The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) last week announced the top-selling jerseys a month into the 2026 season. Topping the record was Washington Spirit ahead Trinity Rodman, however proper behind was her U.S. Women’s National Team teammate Lindsey Heaps, who has not performed NWSL minutes since 2021.
Heaps, a Golden, Colorado native, signed with growth membership Denver Summit FC in January and can be a part of the group this summer season after she finishes her closing season in France with OL Lyonnes. Heaps can have the particular alternative to compete at her future residence stadium for the primary time since her return to the NWSL was introduced because 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 informed 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 final 5 years with OL Lyonnes, the reigning champion of the French Première Ligue. She mentioned whereas ending the season sturdy there was her foremost precedence, she has incessantly spoke with Denver’s workers and adopted the beginning of the inaugural season.
Returning to her residence state and enjoying in entrance of her family and friends – she has doled out upwards of 50 tickets to family and friends for the Japan match – is one of the primary causes the 31-year-old signed with the Summit. Heaps mirrored on the beginning of her soccer profession and the way Colorado helped get her to the place she is now.
“Seeing all the little girls, how much they enjoy coming and watching us play,” Heaps mentioned, “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 private, however in accordance to USWNT head coach Emma Hayes, the transfer additionally represents one thing bigger 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 mentioned. “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 second for U.S. Soccer off the pitch. In its residence opener, 63,004 followers stuffed Empower Field at Mile High, smashing the NWSL attendance document by over 20,000. USWNT ahead and Windsor, Colo., native Sophia Wilson mentioned she was not stunned by the record-breaking crowd and was glad the nation noticed what Colorado has to provide.
“This metropolis has all the time been a ladies’s sports activities metropolis, they only wanted a group to come help,” 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.
