Meet the 2026 NWSL expansion teams: Boston Legacy & Denver Summit
Full Time: A show about women's soccer
The Athletic
4.8 • 807 Ratings
🗓️ 11 March 2026
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The first-ever 16-team NWSL season is almost here. But who are these new 2026 expansion teams, Boston Legacy and Denver Summit?
On this special expansion-focused episode of Full Time, host Jillian Sakovits takes you inside the Legacy and the Summit, and their journeys to joining the NWSL. Hear one-on-one interviews with Legacy head coach Filipa Patão and Summit head coach Nick Cushing, breaking down their soccer philosophies, career paths and connections to their new homes.
After that, Jillian is joined by The Athletic’s Melanie Anzidei to analyze both teams on-pitch and off-pitch team builds, the players to watch, and what success looks like for both teams.
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HOST: Jillian Sakovits, Melanie Anzidei
GUESTS: Nick Cushing, Filipa Patão, Melanie Anzidei
PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes
VIDEO PRODUCER: Lia Griffin
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Emily Olsen
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Referenced on the show:
Meet NWSL expansion team Denver Summit: Hometown talent, attendance records and a blank canvas
Meet NWSL expansion team Boston Legacy: Reintroduction, European influence and a desire to win
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Does success look the same for Denver and Boston at the end of this NWSL season? |
| 0:08.3 | If you ask both teams, both coaches, players, ownership, everyone's going to want to say we want to make it to the playoffs, we want to win the championship. |
| 0:15.2 | That would be the pinnacle of a successful season. |
| 0:18.0 | I think the success for them will ultimately be the people that come to the |
| 0:21.7 | games, the fans, the community that's created in year one. |
| 0:33.1 | Hello, everybody. I'm Jillian Sackavits. A very warm welcome to full-time. We are just days away from a 16-team league in full swing opening weekend kicking off this Friday in the NWSL on Saturday. The Denver Summit will visit Bay FC and the Boston Legacy host Gotham FC at Jolet Stadium. On today's show, we are going to give you everything you need to know. |
| 0:56.8 | You will be primed and ready when you watch these two new squads enter the league. |
| 1:02.0 | On today's show, we're going to be featuring one-on-one interviews with both head coaches. |
| 1:06.6 | We have Denver Summits, Nick Cushing and Philippa Patow. |
| 1:10.1 | And to recap, Melanie Ann's Day and I will break down the key differences on each squad |
| 1:14.8 | and what success looks like for them both in 2026. |
| 1:19.4 | And we'll start off today's show with my interview with Boston Legacy head coach, Felipe |
| 1:24.1 | Patow. |
| 1:26.7 | I am delighted now to welcome onto the full-time podcast, making her official debut here, |
| 1:33.1 | the head coach of the Boston Legacy, Philippa Patau. |
| 1:36.3 | Hello, Philippa. |
| 1:38.1 | Hi. |
| 1:38.9 | How are you? |
| 1:40.2 | Very good. |
| 1:41.1 | So excited to officially meet you. |
| 1:44.1 | While the team hasn't played yet, it kind of feels like you've, you've been around for a while. I was looking back at the Boston Legacy's announcement about you and when you'd be coming. You came to Boston this summer, correct? |
| 1:58.9 | Yes. In July, August, between the two months, we came early |
... |
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