Centennial, Colo. – Denver Summit came into Saturday night struggling. No wins in three. Two home games earlier this wee, two poor performances and one point. It was the second leg of the Continental Divide Rivalry. It felt familiar at first. But the ending was different. It brought head coach Nick Cushing to a smile and Colorado native Ally Brazier to tears. It meant so much.
Cushing rotated the squad heavily in this third game in a week. And it was fairly due to poor results. Ally Brazier and Natalie Means got the start in the attack. Yuna McCormack was in the attack with Tash Flint on the bench. Lindsey Heaps missed a second straight game with a knee injury.
The first half felt like a repeat of the other two games this week. Summit had plenty of possession building from the back. They got into good areas. But crosses and corners didn’t turn into shot attempts. Royals had their chances on the counter. The visitors had arguably the two best looks of the half.
Narumi Miura had a chance to punish Summit playing out of the back, but she couldn’t get her shot on target. Cecelia Delzer was played in behind later in the half but goalkeeper Abby Smith was great at sweeper keeper. She stuffed the shot at the edge of the box, then got to her feet to play out herself.
There was another referee controversy at the end of the half. Kaleigh Kurtz appeared to be taken down with her back to goal on a corner. A foul was called on the initial cross before she got to the loose ball. Eva Gaetino was called for a foul on the goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn. It seemed soft with a defender between her and McGlynn and Gaetino not jumping for the ball.
Summit got what they needed six minutes into the second half. Devin Lynch made a great play to keep possession at the top of the box, finding captain Janine Sonis. Sonis crossed back post. Yaz Ryan took a touch to bring the ball down and half volleyed it into the far corner.
The match got stretched in the final minutes. Brazier had a breakaway from an angle in the 81st that was well saved by McGlynn. Summit’s recovery defense was excellent. Gaetino made a great block up a goal. Ayo Oke and Sonis did well to win the ball back several times and clear their lines.
The game hung in the balance. Summit appeared to be hanging on long enough to hold on. Oh how NWSL After Dark provided twists and turns. Tatumn Milazzo appeared to break Colorado hearts in the 89th. A great switch of play put the ball at the top of the box. Kaliegh Kurtz headed the ball up and behind. Milazzo scored on the half volley, upper 90. Nothing Smith could have done.
Eight minutes of stoppage time provided drama for one team to find a winner. Ryan won a free kick at the top of the box. On the fourth minute of stoppage time, Sonis took the kick over the wall, sneaking bottom right corner to win the match 2-1. The same corner Ryan scored on earlier in the half.
Yaz Ryan and Janine Sonis bring the offense:
With Heaps out and Flint again on the bench, someone needed to step up. The players who rotated in provided energy, but not the contributions on goal.
Yaz Ryan now has two goals against Utah. She had a great finish. She’s gotten chances in the last couple weeks. Eventually she was going to get back on the scoresheet. She earned it. She is an important piece of this attack on the right wing.
Janine Sonis is one of the most entertaining two-way players in the league. That free kick goal might be the best of the weekend in the country, men’s or women’s soccer.
Summit have won so many set pieces during this home stand. The service has been poor on corners, often going over everyone to the far side of the goal. They switched corner kick takers during this game. They needed a set piece goal. Sonis brought it in the biggest moment. More on that later.
“I just knew that she was going to save us. I was in tears on the sideline. I just love for her to get her flowers and also Yaz because she was working so hard,” Brazier said of the goals.
Sonis apparently does this regularly in training. “Everyday according to Brazier and Ryan.
“Next Moment Mentality.” Embrace the chaos.
The team has had issues with accepting what’s happened and moving on. They’ve had good reactions to conceding. But they needed a mindset change for this game. Focus on what you can do next, not the weight of what’s happened in one game or the last few.
“We had to win tonight to pay back the effort,” Cushing said postgame. “I’m proud of the reaction we show when we go 1-0 down. I’m just tired of going 1-0 down.”
“When I talk about a ‘Next Moment Mentality,’ (Sonis) has that in abundance. That is the mentality that our team has to have. That coupled with the real progress in performance, culture, environment, gives us a chance.”
Ayo Oke had a nice speech pregame that added to the Cushing’s concept of Next Moment Mentality.
“We talked about as a group playing free. Letting go all the stuff from before. I’m super proud of this group,” Ryan said of Oke.
“In an expansion years, it’s never going to be like that. It’s going to be bumpy. Yes we have to chase the game model. But also we have to embrace the chaos,” added Cushing.
This is something Cushing had to accept himself. The squad rotation was partly necessity given the fixture congestion. But the team also needed a reaction given Wednesday’s result. They needed effort and change. Brazier helped with that. Means has been chomping at the bit after her recent goal.
Can the reserve players be more consistent and impactful in the future “next moments?” We shall see.
The Continental Divide Rivalry:
Firstly, as of full-time, nobody’s won this thing. The tie breakers are aggregate points, aggregate score, and away goals. The 14ers Basecamp and Utah supporters apparently didn’t consider the scenario in which a two-leg series had the same scoreline.
Burgundy Wave can confirm they’re trying to figure out what the next time breaker should be. Given they know what they pick will decide the first winner is wild.
It’s only been two games. It’s been two good games. Is this a rivalry yet? Or do we need more controversy and competitiveness next year?
“It’s always fun to have a rivalry. I’ll accept that. It feels good to get a win against a top team,” said Ryan.
“I like the narrative. I know a lot of those girls. We love each other. It’s a good rivalry to have. I like the name,” added Colorado Springs native Brazier.
The supporters:
Lastly, good on the fans who showed up. Twenty hour notice that the kickoff time got moved back. Denver Summit have yet to have a butts in seats sellout through four games. The kickoff times have been tough. A noon game. Two night kickoffs on work nights. Then this game that was moved the day before.
I feel bad for traveling Utah supporters who had planned to fly back in the evening.
There’s been complaints from Season Ticket Members about scheduling and the resale setup. The club app doesn’t allow fans to list their tickets below face value. And there’s a 20% fee on top of that. It’s hard for STM who can’t make every game to offload their tickets.
Hopefully the fans get more used to navigating this. Hopefully games moving to weekly and Saturday night help too. This team should be selling out every match on paper and in person.
Also, the referee game management wasn’t great. Not just the penalty situation in the first half. Smith got a yellow card for time wasting just as she started winding up to restart play. There was the time wasting with the Utah goalkeeper, who eventually needed a visit from the trainer. That took too long.
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Eamon Shaw 
Katherine Ammon 