Lindsey Heaps Returns to Colorado with USWNT Ahead of Summit NWSL Debut | OneFootball

The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) last week announced the top-selling jerseys a month into the 2026 season. Topping the list was Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman, but right behind was her U.S. Women’s National Team teammate Lindsey Heaps, who has not played NWSL minutes since 2021.

Heaps, a Golden, Colorado native, signed with expansion club Denver Summit FC in January and will join the team this summer after she finishes her final season in France with OL Lyonnes. Heaps will have the special opportunity to compete at her future home stadium for the first time since her return to the NWSL was announced as the USA faces Japan at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park on April 17 at 7 p.m. MT.

“I saw the jersey sales come out, which was really special,” Heaps told media on Thursday. “I'm so thankful. I'm not even here yet, and for us to have that as a club is so cool. I hope I get to see some of those out in the crowd (tomorrow).”

Heaps has spent the last five years with OL Lyonnes, the reigning champion of the French Première Ligue. She said while finishing the season strong there has been her main priority, she has frequently spoke with Denver’s staff and followed the start of the inaugural season.

Returning to her home state and playing in front of her friends and family – she has doled out upwards of 50 tickets to friends and family for the Japan match – is one of the main reasons the 31-year-old signed with the Summit. Heaps reflected on the start of her soccer career and how Colorado helped get her to where she is now.

“Seeing all the little girls, how much they enjoy coming and watching us play,” Heaps said, “I think back to me when I was that young individual growing up here, going out and training three, four times a day here in Colorado. I wasn't this talented, super athletic player. I had to work on it, but it was because I loved it so much.”

Heaps’ signing with the Summit was personal, but according to USWNT head coach Emma Hayes, the move also represents something larger for the Summit and the NWSL.

“Bringing the U.S. Women’s National Team captain back from a top European team to her home market demonstrates that players are choosing to come to the NWSL,” Hayes said. “She will bring a level of professionalism from years of being a top pro. Lindsey’s no passenger, ever. She’s so ultra competitive. She will drive that team as leader in the way she does every day.”

The Summit has already produced a seminal moment for U.S. Soccer off the pitch. In its home opener, 63,004 fans filled Empower Field at Mile High, smashing the NWSL attendance record by over 20,000. USWNT forward and Windsor, Colo., native Sophia Wilson said she was not surprised by the record-breaking crowd and was glad the country saw what Colorado has to offer.

“This city has always been a women's sports city, they just needed a team to come support," Wilson said. “I hope that amount of people keeps showing up throughout the whole season. It's just great for women's soccer all over.”

Heaps and Wilson return to their home state with the USWNT for the first time since June 2024. The 4-0 win over Korea Republic in front of a sold-out crowd was one of the last matches before they won gold at the Paris Olympics and the first with Hayes as the head coach. When reflecting on that match, Hayes said she remembered her nerves, the heat and the intensity of the crowd.

“Literally and figuratively, it was so hot,” Hayes said. “I remember walking out and thinking, ‘God, this is how I want soccer to feel in this country.”

The USWNT will hopefully get to experience a similar crowd in its return to Denver that captures both the past and the future of the game. It will bring players back to where their journeys began, while showcasing a city that has become a cornerstone of women’s soccer in the United States.