Gotham FC was unable to avenge its early-season loss to Denver Summit FC as the Bats fell 3-0 to the Summit in front of a sold out crowd at the 12,372-seat Centennial Stadium.
The Bats struggled to control the pace of the game from the start, with the Summit quickly taking advantage as defender Megan Reid sent a shot past Gotham goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger in the third minute. Despite that goal being ruled offside, the Summit kept the pressure on Gotham from there.
Gotham struggled to hold together a solid defensive line, and by halftime, while neither side scored, it was Gotham that looked the worse for wear. The Summit emerged looking refreshed after the half, translating that newfound energy into three second-half goals to nab the win over the NWSL leaders Gotham. Gotham's loss combined with Washington Spirit FC's comeback road win in Portland means Gotham only holds a two-point lead over its DC rival in the race for the NWSL Shield.
"Losing a game can happen," Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amorós, who returned from a five-week long parental leave, said after the loss. "It happens to all teams. It's not only about how you lose the game, it's how you recover after that. That's where we need to go to the next game and really show that personality and that football that we know we have in us and that we need to be better."
Gotham FC: 0.74 xG, 9 shots, 4 shots on target, 54% possession, 387 passes, 82.2% pass accuracy, 8 fouls, 2 corners, 1 save
Denver Summit FC: 1.17 xG, 12 shots, 4 shots on target, 46% possession, 454 passes, 77.8% pass accuracy, 12 fouls, 3 corners, 4 saves
Goals:
• Denver, Yuzuki Yamamoto, 50'
• Denver, Olivia Thomas, 82'
• Denver, Yazmeen Ryan, 88'
Attendance: 12,372
Denver's young star power
Denver's youngsters made the difference today with two of three goals scored by players under the age of 25. It was 24-year-old Yuzuki Yamamoto who opened up the scoring in the 50th minute, nailing a volley past AKB off of a pass from Ayo Oke. Rookie Olivia Thomas, fresh off three seasons at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, made a solo run with the match in the balance, burying Denver's second goal in the bottom corner of the net.
OLIVIA THOMAS TAKES IT HERSELF! 👏
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) September 6, 2026 at 3:51 PM
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Gotham seemingly fell apart after that, allowing former Gotham player and 2023 NWSL champion, Yazmeen Ryan, to answer the crowd's chants of "one more goal" and score the Summit's third past AKB. Yamamoto and Thomas have now scored two goals in two games while Oke recorded her second assist, with the Summit now recording nine goals in their past two games.
Yazmeen Ryan finds the net to make it 3-0 against the league leaders!
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) September 6, 2026 at 3:57 PM
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The club has come a long way since its shock win over the Bats in March, which just so happened to be the expansion side's first-ever NWSL victory. Now within two points of current 8th place holders Angel City FC, the Summit has a very good chance of making the NWSL playoffs. As far as inaugural seasons go, Denver is blowing away expectations.
Gotham's ever-changing roster
With Sofia Cook and Rose Lavelle out for the second consecutive week, acting coach Shaun Harris and now Amorós have been forced to make crucial changes to fill in the gaps.
Denise O'Sullivan made her first start for the club in place of Savannah McCaskill while Bruninha made her second start of the regular season, replacing Mandy Freeman. Tess Boade and Meredith Speck made their Gotham debuts as second-half substitutes in an attempt to fill the Lavelle-sized gap in the midfield.
"They need to get used to certain things of how the team does it, but then you can only get used to it by doing it on the pitch," Amorós said of the midfielders. "They both have been amazing since the moment they joined us. They bring a lot on and off the pitch, and everyone is really happy that they finally got that out of the way. Not in the way that we wanted because we want to help them to have the debut and to win the game, but it is what it is."
There's still some work to be done as the team adjusts to the lineup changes, particularly within that front line. Finishing continues to be Gotham's kryptonite as the Bats struggled to score against the Summit for the second time this season. Jordynn Dudley had a decent chance in the 44th minute, receiving a low cross from Guro Reiten. The ball was ultimately saved as Dudley aimed a shot straight for Denver keeper Kat Asman.
"Every game we normally have possession and we get to the point where we want to be on the ball, but we need to have more final-third entries, more clear-cut chances where we can produce more goals," Amorós said. "That's definitely something we want to address and push because we are the best team defending in the league, but we're not the best team offensively in the league."
That push for perfected finishing will need to come sooner rather than later as Gotham eyes a better performance at Racing Louisville on Friday night.
"Overall, disappointing," Amorós said of the Denver game. "We need to look at ourselves and make sure that we go against Louisville and get those three points."
