By OkayGoal 
Two new franchises have entered the fray of the NWSL, the Denver Summit and the Boston Legacy. Both cities and teams are at different ends of history. Boston has a rich women’s soccer history with the Boston Breakers. Reviving the soccer culture in Boston will be huge for the sport, and they have a blueprint from how it was done before with the Breakers. For Denver, the opposite is true, it’s a new frontier, and the Summit is the first pro women’s soccer team in Denver’s history. Denver is a strong sports city highlighted by their passion for the Broncos, Nuggets, and Avalanche. The Summit has a chance to join them as one of the premier teams in the city. We’ve been able to see how both franchises have made their start in the NWSL, and similar to their history, they’ve gotten off to two completely different starts. How will this start impact their seasons? Let’s take a closer look. Here are my predictions for the Denver Summit and Boston Legacy’s first season.
It’s very early in the season and there’s plenty of time for things to change with rosters, the number of games, etc. This season is going to be a challenge for both franchises because so much is new to the folks running these teams. They may have professional experience with other pro teams, but it’s even more difficult when you have to start from scratch. Denver was incredibly aggressive in their first year in terms of player acquisition. They immediately got Lindsey Heaps and Ally Brazier, added a ton of defenders who are starters in the NWSL, and added another star player in Yasmeen Ryan. Denver’s roster has a chance to compete and be a playoff team right away. The x-factor is Melissa Kössler, whom the team signed from Germany. Kössler is proving to be an incredible signing for Denver as she has two goals in two games. The German also gave her team the lead in both games. Denver might only have 1 point, but they deserved a draw against Bay for their performance and did incredibly well to draw with the Orlando Pride. Denver has shown they are more than ready early on in the season and have absolutely exceeded expectations. They have the talent, and they have the proper manager as well, with Nick Cushing, who has won five trophies with Manchester City. If you’re a Denver Summit fan, you have to be thrilled with the future of this team, and they will have a chance to make the playoffs because this team is only going to get better once Lindsey Heaps joins.
Unfortunately for Boston, it’s been the exact opposite. They made a big managerial hire with Filipa Patão, who had won numerous Portuguese titles with Benfica prior to Boston. Their general manager was Barcelona’s GM during their period of dominance. The Legacy went out and added Casey Murphy, who is one of the best goalkeepers in the league. Boston also added Ella Stevens, Nichelle Prince, and Bianca St-Georges, three NWSL vets who are proven in the NWSL. Yet, their first two games have looked uninspiring. Their first matchup in front of their home fans was slightly disappointing. It was a big event in Boston to have NWSL soccer back, and it felt as though the team was happy to settle for a 0-0 draw rather than go for the win. I say that because Boston subbed Ella Stevens out after 47 minutes for an unheralded Ugandan striker when Stevens was playing against her former team. No one would’ve been more motivated to score than Stevens, and they removed her from the game. They proceeded to take out their other two attackers for midfielders, signaling Boston did not want to go for the win; they were playing not to lose instead. Bianca St-Georges recorded her second yellow and got sent off, making it even more difficult to look for an equalizer.
Their second game didn’t get any better. A 3-0 loss to an upstart Houston Dash team looks bad. Yes, Houston has looked great to start the year, but they also traded Yasmeen Ryan and Delanie Sheehan before the game. If Boston were going to get a result, this was the best chance to do it. Their next game against Utah will be the best indicator for this season. If they have a poor result against Utah in a winnable home game, the team will have some soul-searching to do. If they can win or at least come away with a draw, then they’ll have the proper platform to build on. Boston might be able to get their season turned around at some point, but they need as many points as they can if they want to compete for a playoff spot.
Denver and Boston are trending in different directions at the moment; one team has a chance to be a playoff team, and the other most likely won’t. Yet, that’s what makes the NWSL so great, anything is possible in every game, every week. Let’s see how these new teams fare in year 1 of the NWSL.
Featured image via @nwsl