Denver Summit FC secured a crucial point on the road Friday night, drawing 1-1 against the San Diego Wave — the second top-four club Summit FC has faced in as many games.
Denver’s new NWSL franchise continues to hang around in the playoff conversation, led by the stellar play of goalie Abby Smith. It was San Diego’s first draw at home this season after Summit FC (6-7-6, 24 pts) fell, 3-2, in the two sides’ first meeting in April.
San Diego broke the scoreless tie in the 35th minute. Wave Midfielder Melanie Barcenas took the ball on the right side and dribbled toward the net without much pressure before launching a shot from 20 yards out that found the bottom corner. Smith had been great in the half but was left out to dry by her defense.
Smith spoiled a Barcenas scoring chance in the 10th minute to become the 12th keeper in league history to reach 300 regular-season saves.
After a relatively even first half between the two sides, Summit FC pulled even in the second half. In the 58th minute, Summit FC winger Yazmeen Ryan found defender Janine Sonis on the opposite side. Sonis then crossed the ball to Ryan, who had an easy header for a goal. The play looked nearly identical to the way the duo scored against Utah in Summit FC’s thrilling win off a stoppage-time goal from Sonis.
“I know that when she has the ball, she has the ability to put it anywhere, and so it’s just up to me to make that movement and be open,” Ryan said. “We obviously trust each other, and so I just wanted to be there for her cross.”
It was Ryan’s fifth goal of the season, tying her single-season record with Gotham in 2024 and giving her eight goal contributions total this season.
Denver head coach Nick Cushing did not make too many changes to the lineup after the Utah match. Colorado native Lindsey Heaps was not in the lineup Friday night. Yuna McCormack saw her seventh start this season while Kaleigh Kurtz, Devin Lynch and Smith continued their season-long starting streaks. Ally Brazier, making her second consecutive start, played a full 90 for the first time this season.
Denver has now scored over half of its goals (13 of 25) and exactly half of its points (12 of 24) on the road this season.
Summit FC defender Eva Gaetino left the game with an injury in the 16th minute. Defender Megan Reid replaced the 23-year-old, who has been dealing with a hamstring issue. Cushing said Gaetino was pulled as a precaution.
“I think it was the right thing to do to take her off and not gamble it,” Cushing said. “I think the signs are really, really positive in the sense that it’s just a small issue that we can take care of.”
Smith came up huge for Denver in the 24th minute after San Diego forward Ludmila da Silva caught up to a through ball for a scoring chance. The striker got enough space to fire a shot off a difficult angle, but couldn’t find the net.
Summit FC survived some scary moments, one of which came moments after its equalizing goal. Barcenas again found space against the Denver defense, but her ensuing shot came off the crossbar.
San Diego did put the ball in the back of the net in the 70th minute, but forward Adriana Leon’s goal was called off for Leon being offside — which was confirmed by VAR.
Denver almost got the go-ahead goal in the 84th minute. High pressure forced Wave goalkeeper Sandra Paños to give the ball away in a good spot for the Summit. Midfielder Natasha Flint was the recipient, but she could not capitalize as her shot into an empty net was high and wide.
The match ended 1-1, with both teams splitting the point — a positive result for a Summit FC side still in the playoff hunt.
“We got a real chance of making the playoffs because we thought we had the best chances,” Cushing said after the match. “Although we didn’t play so well in the game in the first half, of course, second half great reaction showed fight, showed commitment, showed our real character, but we had the biggest chances in the game, so I think this is one that, as we evolve as a team, we have to have the sort of ruthlessness to execute and get three points on the road.”
Smith finished with four saves,, giving her 302 total and putting her just two saves away from the 11th place spot in the NWSL record book.
Denver Summit will travel to Portland to face the Portland Thorns on Saturday, Aug. 22 at 6:45 pm Mountain Time.
