Denver Summit FC have signed five players to their first team and are slowly crafting a Starting XI for their inaugural season set to kick off at Empower Field in 2026.
Lourdes Bosch (AM), Nahikari Garcia (ST), Kaleigh Kurtz (CB), Megan Reid (CB), and Colorado's own Ally Watt (W) will don Summit Green next season.
With plenty of roster spots left to fill, we look at six potential Colorado free agents and their contract situations as possible additions to the new expansion side.
Sophia Wilson (Contract Expires December 31, 2025)
The most monumental Colorado "get" within the league, Sophia Wilson's time with the Portland Thorns is set to come to an end at the end of the year. Wilson, 25, did not play in the 2025 season as her pregnancy with her firstborn started right before the season's kickoff back in March of 2025. Wilson has a player option and if exercised she will be back in Portland for the 2026 season. She can also hold out for a better deal around the league leaving her with a lot of leverage. A significant offer by Denver will need to be made if she's to play regularly in Colorado next season.
@boxstatefooty We asked @nwsldenverfans who they would like at the new club at the Denver Summity Block Party in McGregor Square NWSL USWNT #denversummitfc #woso
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Wilson's last competitive match was November 10th, 2024: a 2-1 NWSL Quarter-Final loss on the road against Gotham FC. Wilson's trophy cabinet includes a 2022 NWSL Championship, 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup, SheBelieves Cup Wins in 2021, 2022, and 2024 and earned Gold with the USWNT in 2024. She ranks high on the lists of Summit FC Supporters for potential player acquisitions.
Rating: Dream Signing
Lindsey Heaps (Contract Expires June 30th, 2026)
We now turn to the most monumental Colorado "get" outside of the league: Lindsey Heaps. Her contract situation is not quite clear. The USWNT Star midfielder has expressed their interest and admiration for the new expansion side but could there actually be a way for that interest to manifest into something more tangible? Heaps, 31, has had an illustrious career in France but could return stateside and be closer to family for the latter stage of her career. Her husband, Tyler Heaps, is the Sporting Director of San Diego FC in Major League Soccer and if the idea of playing in NWSL is to be closer to family, playing for the San Diego Wave looks like a more plausible route.
Heaps' season with Lyon in the French Premiere Ligue kicked off this past September. Lyon are currently undefeated with an 8-0-0 record, a +15.9 xGoal Differential, and are at the top of the table. There's still a lot of season left as well as their campaign in the Champions League meaning any career decisions for Heaps can be deferred to the future. It also is worth mentioning that if she leaves Lyon to join a team stateside, they'll be jumping right into the middle of the NWSL season.
While the framework of the 2026 schedule has been ironed out, there's a possibility she has a short off-season if it coincides with a possible break for the Men's World Cup before bolstering whatever NWSL team she (possibly) joins.
Rating: Dream Summer Signing
@boxstatefooty June 2nd Box State Footy Player of the Week: Lindsey Heaps! #USWNT BoxState BoxStateFooty Colorado ColoradoSoccer NWSL NWSLDenver USSoccer Golden #goldencolorado OlympiqueLyonnais #LindseyHeaps #lindseyhoran Heaps Soccer #Futbol
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Ally Schlegel (Contract Expires December 31, 2025)
Ally Schlegel has not found much success on the Chicago Stars. She is not to blame entirely-it is a team sport after all- but given how down Chicago tends to be, Schlegel could be due for a change of scenery. Now would be a great time to angle for a possible return home to the Box State and serve as a foundational piece within the expansion project.
Ally Schlegel offers plenty of productive use as either a central midfielder or a defensive midfielder
Schlegel, 25, saw some shifts in her position to close out the 2025 season. The Parker born forward found starts playing deeper as either an attacking midfielder or more centrally at the base of the Stars' 4-3-3. When thinking about how they'd fit within the current Summit team dynamic, she could stand to be a great depth option across the attacking spine offering positional flexibility and a strong floor to rely on. Plus, at her current age, there's plenty of reason to believe she has more productive years ahead of her.
Rating: Good Attacking Depth Addition. Fantastic Midfield Option
Meg Boade (Contract Expired November 22nd, 2025)
While we're looking at Chicago Stars players, lets pivot over to Meg Boade who signed a roster relief contract with the Stars back in August but did not feature at all for them to end the season. Boade's last match came all the way back on May 17th, 2025 lining up in Washington Spirit's midfield. She scored in that match up but has yet to feature since.
Boade, 23, has shown promise and is still young but 122 total minutes within a season is concerning. Given where the Stars were at in their season, you'd think she would have had more game time to make an impression. Perhaps the player needs to get better footing within the league. Could it be made easier playing from home? The Dallas born midfielder grew up playing club soccer at Real Colorado before going to Northwestern for their college career and then to UCLA for an additional year. Ultimately, more time on the pitch is needed both for a proper assessment of the player and for her larger development.
Rating: Patient Project Piece
Sami Feller(Contract Expires December 31st, 2025)
Going outside of the NWSL, we look towards Riga FC in the Latvian Women's League to Sami Feller of Grand Junction. Feller, 25, had a productive Summer at Riga playing in their midfield and provided plenty of goals; 12 of them in 10 games. At Riga, Feller played on a team that stood in a tier of it's own compared to the rest of the league and it's only natural to raise concerns about the standard of play. Riga, after all, finished their 2025 season with a 24-0-0 record and a 177 goal differential. Take away Feller's contributions and you're left with a team that still scored a total of 168 total goals.
The wrinkle here in this signing is twofold. For one, Riga's dominance in the league is hard to ignore. Secondly, Feller's omission from the Champions League, where there would have been more competitive fixtures for her to play in, leaves a lot of questions. Her time at Riga also lasted only four months from March to June. She would then be omitted from match day squads from July to November 9th; Riga's last match day in the season. She's also notably absent from Riga's roster site.
Is this compelling enough for a contract with Summit FC? As a depth piece, I think yes. Before joining Riga, Feller was with the Chicago Stars but had a persistent hip injury which limited her minutes. There's plenty to like about a player finding some game time abroad, albeit in a weaker league, and getting back to some semblance of regular playing time. It sure does look like they're available and I'm all for a homecoming bounce back.
Rating: Plausible depth piece if not with some questions.
Shaina Ashouri (Contract Expires January 1st, 2026)
Staying in the obscure leagues of the world, we got to Reykjavik to find Shaina Ashouri. The Parker, CO born midfielder has played most of her career abroad. Ashouri, 29, had a respectable season at Vikingur in the Icelandic First Division. She played a total of 7 games this year, down from last season's 23, and scored six goals. Ashorui had initially left Vikingur last season in October of 2024 but re-signed a deal with the Icelandic side back on July 7th of this year.
However, this would be another homecoming bounce back kind of signing . Ashouri announced via Instagram that she had suffered an ACL tear which would explain her absence from Vikingur's recent matches.
An ACL tear, if we presume it happened sometime after September 20th but before the 25th, means an earliest possible return could happen in June of 2026. While it's not uncommon for teams to sign injured players, would Ashouri be worth a potential roster spot? Looking at her tape, history in Europe, and for the hometown vibes I think yes. There's also no doubt that the team would have a bit more leverage in the contract offered. Or, just like with Heaps, you can wait it out and push for a move in the Summer.
Rating: Plucky Summer Depth Signing
And that is our list! Which Colorado players are you hoping to see? Are there any snubs? Let us know down below and be sure to follow our feed and site for more Summit FC articles, analysis, and projections.
