Centennial, Colo. – What a way to go out. Saturday late afternoon saw Denver Summit play their final home game of 2026 at Centennial Stadium. It was a must-win home finale against second-to-last Racing Louisville. Summit survived elimination from the NWSL playoffs on Friday. They then needed a win in this game, next week, and some help. It might have been their best attacking performance of the season.
Natalie Means got a rare start over Ayo Oke. Devin Lynch started in midfield with Emma Regan on the bench. Tash Flint and Melissa Kössler were in the attack.
This game was a goalfest. Summit got the party started in the 19th minute. A pinball passing passage saw Janine Sonis find Flint at the back post to score. It was Sonis’ 8th goal and 20th goal contribution of the year.
Kaleigh Kurtz got her first goal in Evergreen just before halftime. Sonis whipped in a free kick. Kurtz did well to angle the ball into the far side of the net.
The match opened up the second half. Denver found joy in transition compared to their usual possession-based play. A Kurtz long ball in the 59th played Yaz Ryan found MK for her second goal in as many games. The captain Lindsey Heaps made it 4-0 with an emphatic header in the 66th, set up Means. Two minutes later, Flint made it five from MK.
Louisville did get on the board to be fair. In the 79th after a bunch of subs, Taylor White ran through a gap with the Summit backline shifted towards the ball. She beat Abby Smith.
Yaz Ryan made it 6-1 dribbling forward and picking out her spot. It was her first goal since September 6.
With this result, Summit can still get the last playoff spot. They are in 10th place and will play at 9th place North Carolina Courage next Sunday. Eighth place Seattle Reign host eliminated Orlando Price. The first tie breaker is goal difference. Summit are +12 to Seattle’s +3 so no concern there.
It’s simple, Summit need a win and need Seattle to lose. Can Denver get a must-win result on the road to a fellow mid table NWSL team? We’ll find out next week in North Carolina. All games are Sunday, November 1st, 3:00 p.m. MT.
Summit will be on the road the rest of the season no matter what, as the 8th seed is the lowest seed to make the NWSL playoffs.
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Katherine Ammon 
Eamon Shaw 