Recap: Spirit Earns First Clean Sheet of Season, Draws Denver in Front of Over 63,000

Denver, Colo. (03/28/2026) – The Washington Spirit played Denver Summit FC to a scoreless draw in the sides’ first-ever meeting Saturday afternoon. Taking place at Empower Field at Mile High, the contest set a new single match NWSL attendance record with 63,004 fans in the building for Denver’s inaugural home match.

Despite the 0-0 scoreline, this afternoon’s match wasn’t without excitement. Both sides jockeyed for position, utilizing the wings to attempt entries into the box throughout the match. In the fifth minute, Summit FC appeared to have a close-range cross from near the end line but Spirit midfielder Deborah Abiodun stepped into the ball’s path and ended up with an impressive steal to end the threat.

Washington put together two strong chances of its own in the 12th and 14th minutes of play as well. First, defender Kate Wiesner, starting in place of Gabby Carle, stepped up to a perfectly placed pass near the top corner of the box and fired a one-timer shot that was blocked before it could reach the frame. Two minutes later, forward Trinity Rodman ripped a strong shot from outside the top of the box but was saved by Denver goalkeeper Abby Smith.

Denver’s Yazmeen Ryan provided a spark on the attacking end for the home side with several crafty moves to get into the box. Ryan had two approaches from a sharp angle in the middle of the first half, firing one shot wide and forcing Spirit keeper Sandy MacIver to make a save with another.

Coming out of the locker room for the second half, the Spirit subbed in forward Rosemonde Kouassi for midfielder Abiodun to add to its attack. Denver forced the Washington defense to make key stops throughout the first 20 minutes of the second half. In the 57th minute, Kouassi made a big block in the box to keep pressure off the goal. Several minutes later, Summit FC earned a corner kick and was able to get the ball to an attacker out front but the ensuing header went wide. Spirit defender Lucia Di Guglielmo positioned herself well just a minute later to head out a cross intended for a driving Denver attacker.

To close out the match looking for a match-winner, the Spirit subbed fresh legs on with forwards Claudia Martínez and Gift Monday coming on for Sofia Cantore and Trinity Rodman, respectively. In the 85th minute, Wiesner made a savvy run through traffic with the ball before firing a shot on target that was saved. 

With three minutes of stoppage time, both sides put together strong scoring chances. Denver found a player breaking away near midfield with the ball but the Washington defending third was up to the task, forcing a tough angle shot that was saved by MacIver. In the final minute, midfielder Hal Hershfelt took a strong shot from outside the box and narrowly missed the top corner of the goal before the final whistle blew. Both teams earned a single point on the table, the Spirit’s third straight draw and MacIver earned her first career regular season clean sheet.

Next up, the Spirit will hit the road again, heading to San Jose to take on Bay FC on Sunday, April 5. Kicking off at 5 p.m. EDT, the match will broadcast nationally on ESPN2. 

 

-NWSL Match Report- 

Match: Denver Summit FC vs. Washington Spirit 

Date: Saturday, March 28, 2026 

Venue: Empower Field at Mile High (Denver, Colo.) 

Kickoff: 2 p.m. EDT 

Weather: Sunny, mid-70s 

 

Scoring Summary: 

Goals	1	2	F
Denver	0	0	0
Washington	0	0	0

 

Lineups: 

DEN: 1 – Abby Smith; 16 – Carson Pickett; 3 – Kaleigh Kurtz; 2 – Megan Reid; 6 – Janine Sonis; 24 – Delanie Sheehan; 26 – Tash Flint; 5 – Devin Lynch; 9 – Yazmeen Ryan (11 – Ally Brazier, 84’); 25 – Melissa Kössler (33 – Olivia Thomas, 89’); 14 – Yuna McCormack (4 – Natalie Means, 75’) 

Unused Substitutes: 21 – Pauline Peyraud-Magnin; 7 – Ayo Oke; 8 – Emma Regan; 19 – Lourdes Bosch; 34 – Meg Boade; 79 – Nahikari García 

WAS: 18 – Sandy MacIver; 6 – Kate Wiesner; 9 – Tara Rudd; 24 – Esme Morgan; 13 – Lucia Di Guglielmo (5 – Élisabeth Tsé, 73’); 4 – Rebeca Bernal; 20 – Deborah Abiodun (19 – Rosemonde Kouassi, 46’); 17 – Hal Hershfelt; 10 – Leicy Santos; 2 – Trinity Rodman (21 – Gift Monday, 82’); 27 – Sofia Cantore (11 – Claudia Martínez, 73’) 

Unused Substitutes: 31 – Kaylie Collins; 12 – Andi Sullivan; 16 – Tamara Bolt; 26 – Paige Metayer 

 

Stats Summary: DEN / WAS 

Shots: 9 / 10 

Shots On Goal: 2 / 2 

Saves: 2 / 2 

Fouls: 7 / 10 

Offsides: 2 / 1 

 

Misconduct Summary: 

WAS – Hal Hershfelt – 72′ – Yellow Card 

DEN – Kaleigh Kurtz – 83′ – Yellow Card 

The post Recap: Spirit Earns First Clean Sheet of Season, Draws Denver in Front of Over 63,000 appeared first on Washington Spirit.