My name is Nick Rothschild and I’m the corny, Star-Wars-joke-telling weekend sports anchor here at Denver7.
I'm not sure if Denver Summit FC head coach Nick Cushing is a fan of the German physiologist Friedrich Goltz, but his implementation of the 'boiling frog parable' against Gotham FC was pitch perfect.To summarize: If you place a frog in boiling water, it will quickly jump out and escape.
However, if you place the same frog in room temperature water that is slowly heated, the frog will fail to realize it's in danger, and eventually, it will die.For most of the first half, Gotham didn't realize they were in danger. The pace was tepid; the runs, reserved.Slowly, the Summit began turning up the heat — and in the second half the parable became reality.Denver Summit FC earned their first victory in franchise history over defending NWSL champions Gotham FC, 2-0.“I was pretty calm throughout the game, I understand that this is a process for us because we’re expansion,' said Cushing after the match. 'Of course, we’re incredibly impatient and really ambitious, but we have to work through the process. really pleased because I think we showed glimpses through preseason, we were disappointed , showed real patches of good play in Orlando, to sustain that throughout was really important for us. We know there’s going to be difficult moments and enjoyable moments, we just want to increase them and tonight is one of those.”The scoring started thanks to a darting run by Melissa Kössler in the 58th minute to give the Summit their first lead, 1-0.She played Gotham goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger like a croquet wicket, becoming the first player in NWSL history to score the first three goals for an expansion franchise, as well as the second player ever to score in three straight matches to open their NWSL career.'She's definitely the profile we wanted, we were really pleased to bring her in and she's showing how clinical she is,' said Cushing of Kössler's development as their number nine. 'I still think she can improve, we still want to push Melissa to be better, but in the bit that's really important she's showing how important she is to the team.'Kössler's integration into the club has been smooth sailing since coming over from TSG Hoffenheim in Germany, and she now has the goals to prove it.' felt like home right away,' said Kössler. 'Honestly, the first two goals were amazing assists. I did my job being in the box and trying to score.'At that point in the match, when most may have expected the expansion side to bend to the will of the incumbent champion, the Summit continued to scorch the chilly New Jersey air.Natasha 'Tash' Flint opened up her league account with her first NWSL goal and extended the Summit's lead to 2-0. That marked the first time the franchise ever scored more than one goal in a match.'I brought her here because I know that she belongs at this level,' Cushing said of the Manchester, UK native Flint. 'She belongs at the top level. I thought tonight she showed her quality, her technique is exceptional.'More than 100 minutes of football later, the Summit celebrated victory for the first time. March 25th, 2026 — a date that will be remembered in Colorado sports history.“It’s amazing that we got three points,' says Flint. 'We’ve been working hard since preseason, it just shows that game-by-game we’re growing. We're all bonding and digging deep, we deserved that win tonight. So yea, it feels really good. You can see the reaction after the whistle went that we’re all on that high.”Now, all eyes turn to Empower Field on March 28th. The Summit head into their home opener 6th in the NWSL table - ahead of their opponent, the Washington Spirit, who drew against Utah 1-1 on Wednesday.'We worked really hard all preseason to be here,' said Kössler. 'Going back to Denver now in front of - I don't even know, , which is crazy. It's really exciting, and hopefully it will help us. I'm pretty sure we're going to get a good win.'Starting their inaugural season on the road for three straight matches was always going to be a difficult task, but the determination and resolve showed by Cushing's group to earn a win cannot be overstated. Especially considering the match was their first ever mid-week contest ahead of what promises to be a raucous home opener on Saturday.With two games in four days for the first time in franchise history, head coach Nick Cushing chose to make a few changes to his starting XI.Rookie defenders Eva Gaetino and Ayo Oke, who both started the first two matches, were dropped to the bench in favor of veterans Megan Reid and Janine Sonis. Sonis, who returned from her one match suspension after receiving a red card in the club's season opener, also returned to her more natural fullback position — rather than the advanced winger spot she occupied against Bay FC. She also reclaimed the captain's arm band.Newcomer Delanie Sheehan also made her first start for the Summit after being acquired from Houston, replacing Emma Regan in the midfield.Denver's leading scorer should have added a third goal in three matches well before she actually did. After breaking away from Gotham's back line, Kössler was denied by Berger's kick save . Flint followed up Kössler's effort with a brilliant run of her own off the left wing in the 24th minute, and even though her curling shot was caught by Berger, the Summit showed they weren't going to get pushed around by the defending NWSL champions.Despite being the better side through the first half, Denver entered the locker room with the scored deadlocked 0-0.Gotham were ready to play their 'joker' to start the second half, substituting USWNT star Rose Lavelle and Spanish international goal-scoring aficianado Esther González onto the pitch. Their impact was felt immediately as they began to hold possession and dictate the pace of play.But in the blink of an eye, the Summit struck first.A blistering counterattack sprung by rookie Yuna McCormack found Kössler once again on the run, charging towards Berger in Gotham's net.This time, she wouldn't miss.'We could see Gotham was struggling,' said Kössler. 'They were trying to put on other players, tried to change a few things but we stuck with our game plan.'Shortly after making NWSL history, Kössler was subbed off the pitch for Colorado native Ally Brazier. Megan Reid, who picked up a yellow card in the 63rd minute, was also replaced by Gaetino.Brazier wasn't messing around — getting right into the action, she forced Berger into a panicked move with the ball at her fight, and the Gotham keeper fell right into Denver's trap.Flint picked Berger's pocket, and slammed home her first goal.The home side would not go quietly into that good night — they're champions for a reason. But for the second week in a row Abby Smith turned away wave after wave of Gotham attack, and she earned her first clean sheet of the season.
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