Excitement in the Denver sports community continues with Denver Summit FC’s second home match Saturday. 

Three weeks since its 0-0 draw with Seattle, Summit returns home to face San Diego Wave FC at 6:45 p.m. at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. The match will also be a celebration of Colorado’s 150th anniversary, with a Denver Unite scarf giveaway to the first 5,000 fans, local team mascots and a postgame drone show. 

Saturday is the second home match after the Summit’s record-setting attendance March 28 at Empower Field at Mile High. Limited tickets remain. The game can be watched on ION, The Spot Denver 3. 

Denver (1-3-1) is looking for its second win of the season but faces a tough opponent in San Diego (4-0-1), which leads the league with 12 points and is the highest-scoring team in the National Women’s Soccer League.  

“There is no specific prep in how we defend,” Summit coach Nick Cushing said Thursday. “We want to be a team that is aggressive, and we want to create chances from our defensive phases. For us, it’s about how we can keep their offensive volume down.” 

San Diego leads the league in shots on target (37), is second in shots (62) and third in goals (eight). To slow down its offense, Cushing hopes to use the city’s elevation to its advantage by pressing. 

“We are very similar as teams in how we want to progress the ball, but I think it will be about who can bring the intensity,” Cushing said. “If we can get the intensity to where we can play 100%, it will feel 104% to them. That’s the aim for us every time we bring a team to Denver.” 

With an evolving team, Cushing said he is still unsure of the lineup. Players are showing growth and competitiveness each week, with new players also impressing Cushing in training. 

One of the club’s newest additions is Japanese forward Yuzuki Yamamoto, who signed a two-year contract with the Summit in March. Yamamoto, who was previously with WE League champions Tokyo Verdy Beleza, played for Japan in its friendly with the USWNT at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on April 17 (3-0 USA). 

“I have decisions to make,” Cushing said. “Competition for places brings consistency and a winning environment, or it brings real infection into the culture. We decide that as a team … the impact you can bring off the bench is the difference between a great team and a good team. The difficult times refine us as a team.”

USWNT coach Emma Hayes stayed in Denver this week and will attend the Summit’s match. USWNT defender Kennedy Wesley, who recorded her first international goal and assist against Japan last week, will return to Commerce City with the Wave. 

As Denver continues to refine its identity, Cushing imparts the same message to the players: Stick with the process. If the team can turn chances into big moments, another win might be in the cards.

“What I’m really positive about is the investment and the buy-in players are showing,” Cushing said. “They are enjoying it, but also believe in it, so hopefully we can continue to move forward.”