Commerce City, Colo. – Following a disappointing defeat to Kansas City Current, Denver Summit will need to pivot. Against the Current, the Summit suffered its largest goal differential defeat yet, in a loss Coach Cushing called the second worst defeat of his career. Nonetheless, the Summit will need to rebound against a Houston Dash team who will be looking for revenge. With a lot of disappointment also comes a lot of learning and takeaways for the future. The expansion team previously demolished the Dash 4-1 on May 9th. Here’s four things to look for when Denver takes on the Summit and USWNT star Avery Patterson.
If you didn’t already, read up on the takeaways against Kansas City Current to get a better understanding of the team’s journey so far this season.
The Match: Houston Dash at Denver Summit
Summit’s Previous Result: 3-0 Loss against Kansas City Current
Dash’s Previous Result: 2-1 Loss against Washington Spirit
When: Sunday, July 12th at 5 PM
Where: DICKS Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, Colorado
TV/Streaming: Victory+
Coaching Adjustments
Following a resounding defeat, Coach Cushing needs to make adjustments across the board to set the team up for success. One change many fans will want to see will be adjustments to the lineup and the formation.
In order to adjust for Tash Flint’s injury and Delanie Sheehan’s illness (Sheehan’s availability on July 3rd was initially questionable), Cushing made formation changes that set the team up poorly to counter the Current high press. By slotting Yazmeen Ryan into the midfield, Cushing effectively neutralized the dangerous right-side duo of Oke and Ryan. As a result, Ryan was nearly invisible all game and had minimal touches on the ball.
Moreover, from a possession standpoint, although the Summit possessed 56% of the game, changes to the lineup were not complimentary to ball possession. Ally (Watt) Brazier and Emma Regan started and both had poor performances. Regan and Brazier had the worst goals added of the starters (comparatively, Kossler and Sonis had the best). For those unfamiliar with this measurement, according to American Soccer Analysis, “goals added (g+) measures a player’s total on-ball contribution in attack and defense”. Essentially the more the player can contribute to potential opportunities for their team and decrease potential goal concessions, the better their g+.
Finally, center defender Eva Gaetino will need to improve her possession or risk losing her starting spot. Gaetino had two costly turnovers on July 3rd, one resulting in a goal and the other in a PK. Similarly, against the Utah Royals, Gaetino also had a turnover resulting in a conceded goal. If Gaetino cannot build back her confidence and poise on the ball, it will make a lot more sense to sub in seasoned veteran Megan Reid. Reid also had decent showings earlier this year when Gaetino was injured, so the cards may be stacked against Gaetino.
Ideally, Cushing will move Ryan back out to the wing to complement Ayo Oke. With Sheehan recovered from her illness, she should be set to start and replace Brazier in the lineup. Regan will likely remain as a starter until Flint or Heaps comes along to replace her. Lastly, Sonis could also be dropped back into her trademark left fullback with Means coming in to replace Pickett.
Defensive Clean-Up
The Summit will need to clean up their defensive work going into the match. The team allowed KC players far too much freedom in the final third which resulted in 27 touches within the 18. The lack of marking overall resulted in 4.03 xG (expected goals) for Kansas City, with Summit ultimately lucky the end score was not worse.
Currently, Cushing has utilized a high defensive line. Unfortunately, the team has been burned multiple times with this strategy as Kurtz and Gaetino do not have the speed to keep up with the likes of the Chawingas of the league. Meanwhile, our faster defender, Oke, is typically too far up to track back fast enough. Fans can hope the defense will play somewhat more conservatively in this next game – or to receive news of an addition of a fast defender with the July 14th international window opening. Personally, this author would love a pairing of Kurtz and USWNT center back Tara Rudd but will settle for more speed on the back line.
Through-Balls
Through-Balls can be make or break for either team. For Denver, part of the Current’s ability to tear up and divide the back line was their ability to splice our defense with through balls. Similarly, one of Houston’s conceded goals in their matchup against the Spirit was a result of a well-played through ball. Both teams have weaknesses defensively against them.
Contrastingly, both teams should look to target each other’s weaknesses and exploit through balls. Summit centermids should look to reach Kossler and Ryan via through balls, whereas Dash mids may look to reach Van Zanten and Ullmark.
Player Availability
While Lindsey Horan is unavailable to play with the Denver Summit until July 18th, the captain started practicing with the team this week, so fans may still see the impact of that. Additionally, it will be important to keep an eye out as availability reports are released to see if Tash Flint is back from her rib fracture that she suffered in the Utah Royals game. In the July 3rd postgame, Coach Cushing noted that Flint has been limited to non-contact training until she has healed enough; therefore, it is unlikely fans can expect to see Flint back this week. Flint has made a big impact on the Summit during her time, so fans will hope to see her return sooner than later.
For Houston, the team currently has no injuries except for one SEI with Makenzy Robbe. Such health will certainly be an advantage to the Dash.
Noteworthy Newcomers
If fans are looking for excitement in this game, they should look to the rookies and league newcomers. Houston Dash has possibly one of the most exciting rookie classes with Linda Ullmark, Kate Faasse, Kat Radar (5 goal contributions), and Leah Klenke. Watching these rookies find their feet (and goals) has been a treat in the first half of the season, so seeing how these rookies continue to grow will be interesting.
Meanwhile, league newcomers Melissa Kossler and Ayo Oke have also been a treat to watch. Summit fans will want to watch if Kossler can have a resurgence following a quieter stretch of games where she has perhaps hid too much from the ball. On the other hand, Ayo Oke’s growth thus far this season has been incredibly impressive. One of the bright lights in the KC game, Oke did a fantastic job making several stops. Overall, Oke looked incredibly confident and poised on the ball. Fans should pay attention to Oke as the season progresses as they are watching the beginnings of a star who will undoubtedly be a call-up to the senior US national team if she keeps up her momentum.
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Matt Pollard 
Samuel Worsley 