Centennial, Colo. – Halfway through their inaugural NWSL season, Denver Summit have been mid. And they might be meh. On Wednesday night, they hosted North Carolina Courage. It was more underwhelming than Sunday’s draw to Boston Legacy.
It was a rotated lineup for Nick Cushing’s side. Kaliegh Kurtz kept her Iron Woman streak going. But Lindsey Heaps was a gamed scratch. Tash Flint was back starting. Melissa Kössler was at center forward for the second straight game. Yuzuki Yamamoto made second NWSL start.
North Carolina Courage were unchanged from their last match.
The first half was maybe the most uneventful Summit have played at home this season. Denver didn’t even really play their game. Just 46% possession, four shots on target on 11 attempts for 0.60 xG. It was a lot of half chances and blocked shots. At least in other matches where they’ve underperformed their xG, they were creating chances and crossing the ball in bunches.
Both sides had a screamer from the edge of the box that the goalkeepers made great saves on. Flint had moments. There was a shout for a penalty with Ayo Oke pushed from behind. The contact was outside the box. Denver had a nice flurry to end the half. Devon Lynch had a good look go wide in the 44th.
Things went from ok to worse a minute into the second half. Eva Gaetino got her legs tangled up Erica Parkinson and got called for a penalty. Riley Jackson converted from the spot.
Summit didn’t have a great response to the goal. The home side won a few more corners, but those were taken long to the far side of the goal, which was ineffective. Flint had a shot from a sharp angle on the hour mark that went wide. She then had a turn around shot on a short corner.
Courage put the game away in the 81st. The visitors switched the field with a cross in transition. Ally Schlegel beat Janine Sonis to the ball. Her first shot snuck past Smith. The Englewood native ran onto the loose ball for a tap in. The match ended 0-2. Summer weren’t particularly threatening in the final nine minutes plus stoppage time.
No end product or close to turning a corner?
Are Summit bad or are they just underperforming? At some point you are what your record says you are. They got the ball into good areas at times in the match. In previous games, they’d turned that into crosses, shots, and xG. Just not enough goals. This game was less of that.
“It’s more so executing in the final third to be honest. Especially myself, I had a lot of chances. I just needed to put one in the back of the net,” Flint told Burgundy Wave.
“We do keep working on every aspect of the game. It’s just sticking together, not turning against each other. It’s going to get tough if we continue to keep losing games.”
Courage had a penalty and a breakaway. Take those away, they had one good chance and 0.69 xG. Give up a big chance or two that lead to soft goals has been an issue for Summit.
“It’s the story of our season. We didn’t get ahead,” added Cushing. “I just don’t think they’re falling for us at the moment… I really believe this team is so so close.”
Cushing called the penalty soft. He said that PRO had apologized for the penalty that Portland Thorns won a few weeks ago. He suggested it was also tough against Boston.
Lindsey Heaps a late scratch:
Cushing confirmed Heaps was initially in the team. She had a “small issue” with “a little bit of swelling.” The player was then pulled from the match by the team doctor. They’ll know more tomorrow.
Swelling sounds like it might be knee issue, maybe an ankle. Speculation aside, losing Heaps hurt the team. They were disorganized at times in the final third. There was indecision and hesitation at the top of the box. ‘Just pass the ball to Lindsey’ simplifies things.
The patterns of play needed to be better. But they’d also played good football before Heaps showed up earlier in the year.
“A last minute change to have Lindsey not in the team was tough for us. We’ve got a team that can come together and build on what we’ve been building,” Flint said to that point.
No rest for the weary, supporters included:
Summit finish out this week of three home games on Saturday. At 2 pm MT they host Utah Royals in the second leg of the Continental Divide Rivalry. It could be another scorcher. It will be tough for the players and fans.
Game times have been non-ideal so far at Centennial. An afternoon kickoff with temperatures in the 90s, a night kickoff on a Sunday, then an 8 pm kickoff midweek. That’s tough for families and people with jobs. Now it’s another midday game. A Saturday night 7 pm would be great, especially with Colorado Rapids on a bye week.
By the eye test, there weren’t more than 10,000 butts in seats for this game. On paper, it was another home sellout. Plenty of fans have complained about the resale market. It’s limited to the club’s app and Season Ticket Members cannot list their tickets for less than face value. Surely having a full house is worth dropping a $35 ticket to $25?
“Recovering week in and week out. This week’s a tough week. We have to keep our foot on the gas. We do need to be more ruthless in front of goal. I can’t drop my head. It will just be a knock on effect,” Flint said of the task at hand for the players.
“I just want to get back playing. Get back here in front of our fans. Try and make sure that first moment falls in our favor,” said Cushing.
Cushing did not think this result means they need to be urgent in the transfer window. That need is already there:
“There are two ways you can accelerate the progress of the team. That is a significant one. I am content with the way the club works, from ownership to front office, GM. We are working. I am confident that we will.”
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Zach Lowy 