Denver Summit FC will look to build on a momentum-shifting victory when it hosts the Orlando Pride Saturday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in what the club has billed as “Pride Night,” a matchup carrying added meaning both in the standings and off the pitch.
The Summit enter Saturday’s contest sitting 12th in the NWSL table with a 2-3-3 record, but the expansion club has shown signs of life in recent weeks. Denver’s most recent result was a 4-1 victory over the Houston Dash, a result that snapped a difficult stretch and injected confidence into a young squad still finding its footing in its inaugural campaign.
Saturday night will mark the 3rd consecutive sellout for Denver’s newest franchise, but it will be the final match in the Mile High City until July, because the NWSL, like the MLS is taking thei entire month of June off as the soccer viewing world will be solely focused on the Men’s World Cup. Thus, Summit Head Coach Nick Cushing knows how important it is to have a good showing in front of the home supporters, “The Desire and the drive that we had to execute a result in Houston, has to be there this week, to deliver for our fans,” Cushing said this week. “Our fans have been incredible, I expect them to be incredible again, and we’ve got a break, right, and we want them to come to Centennial(site of future matches) and watch us and give us the energy they’ve gave us.”
Orlando arrives in Colorado under different circumstances. The Pride, sitting at 3-4-2 with 11 points, suffering a 2-1 road loss at Boston Legacy FC last weekend the club’s first-ever visit to the other expansion team. That result continued a rocky stretch for the defending NWSL champions, who entered 2026 as the team to beat after claiming both the NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship in 2024.
The two sides have already met once this season, playing to a 1-1 draw in Orlando March 20, with Melissa Kössler scoring for Denver and Barbra Banda equalizing in the 61st minute for the Pride. The Summit know they will have their hands full with Banda, who leads the league in Goals scored with 8, and has found the back of the net in 6 of the team’s 9 matches so far this year. “We have a very experienced backline,” forward Ally Brazier said this week, “they know what they need to do. We’ve faced plenty of players who are similar to Barbara Banda, she’s on really fire right now, but also we have to be very mindful of the other players on the field, their a quality team, also, to never fixate on just one player, (and) to collectively as a whole just play as ourselves.”
Beyond the 3 points at stake, the evening carries significance off the pitch. Denver’s “Pride Night” celebration puts a spotlight on a cause that Summit defender Kaleigh Kurtz has long championed. The veteran defender, signed to a three-year contract through 2028 and one of the more decorated players on the roster after eight seasons with the North Carolina Courage, has spent years weaving LGBTQ+ advocacy into her professional identity.
Find more info following the link: https://www.instagram.com/p/DYaJ0lfln6B/?igsh=a25uOTR1b2h4c3Rl
While with the Courage, Kurtz designed Pride-themed cleats alongside a local artist as part of Arkema’s “Conversations Over Cleats” initiative, with the signed cleats auctioned off at a Pride match celebration and proceeds benefiting the LGBT Center of Raleigh. She has also participated in the “Playing For Pride” charitable initiative, with proceeds directed toward organizations including the Black Women’s Player Collective and Athlete Ally.
“For me, I had this awesome experience as a kid with my family, and we would go to the beach, and there would be couples of every demographic, and every way that you can see and show love. And that was just really special for them to open up to me as a young kid, and I ask all the ‘why’ questions. They never beat me down, and they showed me love is love, and you get to love whoever you want, and everyone knows they are supported in that way, at least from me.”
Kurtz will donate one of her jerseys worn in May, as the NWSL celebrates “Pride Month” early with the impending break. There’s also a chance to contribute and match Kurtz’s efforts, which are buoyed for every goal, clean shit and win, at $20 per achievement. If enough money is raised she’ll raffle off a pair of, as she put it, “my smelly (game worn) cleats.”
You can get more information and perhaps join Kurtz in her fundraising efforts by following her social media, on Instagram and TikTok.
