The Major League Soccer season may have ended, but our content is set to roll on right through the off season! As you may have noticed, we have moved! All of our content on Substack has migrated to our new website which is now (semi)fully fledged out and Powered by Ghost.
Our Substack is still up, but content will no longer be posted there. All of the articles migrated over to the site and are still being tagged and categorized as I find the time to do so. If you're receiving this email, you do not need to subscribe but if you want to be absolutely sure, you can subscribe below!
Also, the Newsletter is back! (Now just shortened to BSFN.) Colorado footy insights, thoughts, happenings, and further Box State Footy updates will continue through the off season here in form of the Newsletter. Some more features (like our latest Summit piece) are in the pipeline as well, but you can expect the Newsletter to be back in the swing of things until the pro soccer season resumes.
ICYMI:
Juan Fernandez
A lot has happened since the last newsletter, but we're moving forward and will come back to any relevant news stories through other forms and avenues. Here is all the latest and most recent Footy happenings in the Box State.
Topics:
- 🤝 Cobb Permanently Joins Colorado
- 🧤Anderson Impresses In Debut
- 🥇 MAC Herman Finalists
- 🏆 Box State Center Back Wins MLS Cup Medal
- 🏔️ Summit Sign New Goalkeeper
🤝 Rapids Exercise Trade Option on Noah Cobb
According to Tom Bogert, the Colorado Rapids have made Noah Cobb's loan move a permanent one. Cobb, 20, is now officially a member of the roster.
Atlanta United will receive $500k GAM in trade of Noah Cobb, per sources https://t.co/vLYofOxLtS
— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) December 7, 2025
It's no secret that Noah Cobb is a promising young center back. He was billed as a long term project piece and unlike some of the other long term backline pieces in the club's recent history, he's a player that can come good for the team; and hopefully a lot sooner. Players like Aboubacar Keita, Gustavo Vallecilla, and Michael Edwards were some of those long term pieces that never quite settled but with Cobb there's plenty of genuine upside one can't help but feel good about.
As Bogert reported, the fee is 500K in GAM. A fair deal if I were to analyze not just what the Rapids gain in the young center half but also with what Atlanta stand to gain given they spent A LOT of money and are in the process of recouping some of their financial losses. (They have very little GAM to work with) This is about as fair as a fee as I've ever seen especially considering the fact there's no sell-on clause (will await further confirmation).
I have always been a fan of the Cobb move and can't help but question what Atlanta United is doing here. They've spent big on their defensive additions knowing they had Cobb in their back pocket and yet still let him go.
With no apparent head coach for the Rapids, it's difficult to determine how Cobb will line up and how he will be utilized. I'm projecting him as a starter who should see a lot of time as a ball playing center back. With Andreas Maxso no longer with the team, it will be interesting to see what approach they go with in partnering Cobb. A lot is also dependent on the coach themselves and there's reason to believe Cobb could end up with two center back partners in a three back system (I'd prefer that). What stands true is Cobb is a talented player and one to continue to build around. At his age there's still to be some growing pains but among other youth center backs in the league I am a big fan of his and thrilled with the move.
🧤 Maddy Anderson makes her professional debut for Lens
Broomfield, CO goalkeeper Maddy Anderson made her professional debut over the weekend in Lens 1-0 match against St Etienne. Anderson, 25, kept a clean sheet and completed 10/18 long passes according to Fotmob.
Lens are currently towards the bottom of the French Premiere League table looking up at 11th place out of 12. This match was against fellow bottom dweller St. Etienne and was a chance for both teams to readjust. Lens' victory means they can now try to build momentum and Anderson should keep being in the mix for the starting position. This was Lens first win of the season after all and it came after Anderson's first start.
Anderson was the SEC Goalkeeper of the Year in 2024. She signed with Lens July 23rd, 2025. Her professional debut could be the catalyst for a permanent starting spot if the positive results continue.
🦬MAC Herman Semi-Finalists Include Two CU Buffs
Colorado University's Hope Leyba and Jordan Nytes have been listed as MAC Herman Trophy Semi-Finalists. The Lady Buffs Soccer team finished their season with a 17W-3D-4L record and made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament before falling on the road to Michigan State by a score of 2-1.
Let's get Hope and Jordi to St. Louis!
— Colorado Buffaloes Soccer (@CUBuffsSoccer) December 8, 2025
Voting closes on Dec. 9
🔗 https://t.co/hpFxES8oAp pic.twitter.com/XJBkYdPW0u
Voting is set to end December 9th with the winner to be announced December 10th. Given the Box State ties, we voted for Jordan Nytes from Aurora, CO. The 2025 Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Year has a promising career ahead of them and we'll be keeping close tabs on their development if they decide to play professionally.
🏆 Centennial's Ryan Sailor Wins MLS Cup With Inter Miami
As mentioned earlier, the MLS Season wrapped up with the highly anticipated Final between the Team of Destiny Vancouver Whitecaps and the Meat Grinder that is Inter Miami.
Miami shredded Vancouver's hopes and dreams. They navigated Vancouver's constant pressure and after some standout line-breaking play they came away as MLS Cup Champions. Outside The Box recorded a live watchalong and the cast had plenty of fun adding a different voice to the viewing experience.
Among the champions is a Centennial center half by the name of Ryan Sailor. Sailor, 27, was not a factor in the final and much less Miami's season as a whole; in fact, Sailor has been out with a knee injury since November 2nd.
Sailor's contract is up this season and given his small role on the team he's a replacement level player; the team can easily find someone else to fill out his last spot on the supplemental roster.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DR-qicNDzsw/?img_index=1
However, no one can take away his winner's medal and his 78 minutes in Miami's 1-1 draw against DC United will be looked upon as his highlight of this season. Congrats to Ryan Sailor and we'll be keen to know where he may end up once his contract ends.
⛰️ Denver Summit FC Sign Veteran Goalkeeper Abby Smith
The Summit have a new addition to their growing roster. Abby Smith is the latest Denver signing joininig Ally Watt, Nahikari Garcia, Lourdes Bosch, Kaleigh Kurtz, and Megan Reid among the first eleven names signed to the roster.
Chris Thomas
Smith, 32, has won two prior NWSL Championships; one with Gotham FC in 2023 and one with Portland Thorns in 2022. Smith's time as a starter has been inconsistent these last few years as she's had to navigate her return from a knee injury. She's currently primed to be the first choice goalkeeper and a bounce back season could very well be in the cards here.
Summit Starting XI (So Far):
And that does it for the Newsletter this week. Great to be back! We here at Box State Footy are excited for 2026 and hope this website move just helps further fuel the content coming your way. Have a great rest of your week!
