Melissa Kössler Makes NWSL History as Denver Summit FC Beat the Defending Champions

A 2-0 win over Gotham FC, a franchise-first clean sheet, and a formation shift that's quietly changed everything. Here's what this week told us about Denver Summit FC.

Three games into their existence, Denver Summit FC beat the defending NWSL champions two-nil. Clean sheet. First win in franchise history. And Melissa Kössler — already the most dangerous striker in Colorado — scored for the third game in a row to become only the second player in NWSL history to score in each of a brand new franchise's first three regular season games.

That's the headline. But it doesn't tell the whole story of this week, which started with a 1-1 draw in Orlando that left some real questions on the table — and ended with answers that nobody expected this soon.

What the Orlando Draw Actually Revealed

The 1-1 result against the Orlando Pride on March 20th is easier to accept than it should be. Yes, Denver took a point on the road against the 2024 NWSL champions. Yes, Abby Smith made 10 saves — a career high, and good enough to earn NWSL Save of the Week. Yes, the 49% possession stat tells you Denver wasn't just surviving.

But the way they gave up that goal matters. Orlando threw 23 shots at Denver — the most by any team in a single match this NWSL season — and the only one that beat Smith came in the 61st minute when defensive looseness gave Jacquie Ovalle just enough space to cross for Barbra Banda. Banda, celebrating her 26th birthday, headed it home to become the first Pride player ever to score on her birthday.

It's a good story. It's also a preventable goal. Denver had led for 37 minutes. Head coach Seb Hines said it plainly afterward: getting punished for errors at the back, giving teams opportunities. That's not a fluke. That's a pattern worth tracking. Because the teams coming up on the schedule — including the Washington Spirit on Saturday — will find the same gaps if they're still there.

The takeaway from Orlando isn't the point. It's the press, which created genuine problems for a championship-caliber side. It's Kössler, whose goal in the 24th minute — a composed, low finish after getting in behind the defense — was the kind of clinical finishing that makes you realize this team has a real striker. And it's Smith, who is carrying a weight right now that nobody should have to carry, and doing it exceptionally.

The Formation Shift That Changed Everything

Here's a detail that hasn't gotten enough attention. Denver started the season in a 4-3-3. Against Bay FC in week one, Janine Sonis was ejected in the 25th minute, the three-man midfield was stretched thin for over an hour with no cushion, and Denver lost 2-1. Nick Cushing made a decision.

From week two onward, Denver has lined up in a 4-2-3-1. A double pivot — two holding midfielders protecting the back four — with three attackers behind a single striker. More structured. More defensively organized. The results since that change: a draw against Orlando, holding 23 shots to one goal. Then a 2-0 win over Gotham FC.

The double pivot is the engine of everything Denver is building. It's what makes the press sustainable. Devin Lynch and Delanie Sheehan sit behind the attacking three and do the unsexy, essential work — covering, pressing triggers, recycling possession, protecting the center backs when the press breaks. Lynch, who came straight from Duke University, has played every single minute of every game. That's 265 minutes for a rookie in a role that requires veteran-level positioning. Cushing trusts her completely, and watching her play, it's not hard to see why.

How Denver Beat the Defending Champions

The 2-0 win over Gotham FC at Sports Illustrated Stadium on March 25th was built on two things: the press, and the moment Tash Flint decided Ann-Katrin Berger had the ball for too long.

Kössler's goal in the 58th minute was the first Berger had conceded all season. Rookie Yuna McCormack played the through ball — weighted right, timed right, splitting the Gotham defense — and Kössler finished with the composure that has defined her entire Denver tenure so far. The goal made her the second player in NWSL history to score in all of a brand new franchise's first three games, joining Renae Cuellar from 2013.

The second goal, in the 73rd minute, was Tash Flint reading the situation before it happened. Berger had the ball. Flint pressed. Berger tried to play out. Flint picked her pocket and slotted home her first career NWSL goal. It was the first time Denver had scored multiple goals in a single match, and it came from the system — not a set piece, not a mistake, not luck. A structured high press executed with patience and intelligence against one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

Flint deserves more of the conversation than she's getting. Beyond the goal, she had three shots, two on target, three tackles won, and an assist on the night. She was the most active outfield player Denver had on the pitch. For a player on loan from Tampa Bay Sun FC who still has question marks around her long-term future with this club, she is making those questions very uncomfortable to ask.

Abby Smith's clean sheet — the first in franchise history — felt inevitable once the second goal went in. But it wasn't. Gotham brought on Esther González and Midge Purce. Savannah McCaskill was looking for seams. Emily Sonnett was dangerous at set pieces. Nine minutes of stoppage time felt like a different game than the scoreline suggested. Smith was there for all of it.

The Questions Denver Still Needs to Answer

Four points from three games, a win over the defending champions, and a striker making league history. The start has been remarkable. But there are real questions worth sitting with as the home opener approaches.

Holding leads remains the clearest issue. Denver has now given up equalizers after taking the lead in two of their three matches. The press is elite when it works. When it doesn't — when there's a lapse in coverage, when a defender gets too aggressive and leaves space behind — top players will find it every time. Trinity Rodman on Saturday will absolutely be looking for those moments.

The depth chart is also forming faster than expected, and some of the names missing from it are notable. Lourdes Bosch, a two-year contract signing, has played zero minutes through three games with no public explanation. Ally Brazier — Colorado native, the club's first-ever signing — has played 23 minutes total. Nahikari García, a Spanish international signed through 2027, has managed seven minutes. Jasmine Aikey's season is over after tearing her ACL. Lindsey Heaps doesn't arrive until June.

This is still a squad that is becoming itself in real time. The formation has changed. The core has solidified. What Cushing has built in three weeks is a team that knows how to press, knows how to protect, and has a striker who cannot stop scoring. That's a foundation.

What Saturday Means

The home opener against Washington Spirit on Saturday at Empower Field at Mile High is something Denver has been building toward since before this team had a name. Over 50,000 tickets sold. CBS. National television. The Spirit, who went to back-to-back NWSL Championship finals, arriving in Colorado winless through three games and desperate for a result.

The matchup worth watching most: Denver's high press against Trinity Rodman on the counter. Rodman is one of the highest-paid players in the NWSL for a reason. If Washington can get her the ball in space, she will run at Kaleigh Kurtz or Carson Pickett one-on-one. The press has been exceptional, but it only works when the whole team holds its shape. One lapse is all it takes.

Kössler will start. Lynch will start. Smith will start. The 4-2-3-1 will stay. And 50,000 people in Denver will get to watch an expansion team that has already beaten the defending champions play its first ever home game.

Three games in. Three goals for Kössler. One win, one draw, one loss. Four points. Denver Summit FC are not at the bottom of the NWSL table. And they are absolutely figuring things out fast.

Listen to the full breakdown on The 5280 Pitch — available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. New episodes every Tuesday.