Centennial, Colo. – Following a disappointing loss to Angel City last week, Denver hosts Louisville in what will be a make or break match for playoff hopes. Against LA, the Summit took the lead 2-0 before giving up three goals in 11 minutes. Kossler and Heaps tallied for the Summit. Meanwhile, Racing Louisville is out of playoff contention and are on a 8-game winless streak. Here’s three things to look for as the Summit looks to sweep Racing Louisville
Denver Summit vs Racing Louisville
Louisville’s Previous Result: 2-1 Loss vs Boston Legacy
Summit’s Previous Result: 3-2 Loss vs Angel City
Previous Face to Face Result: 1-0 Win for Denver Summit
When: Saturday, October 24th at 4:30 PM MT
Where: Centennial Stadium, Centennial, Colorado
TV/Streaming: Ion
Playoff Odds
After falling to LA in a must-win match, most of Denver’s playoff destiny lies out of their control. Currently, the Summit is sitting in 10th place, two spots out of the playoff line. North Carolina and Seattle are the top competitors fans will want to monitor this weekend as playoff odds could be decided before the Summit takes the pitch. Fans should tune in to the Seattle vs Utah game tonight at 7:30 PM MT on NWSL+. Pay off an Etsy witch, make a deal with the devil, whatever it takes, Seattle cannot beat Utah, or else Denver’s playoff hopes are dashed. Seattle can tie Utah, but ultimately a loss is preferable as Seattle cannot record more than one point across their final two matches if Summit wants to make it in.
Should Seattle win, Cushing’s game plan may change drastically. Without the threat of playoffs lingering over the team’s head, Cushing may decide to use the Louisville matchup as an opportunity for less experienced players to get more minutes and to rest other players. Heaps and Sonis come to mind as both have a long list of international matches ahead of them with World Cup qualifiers. Although a Seattle win would be disheartening, a chance to see more from players such as Naomi Eto and Olivia Thomas would be exciting.
Meanwhile, at 8 PM on Prime Video, fans should also check in on the Portland vs North Carolina game. A Portland win is the best chance for Denver to move up the standings, so fans will hope that Colorado native Sophia Wilson will give the ultimate virtual pep talk to her team. Sophia Wilson will be unable to do Denver a favor and rack up some goals as the forward is serving out a red card suspension.
Ultimately, it is frustrating that the Denver Summit depends on other teams’ failures due to bungling multiple games they should have put away. Players tomorrow might feel the weight on their shoulders as a loss to Louisville eliminates Denver from playoffs.
On Paper, This Should be Easy
Looking at the matchup against Louisville, victory is an expectation. Louisville has not won in 8 games or kept a clean sheet in 29 matches. Bev Yanez and co also struggle on the road, having only won two away matches all season. This record combined with the natural advantage of elevation should prove to be a struggle for the team.
Denver has also scored more than three times Louisville’s recorded goals in their past three games (ten goals to three). Their top scorer, Janine Sonis, has scored 150% more goals than Louisville’s top scorer Kayla Fischer. The only challenge one might expect from Denver is defensive slip-ups. Denver has allowed 10 goals to Louisville’s 9 in the past five games. Kaleigh Kurtz’s back line will need to re-group going into the Louisville game. The defense will need to do a better job tracking and marking players to prevent easy goals. It will be interesting to see if Cushing shakes up the lineup to set Denver up better defensively. Arguments could be made to bring Reid or Lynch back in to shore up the defense.
Fool Me Once, Shame on You. Fool Me Twice, Shame on Me
Denver’s matchup against Angel City showed a team fans have become all too familiar with this season. A team who cannot put away matches and gives up goals they should not. In the past five games alone, Denver failed to record a win in three games despite scoring first. Against Bay FC, the expansion side dominated only to allow a stoppage time goal. Against LA, after giving up three goals in 11 minutes, the Summit could not muster the offensive power to strike back for the remaining 47 minutes. This season in some ways has become a story of what could have been. If Summit had put away even half of the games that they scored first in (and later drew or lost), they would be sitting in sixth place. That is 16 points left on the table from those games alone, much less counting all the other close games the team could have put away.
While this author will not continue to dwell on the past, it is important to understand what went wrong in these games as we also start to look to next season. Because ultimately, regardless of Saturday’s outcome, there is always next season. Some of the losses reflect a lack of maturity in the team that should come with time. Panicking when down, parking the bus too soon, and lacking the mental acuity to play a full 90 minutes have all played a part. According to Cushing, there has not been a single game where the team has lost due to lack of effort. So how can the team be set up for success in the future? This is the question that fans might start to ponder as they watch the two remaining games. Is it lack talent, training adjustments, or something else that needs to change?
Fans may feel disappointed at times, but ultimately, they need to recall this is an expansion team and good things take patience. Considering most recent expansion teams have made playoffs within their first two years, Denver is right on track to make playoffs if not this year, then definitely next year. To this author, Denver is very similar to 2025’s San Diego. Lots of the right pieces, plenty of bright moments, but ultimately inconsistent. If Denver can make similar offseason progress, they could find themselves in a similar place to San Diego now – in contention for the NWSL shield and on their way to the playoffs.
Eamon Shaw 
Matt Pollard 