Fans benefit from the U.S. girls’s nationwide soccer workforce recreation towards Japan at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City on April 18, 2026.
McKenzie Lange/CPR News
Dick’s Sporting Goods Park is beginning to really feel like the U.S. girls’s soccer workforce’s new home.
Goals from Naomi Girma, Rose Lavelle, and Kennedy Wesley helped the USWNT bounce again from a shutout loss to win 3-0 towards Japan in entrance of 17,589 followers within the freezing chilly.
“It was freezing. I didn’t miss that about Colorado. But, the fans showed up regardless. It was a great environment,” stated Windsor native Sophia Wilson. “Definitely turned things around from last game and got a really good result against a top team. So, I think it’s a great way to end camp.”
The match wraps up a three-game sequence between the 2 groups. It comes weeks after the Denver Summit FC, the city’s new professional women’s soccer team, set an NWSL attendance record of 63,004 at Empower Field at Mile High.
Carly and Sarah Batten began going to USWNT matches after they started courting. The now-married couple are season ticket holders for the Summit. They’re excited to see the ladies’s sports activities develop in Denver.
“I’m happy that Denver finally has invested in women’s sports. We now have a women’s soccer team here. We show up for the USA team,” stated Sarah Batten.
The USWNT has received all thrice it has performed at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park since Emma Hayes took over as coach in 2024.
Brittany and Tom Sharpe, dad and mom of two daughters, traveled from Colorado Springs for the match. Decked out in pink, white, and blue, they stated it’s vital to see Wilson, Lindsey Heaps, and Mallory Swanson symbolize Colorado on the workforce. And they plan to start out following the Summit.
“I think that’s fantastic. It gives every little girl the hopes and dreams because there’s a pathway to make this a professional sport,” stated Tom Sharpe, who along with his brother Steve had been acknowledged with U.S. Soccer’s Most Spirited Fan Award. “And now obviously, you can see with so many fans that attended — people support them.”
How did Colorado’s homegrown gamers do?
Heaps and Wilson saw huge minutes of their first recreation in Colorado since 2024.
Wilson performed in her third match with the USWNT since returning from maternity depart, and her daughter, Gigi, was in attendance.
Wilson didn’t get on the rating sheet in any of the matches through the sequence — not that it bothered her.
“I have a healthier perspective on everything. I don’t put too much weight on things that I can’t control. When I’m done with practice or a game, I can quickly shut it off,” Wilson stated on the post-match press convention. “Now, I’m a mom and that’s what’s most important to me and I think that’s healthy.
Heaps is heading back to France to finish up her contract with OL Lyonnes. She’s expected to return to Colorado to suit up for the Summit in July. She said the match was emotional for her.
“I’m a very sensitive person so I get a little emotional with those things,” Heaps stated. “But to see my home state followers, to see my household within the crowd … associates, Denver Summit followers, seeing these jerseys, it is really actual and also you type of do not have that feeling till you are right here.
Ready for Denver Summit FC’s subsequent home match?
Women’s soccer returns to Denver this Saturday, April 25. Denver Summit FC will host San Diego Wave FC, with kickoff at 6:45 p.m. at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Hayes plans to attend the match.
The Summit are presently ninth within the NWSL standings with a 1-1-3 file.
