For Summit FC fans who helped bring pro women's soccer to Denver, finally seeing team in action "a dream come true"

There's nothing quite like watching your favorite team score; especially when it's the first goal in the team's history.

Earlier this month, Denver's first National Women's Soccer League team, Summit FC played its inaugural match. 

Now, the club is preparing for its first-ever home game this weekend, marking another milestone for professional women's soccer in Denver. More than 60,000 tickets have been sold for the game at Empower Field at Mile High.

For fans like Madeline Leibin who worked for years to try and bring the team to Colorado, it feels like a dream come true.

"For me, it was the summer of 2023," Leibin said. "We started at one event, and I walked up to the organizers and asked how I could be involved in bringing a women's professional soccer team to Denver."

Long before Summit FC team ever took the pitch, she helped coordinate watch parties and events for other women's soccer games.

"These events were full of little girls who were watching powerful professional female athletes, powerful advocates, powerful leaders on screen," Leibin said.

That early involvement quickly turned into official fan club leadership. Leibin became a driving force behind what would become Summit FC's official fan club, the 14ers. As support grew, she helped deliver a powerful message to the city, and the NWSL.

"I was the lucky one who got to hand the commissioner this heavy, heavy mailbox full of handwritten notes from community members about why Denver deserved a team," she said. "For me, it is a commitment by the city and by these private owners that women's sports matter."

That same sense of purpose is what inspired Emily Walsh to get involved, who now helps lead the 14ers. In addition to organizing watch parties, Walsh is focused on community outreach, including partnerships with charities and youth sports organizations. But she says like many early Summit FC supporters, her connection to the mission is personal.

"As a girl who played sports when I was younger and didn't get to pursue the sport that I loved, which was ice hockey, because there wasn't a future in it, to know that for my daughter, the possibilities are endless is something I can't quite articulate," Walsh said.

In the months leading up to the first home game, fans have turned downtown Denver green by showing up for kit launches, team announcements, and community events. The 14ers now boast more than 300 official members before their first home game and record ticket sales for their debut home match at Empower Field at Mile High.

As the community grows, Walsh and Leibin can't believe how far the 14ers have come; especially as excitement grows for home games.

"To know that that community is there, and it's only going to exponentially, exponentially expand, is just 'Ah!', it's hard to wrap your head around," Walsh said.

And for many fans, supporting Summit FC goes beyond soccer but rather what the team represents.

Leiben even got choked up as she explained what the team means to her after years of dedication.

"It feels like a commitment to my values of being inclusive and creating space for the things that we believe in and are willing to invest in," Leibin said.

Now as Summit FC prepares to take the field at home for the first time, the 14ers will be there in force, and plan to continue showing up for the Denver soccer community for years to come. More information on how to join the 14ers or find their events can be found here.