Commerce City, Colo.- After a disappointing performance last time out, the Summit looked to bounce back at home against the Houston Dash. After a frustrating night, Denver Summit was held to a draw at home.
Denver went with Abby Smith in goal, and it was a relatively unchanged lineup from Nick Cushing. Tash Flint was on the bench, available again after her rib injury.
Ally Brazier got the start at forward. Houston came into the match sitting 13th in NWSL standings and winless in two. Olivia Thomas got her second start of the season and Yazmeen Ryan was at the ten. It was a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Tash Flint returned from injury in the 62nd minute and looked strong.
It’s been an up and down season for the new expansion side, losing at home last week and sitting in 11th place. Lindsay Heaps remains unavailable until July 18th.
Last time in Houston, Denver hammered the Dash 4-1. They looked to replicate that performance.
Summit Come out Quickly, Respond from Last Week
Summit put the pressure on early, finding joy from playing out of Houston’s press and going forward. There was plenty of joy out wide. Summit also pressed in moments against Houston, looking to force mistakes and get after them.
Cushing was adamant last week that Denver would need to respond.
“I think you can see the response was evident. I felt it today in the locker room, the approach, the hunger, the ambition, and the belief to win. It’s just small details that we have to work through, it’s another one we should’ve won,” Cushing said.
Denver was awarded for their pressure in the 14th minute off a corner. Houston cleared the ball into Yazmeen Ryan, who made some space and fired an absolute rocket.
“I think initially I was supposed to cross it,” Ryan said.
“I had a little bit of time, just getting it on target was something huge for me, so I felt it in the moment, and I’m glad it paid off.”
Just after kickoff, the Dash responded well with a ball across the goal that wasn’t cleared to equalize.
They were back into their rhythm after the equalizer and there weren’t many chances outside of the two goals. Summit created more of the danger. Sonis had a big miss in front of the goal in the 29th minute.
Just before halftime, Sonis found the gap behind Houston to play Ally Brazier in. She beat the defender and was tackled down to win the penalty. Sonis did the rest, giving the Summit the lead going into the break.
Defensive Mistakes Costly
Early on in the second half, Cushing’s side conceded again from a cross into the box. Another defensive lapse cost Denver. Houston found space out wide and fired a ball low.
Sonis left Linda Ullmark unmarked and she equalized. Both goals were mistakes from out wide. In the first half, they conceded less than a minute after opening the scoring that ended in a Denver Summit draw.
It was a ball down the right flank, there wasn’t enough marking, the ball took a fortunate bounce, but it was enough for the Dash to equalize. Houston nearly scored again from an identical play, and on the second goal, the marking just simply wasn’t good enough and it resulted in a Denver Summit draw.
“This is the highest level of the game,” Cushing said on the goals conceded, “It’s meant to be difficult, so you’ve got to be on your game every week. We’ve got to get better at those cheap moments.”
Without the two mistakes maybe, they go on to put this game out of reach.
Attacking Frustration, Denver Summit Limited Despite Chance Creation
It was a night of many chances for the Summit. They had 26 shots compared to the Dash’s nine. There were a couple clear cut chances that have to be put away to win the game. Summit created and played really well going forward, the final product just wasn’t there.
It was a frustrating night. Denver had 2.86 xG compared to Houston’s 1.70.
As a new side, Cushing feels it’s something that will come with time.
“I do feel it’s just something that’s just got to click and stitch together,” Cushing said on the attacking creation.
“To me, the best teams are player led and are driven from within. The players have got to step forward and figure that one out.”
On another night, this game finishes much like the reverse fixture. Domination and an abundance of goals. It just wasn’t that night. In the 94th, Ryan got the ball on the far side and created space in what looked like a clear goal. She shot it right at Houston’s keeper who made a game-saving stop.
There were multiple similar moments for the Summit to win the game and unfortunately it ends in a tie that ultimately feels like a loss.
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Katherine Ammon 
Matt Pollard 