The Summit reached new heights on Saturday, when the 2026 expansion team shattered the NWSL single-game attendance record with 63,004 fans turning out to watch Denver take on the Washington Spirit in their first-ever home match.
The Mile High Stadium crowd topped the league's previous 40,091-fan high-mark set by Bay FC last season, while also smashing Seattle's doubleheader attendance record of 42,054 fans from 2023.
"I will never forget walking out of that tunnel today and hearing the crowd screaming for us," said Denver captain Janine Solis, with the Summit already keeping pace above the playoff line.
The big day yielded few fireworks, however, as Saturday's 0-0 finish gave each team a point but extended the Spirit's 2026 winless streak.
After dropping their season opener to the Portland Thorns, the 2025 NWSL runners-up have logged three consecutive draws, with Washington now sitting in 12th place on the league table.
"We've been moving in the right direction," Spirit midfielder Hal Hershfelt said. "It's just going to take time to build that chemistry."
"We're not going to get obsessed with one result," said Washington manager Adrián González. "We know we want to get better every week, and this is what we are doing."
How to watch the Denver Summit, Washington Spirit this weekend
Both Denver and Washington will hit the road for the West Coast this weekend, starting with the Summit visiting the Seattle Reign at 8:45 PM ET on Saturday, airing live on ION.
Then at 5 PM ET on Sunday, the Spirit will take on Bay FC to close out NWSL play prior to the April international window, with live coverage airing on ESPN2.
Just three unbeaten NWSL teams remain after Wednesday's midweek action — and two of them will square off on Friday night, when Angel City hosts the Houston Dash in Los Angeles.
Both clubs have earned six points across their two 2026 games, with ACFC currently sitting atop the NWSL table due to goal differential.
Plus, both rosters should enter the matchup well rested, as neither team participated in this week's Wednesday slate.
Notably, the Dash have yet to concede a goal this season, posting a 1-0 win over the San Diego Wave in their 2026 opener before claiming a 3-0 victory over NWSL newcomers Boston Legacy FC last Saturday.
Meanwhile, Angel City tallied six different goal-scorers over their first two games, defeating Bay FC 3-1 on Saturday after blasting the Chicago Stars 4-0 to open 2026 play.
"We're in a really good state right now — with rhythm, with how we're training, with the gelling of the team, so [I] feel very good going into this game," said Houston manager Fabrice Gautrat.
"It's about growing," said Angel City head coach Alexander Straus. "Having a growth mindset, and understanding that it's never a ceiling, and you can never be happy and comfortable."
How to watch Angel City vs. Houston on Friday night
The Dash will visit Angel City in a Top-2 NWSL clash at 10 PM ET on Friday, airing live on Prime.
One of the newest NWSL teams got on the board on Wednesday, when the Denver Summit stunned reigning league champion Gotham FC 2-0 to claim the 2026 expansion club's first-ever victory.
Denver forward Melissa Kössler opened the scoring with her third goal in as many games in the 58th minute, before fellow attacker Natasha Flint sealed the deal with a 73rd-minute strike.
"We know there's going to be difficult moments, we know there's going to be enjoyable moments — we just want to increase them," said Summit manager Nick Cushing afterwards. "And tonight, it's definitely one of those."
Kössler joins Orlando Pride star Barbra Banda as the only NWSL players to score in every match so far this season, leaving Gotham to rue its missed chances.
"This team is full of winners at every level, and we're disappointed to be starting the season this way," said Bats defender Jess Carter. "We expect higher standards from ourselves."
"We know how the NWSL is — often the team that scores first gets the result. When we've done that, we've won," said Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amorós. "In the last two games, we haven't been able to do it."
How to watch the Denver Summit this weekend
With little time to rest on their laurels, the Summit are gearing up for what will likely be an NWSL attendance record-shattering home debut, with Denver hosting the Washington Spirit at the NFL's Mile High Stadium on Saturday.
The historic match will kick off live at 2 PM ET on CBS.
The Denver Summit are hunting a win, with the 2026 NWSL expansion team shooting for a franchise-first victory against reigning champion Gotham FC on Wednesday night.
The Summit tallied a 2-1 loss to Bay FC and a 1-1 draw with the Orlando Pride to open their inaugural season, managing to avoid shutouts behind a pair of goals from German international Melissa Kössler.
However, Denver was dealt a blow when promising rookie Jasmine Aikey suffered a season-ending ACL tear in her right knee this week.
"We are all thinking of Jasmine and will be with her every step of the way throughout this recovery," said Summit head coach Nick Cushing. "She means so much to this team both on and off the field."
Denver will likely shift focus to new signings Yazmeen Ryan and Delanie Sheehan, with Ryan getting her first start for the Summit last Friday.
As for the match hosts, Gotham will miss star midfielder Jaedyn Shaw (hamstring) on Wednesday, but the Bats can take solace in USWNT star Tierna Davidson's long-awaited return from injury.
"They are building a new team, and they've done a good job so far," Gotham manager Juan Carlos Amorós said about the Summit. "It's going to be an interesting game."
How to watch Gotham FC vs. Denver Summit FC
The Summit will visit Gotham at 7 PM ET on Wednesday, airing live on Victory+.
Washington finds itself in unfamiliar territory, as the Spirit enters Wednesday night's midweek NWSL clash against the Utah Royals still hunting a first win of the 2026 season.
After opening their 2026 campaign with a 1-0 home loss to the Portland Thorns, Washington battled back from a two goal deficit to draw Racing Louisville 2-2 last Friday.
"[We're] believing in what we are doing, the process," said Spirit manager Adrián González. "When we win, we don't get too crazy and when we lose, the same."
This time out, the Spirit will benefit from a mostly healthy lineup, with star forward Trinity Rodman cleared after last week's concussion scare and midfielder Andi Sullivan back from maternity leave.
Winless Utah, whose 2026 season includes a pair of 2-1 losses to the Kansas City Current and San Diego Wave, is less lucky: Starting goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn is out with a hand injury and defender Tatumn Milazzo will be serving a red card suspension on Wednesday night.
"The expectation should be with everyone coming in that they can pick up their role," said Royals head coach Jimmy Coenraets.
How to watch the Washington Spirit vs. Utah Royals on Wednesday
Washington will host Utah at 7 PM ET on Wednesday, with live coverage of the match streaming on Victory+.
The 2025/26 Champions League quarterfinals have arrived, as WSL rivals Chelsea and Arsenal prepare to kick off an historic London derby in the round's first leg on Tuesday — with both UK clubs contending with shorthanded rosters after waning midseason availability.
Chelsea is without Australian standouts Sam Kerr and Ellie Carpenter as they return from their second-place run at the 2026 AFC Asian Cup, while fellow Matildas Caitlin Foord, Steph Catley, and Kyra Cooney-Cross sit out for Arsenal.
The Blues' concerns go even deeper, however, as the recent departures of Guro Reiten and Catarina Macario combine with a long injury list: Aggie Beever-Jones remains questionable, while Millie Bright, Nathalie Björn, Mayra Ramírez, and Niamh Charles are all sidelined.
"I still think we have a lot of quality and coming into the game tomorrow, we will have some strengths to use," assured Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor on Monday.
The other Champions League quarterfinal matchups should showcase more star power, as Wolfsburg takes on OL Lyonnes, Barcelona opens its Clásico against Real Madrid, and Manchester United battles Bayern Munich.
"You know it's going to be competitive — nobody's going to give anything away for free," said Barcelona forward Caroline Graham Hansen.
How to watch the 2025/26 Champions League quarterfinals
The UWCL quarterfinals kick off their first legs on Tuesday, with Wolfsburg hosting OL Lyonnes at 1:45 PM ET before Chelsea visits Arsenal at 4 PM ET.
Then on Wednesday, Barcelona takes on Real Madrid at 1:45 PM ET, and Bayern visits Man United at 4 PM ET.
All 2025/26 Champions League matches will stream live on Paramount+.
Portland extended its perfect 2026 NWSL season start on Friday, when the Thorns took down rival Seattle Reign 2-0 despite tallying two red cards to close out the game with just nine players.
First, Portland midfielder Cassandra Bogere received two yellow cards in quick succession shortly into the first half, with forward Pietra Tordin's header putting the shorthanded Thorns up 1-0 in the 28th minute.
Fellow attacker Reilyn Turner doubled Portland's lead before halftime, with defender Reyna Reyes later earning a straight red in the 57th minute — the first two red cards shown in Cascadia Rivalry history.
Coming off a tough travel week that required an emergency charter flight, the Reign couldn't catch a break despite their personnel advantages.
"When you're fatigued, the first thing that goes is your brain," said Seattle head coach Laura Harvey.
Red cards abound in early NWSL season
NWSL officials have been seeing red in abundance across the season's the first two matchdays, with six players sent off in 2026 thus far.
After expansion sides Boston and Denver opened their NWSL careers with a red card each in their inaugural contests, veteran NWSL clubs added a full four of their own, with late send-offs from Bay FC and the Utah Royals joining Portland's pair over the weekend.
Whether in response to past criticism of league officiating or the NWSL's implementation of new technology like RefCam in both matches and referee training, roster deductions are clearly on the rise: In just two weekends of play, the NWSL is already more than halfway to matching the league's 2025 season total of 11 red cards.
Should the trend continue, match strategies could shift, as teams weigh tactics against an increased threat of losing numbers on the pitch.
What's next for the Portland Thorns and Seattle Reign
Both Seattle and Portland are back in action on Wednesday, with the Reign hosting the Kansas City Current at 9 PM ET on NWSL+ before the Thorns visit the San Diego Wave at 10 PM ET, airing live on CBS Sports.
Chicago pulled off an epic comeback on Sunday, when the Stars avenged last week's 4-0 season-opening loss to Angel City by humbling reigning NWSL Shield-winners Kansas City 2-1.
Stars rookie defender Tessa Dellarose opened the scoring in the 42nd minute, with the UNC alum notching her first NWSL goal in her first professional start, before recent signing Jordyn Huitema doubled the tally in the 49th minute of Chicago's home opener in Evanston.
While Kansas City forward Haley Hopkins responded with a second-half strike, the Stars held on to earn their first win of the year.
After a dominant 2025 run, the Current has been slow to warm up in both of their matches this season, conceding goals before finding the back of the net against both the Stars and their 2026 opening opponent, the Utah Royals.
"We're going to respond like champions and winners," said Kansas City head coach Chris Armas. "We've got to recover, regroup, and respond in a way that you'd expect the professionals that we have in that locker room to do so."
How to watch the Chicago Stars, Kansas City Current this week
Neither team will have much time to regroup, as both the Stars and Current will be back in action on Wednesday night.
Chicago will first take on the Orlando Pride at 8 PM ET on Victory+ before the Seattle Reign hosts Kansas City at 9 PM ET, airing live on NWSL+.
The FIFA Council codified its gender equity push this week, passing legislation on Thursday that requires every women's soccer team participating in a FIFA-sanctioned event to feature a woman head coach or assistant coach on its staff.
Additionally, all women's teams must staff a minimum of three women — including one specifically on the medical staff — with the aforementioned assistant or head coach counting toward the global governing body's newly required tally.
The new rule comes into effect prior to this year's U17 and U20 Women's World Cups, with all of FIFA's youth and senior women's national team tournaments and club competitions subject to the new mandate.
"There are simply not enough women in coaching today," FIFA chief football officer Jill Ellis said in a Thursday statement. "We must do more to accelerate change by creating clearer pathways, expanding opportunities, and increasing the visibility for women on our sidelines."
Though top sideline leaders like USWNT manager Emma Hayes and England boss Sarina Weigman populate headlines alongside their team's trophies, the vast majority of women's football coaches are still men.
Citing the fact that just 12 of the 32 head coaches at the 2023 World Cup were women, Thursday's FIFA statement explained that the governing body is seeking to match "the rapid growth of the women's game" with "an increased representation of women in technical and leadership roles."
Along with the implementation of this week's rule, FIFA's strategy to bolster the ranks of women on the sport's sidelines includes coaching eduction programs and directly supporting other professional development initiatives.
"The new FIFA regulations, combined with targeted development programs, mark an important investment in both the current and future generation of female coaches," added Ellis.
NWSL newcomer Denver Summit FC is quickly building steam, making three aggressive signings this week that point to the first-year club's immediate postseason ambitions.
First on Wednesday, the 2026 expansion team added 23-year-old attacker Yuzuki Yamamoto to its roster, signing the WE MVP away from reigning league champion Tokyo Verdy Beleza on a two-year contract — with a mutual option for the 2028 NWSL season.
The Japan international will join the Summit following the 2026 AFC Asian Cup, with her team taking on Australia in Saturday's confederation championship match.
Swelling the Summit's ranks with even more firepower, Denver anteed up a reported $800,000 in total transfer fees plus $200,000 in allocation funds to bring on Houston Dash duo Delanie Sheehan and Yazmeen Ryan on Thursday.
Midfielder Sheehan and forward Ryan have been linking up since 2023 when the pair helped Gotham FC to a franchise-first NWSL championship, with the attackers later joining the Dash in back-to-back trades in December 2024.
"We are thrilled to add both Yazmeen and Delanie to our group," said Denver Summit FC GM Curt Johnson in the club's Thursday announcement. "Both players have won trophies and had tremendous NWSL careers. They will immediately help us both on and off the field."
How to watch the Denver Summit this week
After falling to Bay FC 2-1 in last weekend's inaugural match, the Summit — with new talent in tow — will hunt a franchise-first win when they take on the Orlando Pride on Friday night.
The match will kick off live at 8 PM ET on Victory+.