Denver Summit Gave Up 3 Goals in 11 Minutes. Racing Louisville Is Next.

Kate Hanson: 20 points. That's how many points we've thrown away this season from winning positions. Eight matches where we were ahead and didn't win. Four draws and four losses. Now here's the part when I saw that stat that really got to me. If we held every single one of those leads, we would have 58 points. And Gotham the team at the top of the entire league has 55. Instead, we are sitting at 10th with 38 points. And on Saturday night, we did it again. We were up 2-0 after 18 minutes. We were down 3-2 at halftime. And it took Angel City 11 minutes to do it. Welcome back to the 5280 Pitch Women's Soccer Altitude. I'm Kate Hansen. Okay, so Here is the plan today, folks. First, I want to go through those 11 minutes against Angel City and why I think they are a pattern, unfortunately, and not a fluke. And you'll hear from Janine and Nick out of the post-game press conference. Then we will do the playoff math because, believe it or not, it is not dead yet. But it is on life support. And then Racing Louisville on Saturday at Centennial. And what I am going to be looking for. What I want to start with, I want to start with the good because honestly, it was really good. I was feeling incredible 18 minutes into that match. So two minutes in, Janine whips a corner into the six-yard box, and MK beats Angela Anderson to the ball and slots it home from point blank range. One nothing. And that, folks, is MK's seventh goal of the season. Then in the 18th minute, Lindsey springs Janine down the field. Janine crosses and Sarah Gordon cuts it out. But Lindsey has trailed the play. She one times a right-footed volley from just outside the box, near post, past Anderson. 2-0. And that is Lindsey Heaps. sixth goal for us, I was feeling good. We were up two goals inside 20 minutes. Then the 30 second minute. Fanendez Jan Doder scores off of an Evelyn Schores assist, and suddenly it's 2-1. Then in the 39th minute, Giselle Thompson plays a ball forward. Taylor Suarez times her run behind our back line, dribbles into the box, and finishes far post past Abby. Suddenly, it is 2-2. And then in the 43rd, Allie Sentnor hits one from outside the box. Thompson assists again, and it is 3-2. Angel City going into halftime. That's what it ended up being, as y'all know. Our two goal lead lasted 14 minutes. And then it took Angel City 11 minutes to flip the whole game.

Katie: I just think we lost control of the game for a short period of time. But a team that's dangerous like that will take advantage of those moments. So yeah, I think it's frustrating that we're continuing to feel the same things and experience the same moments, but you know, we have to continue to learn from them and I think we started so well.

Kate Hanson: We started so well. And we did, right? It would which is exactly what made this game so hard to watch. Was it bad luck? I went into the box score wanting to say yes and I I really can't I can't I no matter what how rosy those rose colored glasses are that I put on and I look at that box score, there's no way for me to do it. Angel City outshot us 18 to 6. They had 20 touches in our box compared to our 11. And then FOT Mob's expected goals had them at about two goals and had us at about one. We had the ball, folks. 58% procession. We completed 83% of our passes to their 79, and we won 10 corners to their six. But they made the better chances. And it it wasn't even close. And the stat that I keep coming back to is the second half because it was scoreless at both ends. We had 45 minutes at home, down one, and we didn't find an equalizer. Anderson made a save on Janine in the 53rd. And in the 75th, Shores cleared one away just in front of goal after a chance from Yuna McCormick. But Nick didn't hide any of that. Here he is.

Katie: I I don't necessarily think it's what Angel City do to us. I think it's clear that we have work to do in absorbing pressure and either sustaining or regaining momentum in the game. too often we've been up and left points on the table or gave points away based off giving leads away

Kate Hanson: So that's Nick saying this one is on us, not on them. And folks, I agree with them because this isn't the first time. It's not even close to the first time. I went back through all 28 of our matches this season. Nine times we've had a lead and let the other team tie it or go ahead. Eight of those cost us points. Four of those nine were two goal leads. San Diego in April, we were up 2-0 and then lost 3-2. At Angel City in September, we were up 3-1 and then drew 3-3. Five days after that against Bay, we were up 2-0 and drew 2-2 on that goal in the 95th minute. And then Saturday. Three of those four have come in our last six matches. So this isn't some first season problem that we've grown out of. It's Unfortunately, it's getting worse at exactly the wrong time of the year. And then there's the second piece in this, and that's what really sucks. Six times this season, we've given up two or more goals inside of 15 minutes. So San Diego scored two goals on us in eight minutes. Boston scored two in four minutes, both in stoppage time. Kansas City scored two goals in six minutes back in July. I mean, it it's it's happening, it's a reoccurrence, it's the a less than 15 minute gap that we have where we falter, and it ends up real it ends up killing us. It there is a stretch of the game where we lose our mental focus. and lose sight of what the game plan was and it it kills us. Saturday, we gave up three goals in 11 minutes. That is the only time all season we've given up three that fast. And here's the part that really got me. Five matches are on both lists. So San Diego, Boston, Angel City, Kansas City, and then Saturday. Ever in every one of those, we've had the lead and we lost it during one of those 15 minute bursts. So when I say this is a huge problem. I mean it is a huge problem. It is the story of the season. When we score first, we are nine wins, three draws, and four losses, which means seven times out of sixteen scoring first wasn't enough to win. So what is it? Janine was asked if the team is missing something, and her answer is the one that I keep replaying.

Katie: we lack anything. I think we have all the pieces here. It's just it's small details. It's good clearances, it's keeping the lines condensed, it's winning second balls. and again, like I said before, in this league, the margins are so small and you know we're we're not getting played through. Teams aren't breaking us down line to line to line. We're we're conceding goals from very small moments, which is equally as frustrating and as encouraging because they're fixable moments.

Kate Hanson: Fixable moments. I love that she said encouraging, because she's right. Nobody is carving us open line to line. We're giving up goals in little tiny windows. And here's here's what jumped out to me when I put her answer next to Nick's answer. They described the same thing, separately in their own words, but Janine said it's good clearances, keeping the lines condensed, and winning second balls. Nick said Angel City. Is really direct and really fast, and that we get apprehensive with the direct ball. So when the line drops, the team stretches, and all of a sudden the space is too big to win the second balls. He also said that their long throws cause us far too many problems, even though they didn't score from it on Saturday. So the coach and the co-captain agree on the diagnosis. That's actually Really good news. When everybody's describing the same problem, you can coach it. It I don't think it's talent because bad teams don't score first sixteen times. I think is what happens after the first punch lands. The line drops a step and one goal turns into two and turn two turns into three. And actually, Nick put it on himself. Here he is.

Katie: But the reason why we're sitting in tenth is because of that. It's the reason why we're not in sixth or fifth or fourth. We've left too many, many points on the table. So it is definitely something that we've got to fix. And and in the impatience of wanting to win and being postseason and wanting to be challenging for trophies and home playoff games, we have to fix it quick.

Kate Hanson: Too many points on the table. Yeah, it's it's twenty of them, Nick. And and look, I'll give him credit here. I he didn't blame the ref, he didn't blame the Alts, he didn't blame Angel City. He said more than once, it starts with him as the head coach. And he said the quiet part out loud too. This is the reason we're 10th and not sixth or fifth or fourth. So what can we still do? make the playoffs because we are still on the outside looking in. We can still make the playoffs, but barely. The the equalizer called our chances extremely slim after the weekend. And when I ran the numbers myself through my the playoff tracker, which you gotta go check out at 5280pitch.com. Check out the playoff tracker, play around with it, I got the same answer. So here's where we are. We're 10th with 38 points. Two games left. Louisville at home on Saturday, final game of the season. Folks, you got if you haven't been to a game yet, this is the time to go come out and cheer on the Denver Summit with their final game at home in this inaugural season. And then we go to North Carolina on November first. So the top eight get in. Seventh right now is Portland with 44 points. Eighth is Seattle with 43. Ninth is North Carolina with 42, and then it's us. Angel City jumped all the way to fifth with 46 after beating us. So yeah, good for them. They won the important, the important game. The most that we can get to is 44 points. That means we have to finish above two of those three teams, both. Portland, Seattle. So those three teams are Portland, Seattle, and North Carolina. I ran every combination of results that's left for those four teams, include so us included. here is what has to happen. And it comes down to three things. Number one, we win both games. No draws. We beat Louisville and then we go to North Carolina and beat them. The second one takes care of the courage for us because if we beat them, they can only finish above us if they beat Portland first. Number two, Seattle cannot win either of their last two. They play Utah on Friday night and then come home to Orlando on decision day on decision day. Seattle can take one draw at most. If they lose both, they stay at 43. If they draw one, they get to 44 and they tie us. And here's the good news on that tie. The first tiebreaker in this league is goal difference. We're plus seven right now, and Seattle is plus three. If we win both and Seattle draws one and loses one, we win the tiebreaker and get that playoff spot. Number three, Portland and North Carolina play each other this Friday. If Portland wins or it's a draw, we're fine on that front. But if North Carolina wins, then Portland also has to lose at Houston on decision day. Cause that would leave Portland stuck at 44 with us. And again, it goes to goal difference. Portland is plus six. And if they lose twice, they can't catch us. So if you aren't confused enough already, the short version here, folks, if we win twice, we have to root against Seattle twice. And on Friday night, we root for Portland, or at least root for them to draw. And here's what's wild. A lot of this gets clearer before we even kick off on Saturday because Seattle and Utah and North Carolina and Portland are both on Friday night. So you're gonna want to tune in on Friday night for sure to both those games. By the time we walk into Centennial, we will know whether the door for playoffs is still open. So here's where I land. It's it's a long shot. I'm just being real. It's a long shot. But it's not over, and honestly. After Saturday night, I will take it's not over. So let's talk about racing Louisville. Saturday at Centennial. None of that math I just talked about matters if we don't take care of our own business first. So let's be clear about who they are right now. Louisville is in is 15th. They have seven wins, three draws, 18 losses, a total of 24 points. They've already been eliminated, and they haven't won in eight straight matches. On the road, their two wins, no draws, and 12 losses. Yeah, two and twelve. And in their last six, they've scored three goals and given up 11. But here's the warning sign, and I want you to hear it. Louisville loses close. Their loss at Boston last Friday was their ninth one-goal road loss of the year. And in that game, they actually won the expected goals. So this is not a team that rolls over. They keep games tight and then they lose late. We've we've seen them once already back in May, and we won one-nothing. Abby made two late saves to keep the clean sheet. And how we won that game is the part I keep thinking about this week. So Louisville actually has w had one more final third entry than us in the first half. So they had 32 to 21. And then we came out in the second half and pressed higher. And you know, Bev Yanez, the coach for racing, said afterward that her team struggled to play through that pressure. So we held racing without a shot for the first 42 minutes of the second half. We had 60% of the ball and we outshot them 14 to 8. At home this season, we are six wins, four draws, and four losses. That is that's not dominant, but it is good enough that we should expect three points against a team. That's two and twelve on the road. So my keys to the game. Key number one. Survive 15 minutes after anything happens. After we score, after they score, and right after halftime. That is the whole season in one sentence. If we score first on Saturday, I wanna see us slow it down, keep the ball, and make it boring. I would love a boring, possession heavy 15 minutes. Key number two, score the second goal and then go get a third. On Saturday, we went up two in the first 18 minutes and then scored nothing for 72 minutes. Against a team that loses by one goal over and over again, a two goal lead is not safe for us. And we we've proven that this year. Three goals is safe. And three, key number three, goal difference. I know it sounds greedy, but if this comes down to a tie of 44, every goal on Saturday helps us. So don't take the foot off the gas at 3 0. Score four goals. I'm happy with six again, like we got against Chicago. Key number four, bring that second half press from me. I know it's how we beat this team the first time and it's how we keep a lead without just sitting on it. So here's my call. I think we come out and win for nothing. If that happens, it does two things for us. It's three points and it pushes our goal difference to plus 11, which is exactly the cushion you want if it comes down to a tiebreaker. And on Friday, I've got a special surprise for you. I got another episode with a special player interview that you will you will not want to miss. Trust me on that one. This is our last home game of our first ever season. Whatever happens on Friday, whatever happens on November 1st. This is the last time that this group plays at Centennial Stadium in 2026. The 14ers were chanting Queen Janine on Saturday night. She heard it. She said this fan base has been with the team since day one at Empower Field. And she said she wants to give. All of us fans a win for our last game at home. So let's let's hold up our end of the deal. Be loud for the full 90 minutes and be loudest in the 15 minutes after we score, because that is exactly when this team needs you. Here's what I believe. This team has scored first 16 times this season. This is not a team without talent. It's a team that Sadly, just hasn't learned how to close yet. And I think that the lesson from Saturday is fresh enough and painful enough that it finally sticks this week. I think we beat Louisville, and I think that we go to North Carolina with something to play for. If you liked this episode, please hit subscribe, leave review, share it with somebody that is genuinely the biggest thing that you can do for an independent show like this. And it's how more people find women's soccer. Be sure to follow me on Instagram, threads, Facebook at 5280 Pitch. be sure to check out 5280pitch.com not only for the playoff tracker but for fun merch it's getting cooler i have a ton of really sweet 5280 pitch merchandise that directly helps support the show so when you buy the 5280 pitch merch that helps support the show And if you like this 5280 pitch rope hat like I'm wearing here, that is now available. You can wear it to the sh to the next game at the stadium or wear it around town and look cool or yours truly. All right. I'm Kate Hanson This is the 5280 pitch Women's Soccer at Altitude. I'll talk to you on Friday.