ONE TOUCH SUMMARY
- Janine Sonis scored her ninth goal of the season in Denver Summit's 6-1 win over Chicago.
- Sonis leads Denver Summit in goals, ranking joint-seventh in the NWSL this season.
- The Canada full-back says 63,000 fans in Denver prove a women's team was overdue.
ONE TOUCH INSIGHT
Janine Sonis is making the case that expansion sides don't have to be bad. Nine goals, the most of any Denver Summit player and joint-seventh in the NWSL, from an attacking midfielder in a debut season is not a hot streak — it's a player who has been handed the keys and told to shoot. Her own explanation is the interesting part: she says she has enjoyed this season more than any other in her career, and that it is showing in how she plays.
That is a roster-building argument dressed as a personal one. Denver didn't buy a veteran to sit deep and protect a young squad. They built the attack around her, and the 6-1 win over Chicago is what that looks like when it clicks.
The 63,000 at Mile High is the part the league should sit with. Sonis calls a women's team there overdue, and she is right — the crowd didn't need convincing, it needed a fixture. Denver's front office now has to prove the gate holds through a midweek slump, not just a debut-season novelty.
WHY IT MATTERS
Denver Summit drawing 63,000 fans in their debut season is a marker for NWSL expansion, showing demand for women's football in a market without a legacy team. Sonis, a Canada veteran, frames it as overdue rather than surprising.
TACTICAL FIT
Sonis gives Denver Summit a goal threat from full-back, arriving late in the box rather than staying wide. Her nine goals lead the club, meaning the attack is built around a defender's timing and positioning.
THE DEBATE
Does one 63,000 crowd in Denver prove expansion was overdue everywhere?
AI-assisted · generated from The Guardian reporting, not editor reviewed
