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.
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+.
Gotham is taking soccer fans out to the ballpark on July 15th, with the reigning NWSL champs announcing Tuesday that the club will play its 2025 league final rematch against the Washington Spirit at MLB stadium Citi Field, home to the New York Mets and MLS side New York City FC.
Dubbed "The Queens Classic" in honor of the NYC borough, the summer rivalry event will mark the third MLB stadium-hosted NWSL match, after Bay FC hosted the Spirit at the San Francisco Giants' Oracle Park in 2025 and the Stars battled Bay FC inside Chicago's historic Wrigley Field in 2024.
"The District vs. Empire rivalry belongs on a big stage, and Citi Field delivers," Washington Spirit CEO Kim Stone said in Tuesday's statement. "New Yorkers know a big moment when they see one — this is it."
The midseason matchup is aiming to capitalize on the city's soccer frenzy surrounding the 2026 Men's World Cup — with the FIFA tournament's finale kicking off less than 20 miles east of Citi Field just four days after the NWSL event.
"We're really excited to put women's sports and our world-class athletes at Gotham FC front and center when a global spotlight is on New York," said Gotham chief business officer Ryan Dillon. "It will be a history-making summer of soccer, and this event ensures that we are a part of that."
How to buy tickets to the Gotham FC-hosted Queens Classic
Gotham FC will take on the Washington Spirit in the Queens Classic at Citi Field at 8 PM ET on Wednesday, July 15th.
Tickets to the match will go on sale on Wednesday, March 25th, via GothamFC.com.
The Portland Thorns came to play on Friday, defeating the Washington Spirit 1-0 in DC to usher in another season in one of the world's most competitive pro women's soccer leagues.
Despite Washington dominating possession with an advantage in shots taken, Portland stole the first result of the 2026 NWSL season thanks to midfielder Olivia Moultrie's brilliant second-half strike.
"I think Olivia Moultrie has the potential to be the best player in the world," Thorns manager Robert Villahamn said postgame. "She is so good and she has so much passion."
Portland's win underlined the incoming season's shifting landscape, with each team showcasing both major returns and big-name absences.
Thorns forward Sophia Wilson took the pitch for the first time since 2024 in the 77th minute, while Portland also found itself compensating for departed starting midfielder Sam Coffey, who joined WSL side Manchester City in January.
Meanwhile, the Spirit got a full 90 minutes out of re-signed superstar Trinity Rodman, though the midfield struggled without former centerpiece Croix Bethune — who scored in her Kansas City Current debut on Saturday.
How to watch the Portland Thorns and Washington Spirit next weekend
Both clubs return to the NWSL pitch on Friday, with the Spirit visiting Racing Louisville at 8 PM ET, airing live on Victory+.
The Thorns will then host rival Seattle Reign, kicking off live at 10 PM ET on Prime.
The NWSL is kicking off the year with a double espresso, as Sophia Wilson and the Portland Thorns visit Trinity Rodman and the Washington Spirit in the league's 2026 season opener on Friday night.
The match is expected to feature Wilson's regular-season return, with the recently re-signed Thorns star taking the field for the first time since 2024 in a preseason friendly last week.
"Obviously I'm being very patient with myself," the new mom said ahead of Friday's clash. "I've just been so eager to get my first game minutes, so I feel like I checked that box. I feel good."
Washington superstar Rodman will aim to spoil her USWNT counterpart's big moment, however, as the world's newly minted highest-paid women's footballer hits the NWSL pitch after an offseason filled with contractual uncertainty.
"At the end of the day, we need to help her be as unpredictable as possible, and help her develop both personally and professionally," Washington manager Adrián González said of his franchise player.
Both teams will also be navigating high-profile departures from their midfields, after 2025 Thorns captain Sam Coffey signed with WSL side Manchester City in January and Spirit centerpiece Croix Bethune transferred to the Kansas City Current last month.
How to watch the first match of the 2026 NWSL season
The 2026 NWSL season kicks off with the Washington Spirit hosting the Portland Thorns at 8 PM ET on Friday, airing live on Prime.
Just weeks away from the kickoff of the 2026 NWSL season, ESPN will look back on the 2025 campaign, with the broadcast giant premiering a three-part docuseries entitled NWSL: The Final Third on Wednesday.
The three-episode series will follow the Washington Spirit, Kansas City Current, and Angel City FC at pivotal points of an NWSL season "shaped by rising expectations, increased investment, and relentless pressure to win."
"The three teams we embedded with were navigating very different realities as the 2025 regular season concluded, and the drama that unfolded was incredible to witness," said producing partner Words + Pictures director Marie Margolius in ESPN's Monday announcement. "I hope viewers come away feeling inspired by the intensity of the competition on the pitch — but most of all, connected to the players who shoulder the pressure and live with the consequences of every result off of it."
The docuseries will primarily feature Washington Spirit standouts Trinity Rodman, Hal Hershfelt, and Esme Morgan, Angel City rookie Riley Tiernan, and Kansas City captain Lo'eau LaBonta.
Episodes will drop fans into the waning weeks of the 2025 NWSL season, following the action of the Shield-winning Current's shocking quarterfinal loss to eventual champion Gotham FC, Washington's championship game run, and Angel City's plans for a future without retired stars Ali Riley and Christen Press.
Rodman's injury battles also provide an emotional through-line for the series, with off-field storylines peppered into the episodes as each club makes organizational strides.
How to watch "NWSL: The Final Third"
NWSL: The Final Third will premiere on the ESPN App on Wednesday before all three episodes will air in succession beginning at 9 PM ET on Monday, March 2nd, on ESPN2.
Another USWNT legend is hanging up her boots, as 2019 World Cup champion and 2024 Olympic gold medalist Crystal Dunn announced her retirement from professional soccer on Thursday.
"This decision has not come easily, but I am at peace and deeply fulfilled with all that I have accomplished," Dunn wrote in her Instagram retirement post. "I've achieved nearly everything I dreamed of in this sport and gave all I had to give. I'm ready to embrace the life that awaits me on the other side."
"I look forward to spending more time with my family and being a more present mom," she continued. "This was not a decision made lightly, but was one made with immense gratitude for everything I've experienced as a professional soccer player."
The 33-year-old won her two major trophies in her 160 caps with the USWNT as an outside back, though the breadth of her talents as a forward and midfielder saw Dunn pick up both the 2015 NWSL MVP and Golden Boot awards with her first pro club, the Washington Spirit.
Across her tenures with the North Carolina Courage and the Portland Thorns, Dunn also amassed three league championships (2018, 2019, 2022), and three NWSL Shields (2018, 2019, 2021).
Most recently competing in the NWSL for Gotham FC before capping her career with top-flight French club PSG, Dunn also retires as one of the USWNT's most prominent Black voices, with US Soccer calling her "a role model to many young players of color across the country who aspired to reach the highest levels of the game" in the federation's Thursday tribute.
"I've grown through challenges, celebrated incredible triumphs, and cherished every part of the journey," added Dunn.
Women's soccer clubs are shelling it out, as the 2025 Global Transfer Report from FIFA showed that women's pro team spending reached record highs last year.
Clubs spent a total of $28.6 million on a total of 2,440 international women's soccer transfers, marking a 6.3% year-over-year increase in the number of athletes, but a massive 83.6% bump in spending over 2024 — even without accounting for intra-league deals.
England led the pack on the 2025 FIFA Global Transfer Report, dropping $11 million in fees while taking in $2.1 million in sales, followed by the NWSL's $7.9 million spent.
Notably, US players were in the highest demand at 240 transfers — more than double the 108 British athletes comprising the nationality coming in second.
Reigning WSL champions Chelsea FC sit atop the spending list, racking up high-profile signings like USWNT stars Naomi Girma and Alyssa Thompson.
US billionaire Michele Kang's London City Lionesses trail the Blues at No. 2 in just their first WSL season following last spring's promotion, with the also-Kang-owned French side OL Lyonnes clocking in at No. 3 on the transfer fee list.
Six NWSL teams made the Top 10, led by the Orlando Pride at No. 4, Utah Royals at No. 5, and Washington Spirit at No. 6 — with the Spirit also falling into Kang's portfolio.
The NWSL is adding fan fashion to matchday this season, teaming up with Washington, DC-based design label Dead Dirt to launch an exclusive preseason collection of jerseys this week.
Dead Dirt dropped the colorful knit merch for all 16 NWSL franchises, with initial jersey inventories for multiple clubs — including incoming 2026 expansion teams Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC — selling out within hours of the Thursday night release.
Showcasing a collared, V-necked, rugby shirt aesthetic, each kit includes nods to the club's color and crest throughout the design.
Named the Spirit's first-ever creative director in March 2024, Dead Dirt founder Domo Wells dropped multiple collections with the Washington club over the last two seasons — from 2024's "New Growth" collection to 2025's "Cherry Blossom" and "Fast Track" capsules — before the NWSL tapped Wells to expand her design footprint league-wide.
"You have to truly understand the team's culture and region. That's why my first full season with the Washington Spirit mattered," Wells told The Cut last month. "That's when the conversation shifted from one team to the entire league."
Additionally, this week's launch is the first of many future NWSL collaborations, with Wells detailing a "layered" plan for cohesive league-wide drops "with the option for teams to go deeper if they want more."
As for what NWSL fans can expect from upcoming Dead Dirt collections, Wells sees her role as "reframing merch as storytelling."
"My goal [is] always to design pieces that live outside the stadium," she explained. "If it doesn't live in [a fan's] closet after game day, it's not worth the spend."
How to buy NWSL x Dead Dirt knit jerseys
The entire NWSL x Dead Dirt jersey collection is available online now at the NWSL Shop and the Dead Dirt store.
Trinity Rodman is officially staying in the NWSL, as the USWNT star announced a deal to return to the Washington Spirit in a high-profile press conference on Thursday night.
Signed through 2028, the 23-year-old forward's new contract is reportedly worth over $2 million per year, making her the world's highest-paid women's soccer player.
"I've made the DMV my home and the Spirit my family, and I knew this was where I wanted to enter the next chapter of my career," Rodman said in a club statement.
The Rodman deal marks a major win for both the Washington Spirit and the NWSL, as USWNT standouts like former Angel City forward Alyssa Thompson and ex-Portland Thorns midfielder Sam Coffey leave the US league to pursue opportunities overseas.
Notably, the deal utilizes the new "High Impact Player" (HIP) rule allowing clubs to exceed the NWSL salary cap for top talent. It results in more balanced terms than Washington's previous back-loaded offer, which the league rejected.
"[Trinity] represents the future of this club and the future of women's soccer," said Spirit owner Michele Kang. "This agreement reflects our belief that elite talent deserves elite commitment."
While the HIP rule is still under arbitration due to an NWSLPA grievance, Rodman's re-signing could be the light at the end of the NWSL's tunnel.
How to watch Trinity Rodman in this weekend's women's soccer lineup
Trinity Rodman will suit up for the USWNT tomorrow, facing Paraguay in the first of two January friendlies. The match kicks off at 5:30 PM ET, live on TNT.