LOS ANGELES (AP) — To the players on the rosters of two new teams: National Women’s Soccer Leagueleading up to this point was a lot like joining a startup company.
“We’ve already created an environment where everyone has a voice, where everyone feels comfortable and where everyone can be themselves, and it’s up to us to really determine that culture,” said center back Kaylee Kurtz, who joined the Denver Summit as a newcomer after eight years with the North Carolina Courage. “So that’s what I really liked, starting from scratch. It’s a blank canvas. You can see what you want to create.”
Summit and its expansion franchise, Boston Legacy, begin their first season this weekend, bringing the league to 16 teams.
Denver won the award for Becomes 16th NWSL franchise in January 2025 The reported expansion cost is $110 million. The team’s majority owner is IMA Financial Group CEO Robert Cohen.
The club quickly assembled its roster, bringing in former Orlando Pride players Allie (Watt) Brazier and Carson Pickett, Kurz from Courage, and defenseman Ayo Oke from Mexico’s Club Pachuca. Former Manchester City women’s coach Nick Cushing is the head coach.
The big topic at the summit was the US signature. National team captain Lindsey HeapsThe Colorado native has been playing in France for Lyon since 2022. She will join the summit after Lyon’s season ends.
“It’s been going on for years like, ‘Oh, Denver should get the team,’ and I just, I’ve been waiting so long that I don’t know if it’s going to happen, and I just don’t want to keep it in my head,” Heaps said. “Then it finally happened and I thought, ‘Oh my god, I have to play for this club one day.’
Brazier is also from Colorado. Like Kurtz, Brazier likened joining an expansion team to starting from scratch.
“In our first meeting, our coach showed us a blank canvas, essentially a blank PowerPoint,” Brazier said. “He said, ‘Right now we’re starting from nothing, we’re starting from nothing, we’re starting from nothing, we’re starting from no culture, we’re starting from no identity, we’re starting from no tactics. We’re going to build a culture, a team identity, a whole franchise from scratch. We’re going to be the stepping stones.’
Boston acquires franchise in 2023. The league’s 15th team was founded by a group of women led by Jennifer Epstein, Stephanie Connaughton, Ami Danoff and Anna Palmer. Among the team’s investors are University of Southern California star JuJu Watkins and actress Elizabeth Banks.
The city was home to the former NWSL team, the Boston Breakers. The Boston Breakers were one of the league’s founding teams, disbanding in 2018. Before the NWSL, Boston teams played in WUSA (2001-2003) and Women’s Professional Soccer (2009-12).
Legacy hires coach Philippa Paton Belongs to Portuguese club Benfica. The roster also includes Canada’s Nichelle Prince and Mexico’s Nicky Hernandez.
One of Boston’s biggest moves of the offseason was Signs goaltender Casey Murphy; He has spent the past five seasons at the Colage, making 108 appearances in goal. Murphy also appeared in 20 games for the U.S. team and served as backup to Alyssa Neher at the Paris Olympics.
“Coming into free agency, I wanted to be a part of a team that not only valued me on the field, but also off the field,” Murphy said. “And I feel like this was a great step for me in terms of my leadership and how my voice in the locker room can help the team.”
Summit opens the season on the road against Bay FC on Saturday. NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said the club has sold more than 50,000 tickets for its home opener on March 28 at Empower Field at Mile High, home of the NFL’s Denver Broncos. That would break the league record of 40,091, set in August when the Bay faced the Spirit at Oracle Park.
Summit will then play home games at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, home of MLS’s Colorado Rapids, through the first half of the season before moving to Centennial Stadium.
Legacy opens the season on Saturday when they host defending NWSL champion Gotham at Gillette Stadium. Fittingly, New Kids on the Block will be performing at halftime.
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