodes every Tuesday.

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Denver Summit FC hosts San Diego Wave FC Saturday, April 25 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park — and I'm calling it: Denver wins.

The league-leading Wave come to Commerce City on Denver Unite Night in snow, rain, and 33-degree weather at 5,280 feet of elevation. In this preview, I break down why altitude, the Cuiabá travel, and Kenzo Dali's possession game all point to a Summit upset.

What's covered:

• Why San Diego's second-half scoring pattern collapses at altitude
• Abby Smith's 5.05 goals prevented and why she should be NWSL Player of the Month
• Kaleigh Kurtz making NWSL history with 10,000 consecutive regular season minutes
• The Catarina Macario signing — the largest contract in women's soccer history
• Tash Flint's permanent transfer from Tampa Bay Sun
• Lia Godfrey's unsustainable 3-goals-on-4-shots stat line
• Predicted starting XIs for both teams
• Where the NWSL's fall-to-spring calendar vote leaves Denver

Plus: the Denver Unite match with mascots from the Nuggets, Broncos, Rockies, Rapids, and Avalanche.

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Four days after ACL surgery. Pain meds. 63,000 fans. And Malala on the field.

That's how Jasmine Aikey experienced Denver Summit FC's historic home opener — not as a player, but as a rookie who tore her ACL at a national team camp before playing a single professional minute.

In her first podcast interview since the injury, Denver Summit FC forward Jasmine Aikey sits down with Kate to tell the whole story. From growing up in Palo Alto and homeschooling at 13 to keep pace with youth national team camps, to graduating Stanford with a 3.97 GPA in computer science, winning the Hermann Trophy, and now rebuilding her knee in Denver while her teammates play games without her.

She also talks about the junior year nobody covers — playing center back through undiagnosed osteitis pubis, breaking her fibula, having surgery with a plate and screws, and then coming back to lead the nation in points her senior year. And she answers the question she gets asked constantly right now: what does a day actually look like? Spoiler — it involves her dad bringing breakfast because she still can't drive.

This is a conversation about what it takes to keep getting back up.

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A defender who scored 21 goals in college. Her first professional contract. And somehow, she ended up exactly where she always dreamed.

Kate Hanson sits down with Denver Summit FC defender Natalie Means (#4) — Georgetown's do-everything wingback who just made the jump to the NWSL in the club's inaugural season. Kaleigh Kurtz personally vouched for her.

The stats speak for themselves. And after this conversation, you'll understand why this rookie is one of the most interesting players on the roster.

What we cover:

⚽ How Natalie talked her way into Georgetown during COVID recruiting — over Zoom, no visits, barely on scholarship

⚽ Why a natural scorer ends up playing defense — and how Nick Cushing is leaning into it

⚽ What it's like learning a new position next to Carson Pickett and Kaleigh Kurtz in your first pro season

⚽ Her honest take on Summit's 1W-3D-1L start — what's clicking and what's still coming

⚽ The moment at the home opener that took her breath away

⚽ Why she sometimes forgets Denver is an expansion team — and why that's actually a good sign

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#DenverSummitFC #NWSL #NatalieMeans #WomensSoccer #ColoradoSoccer #NWSLExpansion #Georgetown

Five games in and Denver Summit FC has allowed just three goals. Three. Tied for the best defensive record in the entire NWSL. For an expansion team in year one, that is not luck — that is a system. And this week we're breaking down exactly how Nick Cushing has built it.

We're going deep on Saturday's 0-0 draw at Seattle Reign — how Denver neutralized an unbeaten team, what Abby Smith is doing that puts her in the NWSL's elite goalkeeper conversation, and why the Pickett-Kurtz center back partnership already looks like it's been together for years.

We're also recapping all five games of this inaugural season honestly — the win at Gotham, the home opener draw that still stings, and what the numbers actually tell us about where this team is headed.

And we're having the Ally Brazier conversation. She's from Colorado Springs. She's on the bench. You're noticing. So are we.

The defense is elite. The attack has to catch up. Here's where Denver Summit FC actually stands.

Topics covered:

• Denver Summit FC at Seattle Reign — tactical breakdown
• Abby Smith's case for best goalkeeper in the NWSL
• The Pickett-Kurtz partnership
• All five games of the inaugural season recapped
• The Ally Brazier situation explained
• What the San Diego Wave matchup on April 25th means

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Denver Summit FC just broke the NWSL attendance record — 63,004 fans at Mile High — and that's only part of the story after four games.

Kate Hanson breaks down where this team actually stands: Melissa Kössler's historic goal-scoring run, Abby Smith's league-leading numbers in net, a defensive turnaround nobody saw coming, and a very special guest who was on the field Saturday to witness all of it. Plus a preview of Saturday's road match at Seattle Reign.

What we cover:

⚽ Melissa Kössler: 3 goals in 3 games — first player in NWSL history to score the first three goals for an expansion franchise

🧤 Abby Smith: League leader in saves (19) and save percentage (86.4%) through four games

🏟️ The home opener: 63,004 fans — a new NWSL record and U.S. professional women's sports league record 🎙️ Special guest: Her take on what Saturday meant for Denver and for women's soccer

⚽ Seattle Reign preview: What Denver needs to do

Join Kate on Saturday for a LIVE Pregame show at DNVR starting at 6:00 pm MT.

Visit the website for more details: https://www.dnvrbar.com/

Address: 2239 E Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80206

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The 5280 Pitch. Women's Soccer at Altitude.

#DenverSummitFC #NWSL #MelissaKossler #AbbySmith #JordanAngeli #WomensSoccer #ColoradoSoccer #SeattleReign #NWSLExpansion

Denver Summit FC goalkeeper Abby Smith is the NWSL league leader in saves — and she's just getting started. Kate Hanson sits down with the two-time NWSL champion on The 5280 Pitch to talk about one of the most compelling stories in women's soccer right now.

Abby opens up about how a high-energy kid from Plano, Texas found her way into goal, set the program record at the University of Texas with 30 career shutouts, and spent nearly a decade competing across six professional clubs in the NWSL and Australia. She talks about the 2023 injury that nearly ended her career, the 433-day road back, and the two people who saved her playing career when she was ready to walk away.

Then — Denver. Why this NWSL expansion team felt different from the moment she signed. What the locker room looks like from the inside. The Carson Pickett friendship that goes all the way back to U-17 national team camp. And what it was really like standing in goal at Empower Field at Mile High in front of 63,004 fans — a record for women's sports in North America.

Topics covered:

• How Abby Smith became an NWSL goalkeeper — from gymnastics to the net
• Setting the shutout record at the University of Texas
• Nearly a decade in professional women's soccer across the NWSL and Australia
• The 2023 season-ending injury and the 433-day comeback
• Why Denver Summit FC felt like the right move
• The locker room culture and the Carson Pickett connection
• Leading the NWSL in saves four games into the 2026 season
• Playing in front of 63,004 fans at the Denver Summit FC home opener

The 5280 Pitch. Women's Soccer at Altitude.

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