DATE: Wednesday, September 16
TIME: 7:30 p.m. MDT / 6:30 p.m. PDT
LOCATION: Centennial, Colo. @ Centennial Stadium
HOW TO WATCH: NWSL+/The Spot Denver 3
Returning back home after a 3-3 scoring fest at Angel City, the 10th ranked Denver Summit FC will welcome the 15th ranked Bay FC to Centennial Stadium. Kickoff is set for Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. MDT / 6:30 p.m. PDT on NWSL+/The Spot Denver 3.
DENVER SUMMIT FC
After their draw in Los Angeles, the Summit returns to Centennial Stadium for a pair of home matches that will begin with Bay FC on Wednesday. At home this season, the Summit boasts a 5-3-3 record that includes three wins against top-3 teams at Centennial Stadium (Portland, Utah, Gotham) and a current three-match win streak dating back to early August. In all contests, Denver is on a three match unbeaten streak that includes two wins and a draw, their second longest unbeaten streak of the season.
Seeing eight clubs more than once this season, Denver has yet to be swept by an opponent with Bay standing as ninth squad the Summit will face off against for the second time. So far this season, the Summit have only dropped two matches against opponents they’ve already faced, going 3-2-3 and picking up 12 points in the process.
The Summit have continued to avoid defeat in their last seven matches where they have scored first but have yet to pick up wins when trailing at both the half and 75’ mark. In their last three matches, the Summit have tallied 12 total goals, accounting for a third of their goals scored this season (37). Overall, they will enter the match tied for third in the league in goals per match (1.6), seeing their most scored in the first 15’ of the second half (11) and least in the opening 15’ of the first half (4).
BAY FC
In just its third season in the league, Bay FC has gone 6-13-4, sitting in 15th place on the table. Traveling to Denver off the heels of a 2-0 loss at Seattle, the squad will see their seventh road match since the international break, with away contents accounting for over half of their matches since July.
In its last nine out, Bay has dropped seven matches, posting a 1-7-1 record while losing each of its last three. The squad has held a lead in just two of those nine contests, maintaining an advantage for a total of only eight minutes and 36 seconds.
With 22 total goals on the season, more than half of Bay’s goals have come within the opening 30 minutes (13), a stretch that has been the least threatening for the Summit, who have conceded just four goals during that span. On the other side of the pitch, Bay FC has only conceded 32 goals on the season, just two more than the Summit, putting them tied for sixth in the league in goals conceded per match (1.4).
LAST TIME OUT
On March 14, the Denver Summit opened their inaugural season on the road at Bay FC. They walked away from their first regular-season match with a 2-1 loss but were able to score their first franchise goal in the process. In the 20th minute, co-Captain Janine Sonis found Melissa Kössler who marked herself as the first goal scorer in Denver Summit history.
THE PUSH TO PLAYOFFS
After picking up a single point in last weekend’s matchup against Angel City, Denver remains in the 10th place spot on the table, just two points away from ninth. Seattle’s weekend win over Bay FC put the eighth place playoff spot six points out of reach for Denver (37 points). With a win, Denver has the possibility to move just a single spot outside the playoff pool.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Forward Yuzuki Yamamoto (Denver Summit FC) – Going three-for-three in goals, and picking up one assist alongside them, forward Yuzuki Yamamoto has become a rising star for the Summit. Her three-match scoring streak is the second longest among NWSL rookies this season (Maiara Niehues – 5) and ties for the longest streak on the Summit squad (Melissa Kössler).
Midfielder Lindsey Heaps (Denver Summit FC) – After scoring the first goal in her return to the NWSL on Friday, Summit co-Captain Lindsey Heaps will continue looking to tally her first in front of a hometown crowd on Wednesday. After missing three August matches due to injury, Heaps has gradually increased her playing time, seeing her first 90 minute match post-injury against Angel City FC last Friday. In her last three out, Heaps has contributed a match-winning assist and a single goal and will look to return that fire to her home pitch.
Goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz (Bay FC) – Manning the goal for the full 90 in all but two matches this season, Bay FC goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz, has solidified herself as one of the standouts in the league this season. With the second highest save percentage (76.7%), saves per 90 (4.2) and goals prevented (10.3), Silkowitz is a force to be reckoned with. Conceding just 28 goals on the season, she has seen the fifth-fewest goals conceded per 90 (1.3) and will be a major test for the Summit offense.
Forward Karlie Lema (Bay FC) – Bay FC’s top scorer, Karlie Lema, has remained a consistent offensive threat this season, tallying six goals on the season, good for ninth in the league. Lema’s goal count stands just two short of the single-season club record of eight scored in their inaugural 2024 season.
TAKE NOTE
- The Summit have scored 12 goals in their last three matches, with Bay scoring 12 over its last 11 contests. Overall Denver enters the match tied for third in the league in goals per match (1.6) while Bay FC sits in 15th (1.0).
- Scoring their ninth goal from outside the box against Angel City, the Summit are tied for the most in a single regular season in NWSL history (Pride – ‘16; Spirit ‘14).
- Yuzuki and Heaps’ back-to-back goals against Angel City were scored just 59 seconds apart, becoming the fastest consecutive goals by a single team in NWSL history.
- Janine Sonis’s 10 goals now ties for second amongst the league in goal contributions from a player in an inaugural season (‘22, Morgan (SAN) – 17; ‘17, Biyendolo (NC) – 14) and is now three goals away from passing her combined goal total from her last six seasons in the league (12).
- Yazmeen Ryan (10) and Janine Sonis (14) are the first pair of teammates to record 10 or more goal contributions in an expansion squad’s inaugural season.
- After missing three matches due to a knee injury, starting keeper Abby Smith returned to the goal on September 11 against Angel City FC.
- Summit keeper Abby Smith is just one clean sheet away from reaching her 20th career shutout, solidifying her as the 14th keeper to achieve the mark when it happens.
- Sonis sits at 144 career league appearances putting her on track to enter the 150 club by the conclusion of the season.