Centennial, Colo. – The opening of Centennial Stadium. Lindsey Heaps making her debut for Denver Summit, going 90 minutes as captain. Sophia Wilson scoring in her first NWSL game in her home state. A long range bomb from an unlikely heroine to win it. Other than the heat and parking confusion, Saturday was everything Summit fans could have hoped for.
Summit head coach Nick Cushing gave the people what they wanted with the starting lineup. Lindsey Heaps started. Tash Flint was able to start as well after her return last week. The lineup was otherwise as expected. For the visitors, Windsor native Sophia Wilson started up top.
Summit were the protagonists in the first half. But given the weather, it was a game of moments. Summit regularly looked to get Heaps the ball. She combined well at times with Flint, Yaz Ryan, and Ayo Oke.
Janine Sonis appeared to draw a penalty in the 16th minute. A VAR review determined that Jessie Fleming did not trip her up. Then in the 23rd, Sonis caught up to Wilson in the box and was called for a foul as Wilson went down. Wilson took a slow run up on the penalty, sending Abby Smith the wrong way to make it 0-1 to Portland.
It was one way traffic for the rest of the half. Flint and Thomas both had chances off crosses that they couldn’t get on goal. In the 43rd, Heaps had a chance on a corner that was cleared off the line. With nine minutes of stoppage time, Sonis put a hopeful ball into the box at 45+7. It barely cleared the head of Heaps and bounced past Mackenzie Arnold and in!
The half ended 1-1.
Things slowed down in the second half and Thorns took advantage. Players were feeling the heat. Portland stayed compact and found space to attack on the counter. On another day, Wilson has two assists. Olivia Moultrie and Pietra Tordin both had looks on the break.
Summit found the live wire Thomas in space a few times. She had a great chance to open the half that went right at the goalkeeper. Cushing brought fresh legs on from the bench to push for a winner. Given the weather, this game was always going to be about moments.
It was the 86th minute. Heaps had just had a great chance blocked. It gets recycled. Heaps sends it out wide to substitute Natalie Means. Denver tries another cross into the box to the back post. Means just tried to put it in a dangerous area. The ball ended up sailing a bit high and into the side netting!
It ended up being the winner as Summit held on through six minutes of stoppage time to win 2-1.
Natalie Means business:
Natalie Means. NWSL rookie out of Georgetown. She’d barely played 300 minutes coming into today. Another young talented player that Summit found and recruited to provide depth in the roster. But was it a shot or a cross?
“She meant it by the way,” Sonis confirmed to Burgundy Wave postgame. “She said, ‘I saw the goalkeeper was not in the right position so I put it in the corner.'”
“The nicest player you will ever meet in your life. It was just a matter of time before she had that moment. It was just a matter of time until she was going to have that moment. We aren’t just 11 players. We’ve had players come off the bench and be the difference for us. I couldn’t be happier that it was Natalie,” Sonis added.
Means is just another example of how Summit have a health culture in their non-starters. There’s competition yet togetherness. There’s quality and impact. Cushing thinks the attitude of his reserves are the best of any bench in NWSL.
Janine Sonis was everywhere:
For better or worse, every big moment in this game involved Sonis, other than the Means winner. She could have drew a penalty then conceded one. Got stuck and in and got called for a few fouls. Had multiple plays where she didn’t earn a foul and was slow to get up. Hung in there and created the goal to give Summit life at half.
There’s still some concerns about her and the other fullbacks defensively. That’s a calculated risk of Cushing’s system. Sonis is one of the most entertaining players on this team. She’s a competitor. She made things happen in this game.
“I don’t think I can give you everything that I think and feel about Janine Sonis… It’s very special to do what she’s done, be the captain, lead from the front, and allow someone like Lindsey to come in and push her. She deserves everything… She’s a real high impact player,” Cushing said.
So about the noon kickoff and weather:
This game was announced as a sellout, 12,372. It was not a butts in seats sellout though. Stadium averaged 75% full. But surely there was a rotation of fans walking around and taking shade breaks under the stands. Temperature at kickoff was 85 F. It got to 90 F before full-time. The hydration breaks were a must. The stadium’s great for a pop-up temporary home, but no shade made it brutal. Fans were energetic despite the adversity.
“It is what it is. I thought the players were excellent in just driving intensity and just grinding it out,” Cushing said.
The only reason this game was at noon was because of the broadcast. This time worked for CBS. And was inconvenient for everyone else. Denver thankfully has one 2 pm game in August but the rest are night games until September.
Centennial Stadium opens for business:
For a pop-up temporary home that’s being given back to the community, not bad. Bleachers on four sides. Some shaded corridors underneath the stands. Concourse is a bit narrow for the capacity. Plenty of food options and well spaced. Other than no shade for an afternoon game, pretty good.
Hopefully construction finishes up in the next couple weeks so parking is better. It was organized chaos with it being the first game.
“I came here on June 1, 2025. This was just one big dirt field. Curt (Summit GM Curt Johnson) brought me here when I was interviewing for the role. And 13 months later, we just won a game in the stadium. Amazing occasion. It’s another step forward. We have to harness it and use it,” Cushing said with a smile.
Lindsey Heaps made the difference:
“She came here for real purpose today. This was a real big occasion for her. It meant a lot to her,” Cushing said of the #10. He said he spoke to Heaps on Thursday about what she was capable of. Heaps didn’t answer the question and walked away. She was always starting and going 90 minutes.
Midfield has been the biggest weakness for Summit so far this season. They’ve needed quality on the ball and better spacial awareness. Heaps came here to play football. They were better with the ball at their feet. She orchestrated but also fit in with the system.
“I felt like the (winning) goal was coming. What an exciting way to end that game and have all our friends behind us,” Heaps said of the win.
“Everything the organization has done… we’ve done it in such a proper way… To see it happen here in the NWSL, it makes it very easy for us to do our job. It’s so special,” Heaps added.
“Another new player coming in and integrating, it’s a really tough task to get everyone to mesh together. You see some really good football being played. I’m obviously still integrating. Hopefully the team is getting used to me and the refs are getting used to me. I’m so grateful to be part of this club.”
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Katherine Ammon 
Eamon Shaw 