Denver Summit FC Match Notes at Louisville
NWSL Denver Summit FC

Denver Summit FC Match Notes at Louisville

Published on May 29, 2026 under National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Denver Summit FC News Release


Denver Summit FC (3-4-3, 12 pts) travels to Racing Louisville (2-7-1, 7 pts) for a franchise first match up.

Denver enters the match after a hard-fought 2-1 loss against the Utah Royals following a franchise-first home win against the Orlando Pride (3-1).

Today's face-off marks the Summit's eighth road match, more than any other club in the league this season ... Denver is just the second team in NWSL history to play eight of their first 11 regular season matches on the road (Portland, 2019).

Louisville dropped to 16th in the league after a 2-1 defeat at the hand of the North Carolina Courage...Despite their seven losses, Racing has yet to concede a match by more than a single goal.

Janine Sonis, former Louisville Vice Captain, will square up against her former team after seeing Racing pitch in 36 matches, including 31 starts, across the 2024 and 2025 seasons ... Carson Pickett will also face her former club after starting in all but two of her matches across the '24 and '25 seasons (42).

LAST TIME OUT

In a franchise first match up at Utah the Summit fell short of a victory, walking away from the Utah Royals with a 2-1 loss.

After Utah's Kiana Palacios put the Royals on the board in the 20th minute, Denver's Yazmeen Ryan netted the equalizer in the 45th minute with Delanie Sheehan assisting ... through the last five matches, Ryan has scored twice while tallying three assists.

Utah took and held the lead on a penalty kick goal in the 72nd minute following a foul from Ayo Oke.

Denver controlled much of the match, maintaining 58.7% possession throughout and firing nine shots and three on target ... the Summit managed 23 touches in Utah's box compared to Utah's 14 on Denver's side ... Denver also recorded 385 (79.0% accuracy) passes compared to Utah's 280 (68.6% accuracy).

LOOK TO THE PEAK

The Summit are tied for the top spot in the league in goals per game ... through 10 games played, Denver is averaging 1.6 goals per game (16 total) ... the Summit is tied with Washington's 1.6 per game.

Entering the weekend, Abby Smith ranks third in the NWSL in both recoveries per 90 (10.6) and goals prevented (4.2).

Defenders Kaleigh Kurtz and Megan Reid are tied to lead the league with 1.5 blocks per 90 ... Racing Louisville's Arin Wright shares the top spot alongside them.

Melissa Kössler, Tash Flint and Janine Sonis are all tied for fourth in the league in goals with four each ... Denver is now the second team in league history to have three different players score four goals within the team's first 10 games (last being Seattle in 2015 (Fishlock, Little, Yanez)).

IRON WOMEN

Defender Kaleigh Kurtz extended her consecutive start streak to 124 games and has also played 11,122 consecutive regular-season minutes, every possible regular-season minute since June 26, 2021 ... both marks are the longest active streaks in the league.

Goalkeeper Abby Smith has also played every minute for Summit FC this season, joining Kurtz as two of 24 players to do so for their respective teams through week nine.

THE LYNCH PIN

Entering the weekend, midfielder Devin Lynch is one of three rookies to have started each match for their respective clubs alongside Mimi Van Zanten (San Diego) and Linda Ullmark (Houston).

Lynch's 829 minutes played are fifth-most in the league among rookies, while her 18 tackles are the second-most behind Van Zanten (SD).

STADIUM UPDATE

Denver Summit FC announced yesterday that the club's opening at Centennial Stadium will be pushed back until July 18 as final construction work continues at the venue ... as a result, the club's July 3 match against the Kansas City Current and the July 12 match against the Houston Dash will be moved to DICK's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City.

"While the recent rain is certainly welcome and much-needed for Colorado right now, the timing is less than ideal for this specific phase of construction," said Denver Summit FC Controlling Owner Rob Cohen. "We are currently trying to pour roads and sidewalks, and these weather-related delays have made it necessary to extend our timeline so we can complete the work properly and safely."

DENVER SUMMIT FC DAY

On April 27, Colorado Governor Jared Polis declared the date "Denver Summit FC Day" in the state of Colorado.

The event at the capitol was celebrated by Controlling Owner Rob Cohen, President Jen Millet, General Manager Curt Johnson, Colorado native players Janine Sonis, Ally Brazier, Jordan Nytes and Meg Boade and many Summit staff members.

"Colorado is the best place to train and compete, and we're inspired by Summit FC," Polis said. "It's especially meaningful to see Colorado's youngest soccer players look up to and cheer on some of the best athletes in the world, right here at home, for Colorado's newest professional sports team."

MILESTONE

At the 23rd minute against Boston on May 3, Carson Pickett reached 15,000 NWSL minutes, becoming the 19th player in NWSL history to reach that milestone.

Pickett is on track to reach 200 regular-season appearances this season, entering the weekend with 194 matches played, for 14th in the league.

GIVE BACK

On April 28, Carson Pickett was announced as Denver's Lauren Holiday Impact Award Nominee.

This season, Pickett will partner with Hand Camp Colorado, an organization dedicated to empowering children born with upper limb differences.

ANSWER THE CALL

Eight players will represent their countries during the June international break.

Janine Sonis (Canada), Emma Regan (Canada), Pauline Peyraud-Magnin (France), and Melissa Kössler (Germany), all earned call-ups to their respective senior squads.

Ayo Oke (US), Eva Gaetino (US), Yuna McCormack (US) and Lourdes Bosch (Mexico) will all participate in their respective U-23 Camps.

Check out the Denver Summit FC Statistics

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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