Player Profile Episodes

"We don't consider ourselves an expansion team anymore." That's Denver Summit FC rookie Devin Lynch, eleven games into her first NWSL season — and she's not just talking, she's backing it up. Devin leads every Summit rookie in minutes played, and Kate sits down with her for a real check-in on how the season has actually gone since their preseason chat. The transformation has been wild. Devin opens up about the shift from box-to-box midfielder at Duke to her new role as a defensive midfield...

Ten years in this league. Franchises folded. A knee injury that almost ended everything. And right now, by every advanced metric, Abby Smith is having the best season of her professional career. She's back on The 5280 Pitch for her second conversation with Kate, and this one goes deeper. Abby talks about what it actually feels like inside the Summit locker room 11 games in — the eagerness, the growth, the moments that don't make the highlight reel. She breaks down her preparation as a goalkeepe...

Four days after ACL surgery. Pain meds. 63,000 fans. And Malala on the field. That's how Jasmine Aikey experienced Denver Summit FC's historic home opener — not as a player, but as a rookie who tore her ACL at a national team camp before playing a single professional minute. In her first podcast interview since the injury, Denver Summit FC forward Jasmine Aikey sits down with Kate to tell the whole story. From growing up in Palo Alto and homeschooling at 13 to keep pace with youth national team camps, to graduating Stanford with a 3.97 GPA in computer science, winning the Hermann Trophy, and now rebuilding her knee in Denver while her teammates play games without her. She also talks about the junior year nobody covers — playing center back through undiagnosed osteitis pubis, breaking her fibula, having surgery with a plate and screws, and then coming back to lead the nation in points her senior year. And she answers the question she gets asked constantly right now: what does …

A defender who scored 21 goals in college. Her first professional contract. And somehow, she ended up exactly where she always dreamed. Kate Hanson sits down with Denver Summit FC defender Natalie Means (#4) — Georgetown's do-everything wingback who just made the jump to the NWSL in the club's inaugural season. Kaleigh Kurtz personally vouched for her. The stats speak for themselves. And after this conversation, you'll understand why this rookie is one of the most interesting players on the ro...

Denver Summit FC goalkeeper Abby Smith is the NWSL league leader in saves — and she's just getting started. Kate Hanson sits down with the two-time NWSL champion on The 5280 Pitch to talk about one of the most compelling stories in women's soccer right now. Abby opens up about how a high-energy kid from Plano, Texas found her way into goal, set the program record at the University of Texas with 30 career shutouts, and spent nearly a decade competing across six professional clubs in the NWSL and...

Devin Lynch’s road to Denver Summit FC starts here. In this episode of The 5280 Pitch — Women’s Soccer at Altitude, host Kate Hanson sits down with Denver Summit FC rookie midfielder Devin Lynch to talk about her journey from Duke University to the NWSL. Devin shares what it’s like entering the league as a rookie and joining Denver’s expansion team during its historic inaugural season. In this episode we talk about: Devin’s soccer roots growing up in Illinois Her development at Duke and the...

BONUS EPISODE: Carson Pickett joins the show! Carson Pickett has been in the NWSL since 2016. She's played 185 games. She's seen the league go from $8,000 salaries and host families to expansion teams selling out NFL stadiums. And now she's helping build Denver Summit FC from the ground up. In this episode, Carson talks about why she chose Denver as a veteran in a league that's finally treating players like professionals. We cover her rookie year in Seattle, what clicked when she got to North ...

Kaleigh Kurtz has played every single minute of every game for four consecutive NWSL seasons. What most people didn't know — she finished last season with a back fracture she didn't even know about. In her first interview since joining Denver Summit FC, the veteran defender sits down with Kate Hanson to talk about why she walked away from eight years at the NC Courage for an expansion team, what training at altitude has actually felt like, and what the Coachella preseason revealed about this roster. She breaks down the chemistry forming between veterans and rookies, calls out Natalie Means and Olivia Thomas by name as players to watch, and gets genuinely emotional talking about playing in front of 45,000 fans at Mile High on March 28th — a number she says will change the way the game is physically played.

Lindsey Heaps is coming home — not as a symbol, but as a foundation piece. In this episode of The 5280 Pitch, we break down why the Golden, Colorado native and U.S. Women’s National Team captain is such a rare signing for an expansion club. From her development with Colorado Rush to Olympic gold, 150+ international caps, and a career built on reliability and control, this isn’t a story about hype — it’s about structure. What does Lindsey Heaps actually bring on the field? Why does midfield cont...

Carson Pickett is more than a left back — she’s a foundational signing for Denver Summit FC. In this episode, we break down where Pickett ranks among NWSL defenders, why she’s one of the league’s elite attacking fullbacks, and how her game fits perfectly at altitude. We also explore her historic USWNT debut and the impact of her advocacy off the field.

When you’re building from scratch, certainty matters. In this episode of The 5280 Pitch: Women’s Soccer at Altitude, we dive into why Denver Summit FC’s signing of Abby Smith is about more than goalkeeping — it’s about trust, experience, and setting a tone for an expansion team. A two-time NWSL champion and one of the league’s most consistent keepers, Smith brings calm, professionalism, and championship perspective to Denver’s back line. This episode explores her journey, her mindset, and why ...

In Part 2 of our Ally Watt player profile, we move beyond the box score and into the journey that shaped one of the NWSL’s most relentless attackers. This segment dives into the winding path Ally Watt took through the league — the role changes, the uneven minutes, and the moments that tested her belief before sharpening it. We talk about what it takes to survive and adapt in the NWSL, how Ally’s speed and edge became weapons once she found the right fit, and why her story resonates with fans who understand that growth in this league is rarely linear. This is the heart of the profile — the mentality, resilience, and work ethic that don’t always show up in the stats but show up every single matchday. If you want to understand why Ally Watt’s rise matters — not just how it happened — this is the episode segment that tells that story.

Denver Summit FC’s first-ever signing is a hometown hero. In this episode, we spotlight Colorado native Ally Watt — her journey from Colorado Springs to Texas A&M, through the NWSL, and now back home as the club’s historic Player No. 1. We break down why her speed, mentality, and championship pedigree make her the perfect foundation for an expansion team and what her homecoming means for fans and the future of women’s soccer in Colorado.