Los Angeles, Calif. – In a match truly made to be watched in-person or on television, Denver Summit FC and Angel City FC, 3-3, turned in an entertaining game from the Exposition Park neighborhood.
The match was a playoff six pointer. Angel City in 9th, Summit in 10th. The match was filled with physicality, waves of attacks and goals.
Both teams are currently in a head-to-head fight to win an invitation to November’s playoffs. The top eight teams in the regular season qualify.
LA opened the match with all-around veracity, admirable one touch passing and a classy goal in the 45th minute.
Midfielder Maiara Niehues found the back left corner of the net on a swift spin shot from atop the box. It was the Brazilian’s 8th goal of the season.
Once again, Denver’s head coach, Nick Cushing, sparked his side to come out of the changing room fired-up, and take to the second half with intensity. And that they indeed did.
Yuzuki Yamamoto responded with perfect placement minutes into half. It was her third goal in three consecutive games for the fan-favorite rookie.
Lindsey Heaps scored in the 61st minute. She collected up a rebounding ball off the crossbar and tapped it in with her left foot. Heaps’ goal was her very first goal in green and white.
Fifty-nine seconds later, Janine Sonis scored on a long distance salvo. Her shot just found the right corner of the box. For the very dependable Sonis, it was her 10th goal in 22 starts.
And in a blink-of-an-eye, Denver was comfortably ahead, 3-1. For those watching in their BMO Stadium seats or on television wherever, it appeared that in the moment, everything was in Denver’s favor, and they were poised to run away with a much needed victory.
Los Angeles had other ideas. They dug-in and did not relent. City came back with vengeance and kept Denver on their back heels for the balance of the game.
Attack-after-attack generated two goals. Striker Sveindís Jónsdóttir scored on a 2-on-1 runaway, and the second, a penalty kick, by USWNT star Ally Sentnor.
Sentnor earned the PK after Ayo Oke attempted to clear the ball from deep in LA’s box, however, her NFL-like punt kick caught Sentnor underneath her chin.
Denver Summit is set to host Bay FC for Hispanic Heritage Night at Centennial Stadium on Wednesday, September 16. Kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. MT as the club continues to contend for their first playoff spot.
Scoring Summary:
45’ ACFC, Niehues (Gordon assist)
48’ DEN, Yamamoto (Kössler assist)
61’ DEN, Heaps
61’ DEN, Sonis (Sheehan assist)
63’ ACFC, Chilufya (Jónsdóttir assist)
74’ ACFC, Sentnor (Penalty)
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Katherine Ammon 
Matt Pollard 