Expanding the NWSL means added pressure, but Denver Summit FC coming in with a "relentless" mentality

The National Women's Soccer League has rapidly expanded since its first year in operation in 2012.

Keeper Abby Smith started her professional career in 2016 and has been part of expansion teams.

"I've seen a lot in this league," Smith said, "We've grown a lot, but we still have a lot of growth."

She has played for several clubs, including the Utah Royals during their inaugural season.

Denver was awarded an expansion team in January of 2025 -- Denver Summit FC -- and has already taken the pitch.

"Expansion is really hard because you're starting from the ground up," Smith said. "We have a great platform to build everything from scratch, but at the same time, when you have a new team, we're still figuring each other out."

Smith says even with Denver's accelerated timeline, this expansion team is much more advanced than others she's been a part of.

"That's really refreshing and exciting that we have people here that are very good at their job and know what it takes to be excellent and that's what we're striving for."

Smith says the addition of expansion teams makes the league tougher.

"Coming in this year, I feel like adding two more teams, it's going to make it more competitive," Smith said. "We also travel across the country as many people see, like that's really hard on our bodies, and we're expected to show up day in and day out for training and then week in and week out for games."

She says that although there is always pressure in the NWSL, Denver Summit FC is coming in with a winning mentality.

"We're coming out here to win. That's like, the main goal is coming out here to win, and we're going to be relentless in doing that," Smith said.