Janine Sonis: 'A Women's Team Was Way Overdue' as Denver Roars With 63,000 Fans

When 63,000 fans poured through the turnstiles in Denver, Janine Sonis sensed something bigger than a single milestone — living proof that the Mile High City had been starved of a women's team for far too long. "A women's team was way overdue," the Canada international told Guardian Football's Moving the Goalposts newsletter, reflecting on a night that reverberated far beyond Colorado. The Denver Summit full-back is backing up the occasion with the finest football of her career. In the 13th minute of Summit's emphatic 6-1 victory over Chicago, Sonis ghosted stealthily behind the defensive line, arrived in the penalty area, and lashed a crisp finish into the right corner. It was her ninth goal of the campaign — more than any other Denver Summit player and joint-seventh across the entire NWSL. For a full-back, those are striker's numbers. For Sonis, they are the product of something simpler: happiness. Now representing her hometown club in its debut season, the NWSL and Canada veteran believes her enjoyment is visibly translating onto the pitch. "I think it's been a season that I've enjoyed myself more than any other season in my career, and I think that that's showing in the way that I'm playing," she said. Another driving force behind Denver's impressive maiden campaign, according to the original report, has been the impact of Lindsey Heaps, whose influence has helped anchor the expansion side's rapid rise. The significance of it all stretches well beyond one club. As North America gears up to host the FIFA World Cup 2026, the appetite Sonis and her teammates have unlocked offers a glimpse of the soccer fever building across the continent. Packed stadiums that once seemed reserved exclusively for the men's game are becoming the norm in the women's league, and players like Sonis are thriving under the spotlight rather than shrinking from it. For a Canadian international eyeing the next chapter on the world stage, the timing could hardly be better. Confidence is soaring, goals are flowing freely, and the stands are full. As Sonis's clinical finishing and Denver's passionate supporters continue to make statements week after week, one conclusion is impossible to escape: the wait was worth it — but it never should have been necessary in the first place. This article is a rewrite based on reporting by Guardian Football (Moving the Goalposts). Readers can access the full edition via the Guardian's free women's football email newsletter, delivered every Tuesday and Thursday.