Critical Errors in Critical Moments Cost Denver Summit a Result in Sandy

Denver outplayed Utah for most of 90 minutes. Two moments — both in the most dangerous areas of the pitch — decided the outcome.

SANDY, Utah — Denver Summit FC dominated possession, won the passing battle, and outworked Utah Royals for the better part of 90 minutes on Saturday night at America First Field. They left with nothing.

A 2-1 loss that, on the stat sheet, makes very little sense. Denver had 58.7% possession. They completed 385 passes to Utah’s 280. They generated 23 touches inside the Royals’ box to Utah’s 14. The expected goals were essentially a coin flip — 1.16 for Denver, 1.22 for Utah.

And yet the Summit fly home having lost because of two moments. Two mistakes. Both in areas of the pitch where you simply cannot afford to make them.

A High Line Punished Early

Utah had a plan coming in. They were going to expose Denver’s defensive line.

It worked in the 20th minute. Cloé Lacasse ran the channel in behind, found Kiana Palacios, and Palacios finished cleanly for her first ever NWSL goal. Abby Smith got a hand to it but couldn’t keep it out.

The sequence started with Eva Gaetino losing the ball in her own box — a moment Kaleigh Kurtz addressed directly in the postgame presser.

“Her first pass that she thought she had kinda got cut off, and then the next one maybe got cut off, and so she ran out of options, and then it just got caught under her feet, and it got taken away. It’s a lesson, unfortunately, every center back has probably learned by now.”

Gaetino is 22 years old and playing in her first full NWSL season. Kurtz was measured in her assessment.

“I think Eva is an amazing player, and she’s just gonna get better from this.”

That’s the right read. But the mistake cost Denver a goal on a night when every goal mattered.

The Equalizer Denver Deserved

To their credit, the Summit didn’t panic.

They kept the ball. They kept their shape. And right at the end of the first half, Delanie Sheehan picked up the ball in transition, drove into space, and slipped a cheeky outside-of-the-boot pass to Yazmeen Ryan. Ryan had already started her run, peeled wider to create the angle, and curled it home.

That is not a lucky goal. That is a well-worked goal from two players who understand each other completely. Sheehan to Ryan. 1-1 at halftime.

Denver was the better team in that first half. They were the better team in the second half. And then the 72nd minute happened.

The Call That Decided Everything

Ayo Oke went into a challenge with Cloé Lacasse near the edge of the box. Lacasse went down. Referee Brad Jensen pointed to the spot.

The case against the call is straightforward: Oke got ball first. When you win the ball in a tackle, that is a legal play. And the location of the contact — right at the line of the penalty area, if not outside it entirely — makes this a decision that should not have been made with the confidence Jensen made it.

Mina Tanaka stepped up. Abby Smith guessed right and got a hand to it. It wasn’t enough. 2-1 Utah. Game over.

Nick Cushing, measured as always in his postgame comments, acknowledged the broader issue without pointing fingers externally.

“We lost the game today on two moments. These dips in performances, in control of the game, these small areas of focus and concentration, we have to clean up and we have to figure out really quickly why we’re getting them.”

Both moments he referenced — Eva Gaetino’s technical error in her own box and the Ayo Oke challenge that resulted in the penalty — happened in the most dangerous 18 yards on the pitch. That is not a coincidence. That is a pattern the coaching staff will spend the international break examining closely.

The Bigger Picture

None of this means Denver is in trouble. The performances are there. The structure is there.

Denver is third in the NWSL in goals scored with 16 — behind only San Diego Wave and Portland Thorns, and tied with Washington Spirit and Utah Royals. An expansion team. In their first season. Third in goals.

Cushing knows the results are coming. He’s impatient, as he should be, but he also sees clearly what this team is building.

“We’re taking two steps forwards and half a step backwards at the moment, and that’s something we’ve got to work through.”

When asked whether he’d rather have the international break to reset, his answer was telling.

“I would rather not have the break ‘cause I would rather work through this with more games.”

That is a coach who believes in what he’s building. A coach who wants more games, not fewer, because he knows the performances are good enough to get results.

Kurtz put it simply when asked about the path forward.

“Not back to the drawing board. But back to the training ground.”

One game remains before the break. Racing Louisville, on the road, Friday night. Denver will want a result. Based on how they’ve played, they deserve one.

Listen to the full match recap on The 5280 Pitch, available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.