The Denver Summit have weathered their fair share of adversity over the last couple of weeks, but in Houston the literal weather entered the chat.
Storms in the area delayed their match against the Dash for 90-plus minutes.
As head coach Nick Cushing likes to say, adversity is a terrible thing to waste.
“When you go through these kinds of spells of being challenged, you either capitulate or you rise to the challenge,” said Summit captain Janine Sonis.
Sonis emulated rising to the challenge, and the entire group grabbed the game by its hands – a phrase I had never heard before Tash Flint enlightened me, and considering the form Flint is in I figured it wise to take notes.
Flint scored for the third match in a row, and Sonis scored her hometown club’s first ever brace. Denver avoided any late drama to snap their two-game losing skid – beating the Dash 4-1.
“From minute one to minute 90 we were in control,” said Sonis after the victory. “I was really proud of everyone who came on the field, we really stepped up. When you look at some of the individual performances we had tonight, I think it was really important for us to come here and get the win. We’ll walk out of here and be proud of that full game performance.”
“Every player on both sides of the ball played at a really high level,” said Cushing. “We have the capability to be an attacking team, [and I’m] really pleased with the chances we created and the goals we scored tonight.”
Cushing took the Josh Kroenke approach to answering questions about his starting IX in the wake of two straight disappointing defeats – everything very much seemed to be on the table.
But I’m not sure we expected to see one of Denver’s veteran leaders relegated to the bench against Houston.
▶️ Watch episode 9 of Denver7’s Pitchside in the video below:
Denver Summit FC: Pitchside | Episode 2: The Bounce Back
A week after becoming the 19th player in NWSL history to reach 15,000 minutes played, Carson Pickett was not in the starting lineup against the Dash. Coach Cushing opted for youth, bringing on Ayo Oke to play in Pickett’s fullback role.
They also made a change in attack, bringing on rookie Natalie Means for her first ever NWSL start.
16 minutes into the match, for the third straight match, Denver took the lead. Yazmeen Ryan opened up the scoring a week ago, and against her former club she dropped a sultry cross to the boot of Sonis – who opened her account with the Summit and scored her first goal of the season.
Later in the first half, Tash Flint was was up to her old tricks – stealing a lackadaisical pass from Houston keeper Jane Campbell and dispatching her fourth goal on the campaign. That extended Denver’s lead to 2-0 and tied Flint with Melissa Kössler for the team lead in goals scored this season.
“We’re starting to get real influential play from Tash, and she’ll still give more,” said Cushing. “There’s a lot of detail in [Tash’s goal], she’s enjoying her football at the moment and the more we can get her on the ball the more you’re going to see Tash’s quality.”
Denver Summit FC
Denver Summit FC: Pitchside | Episode Nine: No Time to Fold
Before we hit the break, a clumsy challenge by Flint in her own penalty box gave the NWSL refereeing crew enough clearance to award Houston a penalty kick – which was scored by Maggie Graham.
Denver was once again slipping into old bad habits – holding poor shape, giving away cheap possession – becoming artists of their own demise. Thankfully, the halftime whistle blew and the team was able to re-group.
This time, they rose to the challenge for the second 45.
Sustained pressure out of the break led to beautiful service from Oke, who finds a wide open Delanie Sheehan standing mere feet away from goal. Sheehan scores the easiest header of her career against her former team, and her first goal for the Summit extends their lead back to two goals.
The ruthlessness Cushing’s been looking for came in the 72nd minute, when absolute divine ball control lead to another goal for Sonis – earning the Summit’s first ever brace.
Mentality certainly wasn’t an issue for Denver as they kept Houston at bay for the entirety of the second half. Short of the questionable call in the first half, Abby Smith would have her fourth clean sheet of the season.
“We’ve had a fun day,” said Sonis. “We handled the delay really well, went with the flow, and once we were finally let loose we had a really great performance. Hopefully this is a turn in the tide for us.”
Next up, the Summit return home to face the Orlando Pride at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park for Pride Night on May 16th.
May 2026
Sat, May 9
6:00 PM
@ Houston Dash
Away
Sat, May 16
6:45 PM
vs. Orlando Pride
Home**
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4:30 PM
@ Utah Royals
Away
Fri, May 29
6:00 PM
@ Racing Louisville
Away
July 2026
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7:30 PM
vs. Kansas City Current
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5:00 PM
vs. Houston Dash
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12:00 PM
vs. Portland Thorns FC
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5:00 PM
@ Washington Spirit
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August 2026
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7:00 PM
vs. Boston Legacy FC
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8:00 PM
vs. North Carolina Courage
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2:00 PM
vs. Utah Royals
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8:00 PM
@ San Diego Wave FC
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6:45 PM
@ Portland Thorns FC
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6:45 PM
vs. Chicago Stars FC
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September 2026
Sun, Sep 6
12:00 PM
vs. Gotham FC
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8:00 PM
@ Angel City FC
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Wed, Sep 16
7:30 PM
vs. Bay FC
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6:45 PM
vs. Seattle Reign
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Sat, Sep 26
10:30 AM
@ Kansas City Current
Away
October 2026
Sun, Oct 4
2:00 PM
@ Chicago Stars FC
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Sat, Oct 17
6:45 PM
vs. Angel City FC
Home
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4:30 PM
vs. Racing Louisville
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Sun, Nov 1
3:00 PM
@ North Carolina Courage
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