Lindsey Heaps is headed back to Colorado and back to the NWSL this summer, with Denver Summit FC set to add the U.S. captain after she finishes the rest of her contract with OL Lyonnes. The 31-year-old midfielder is in camp with Emma Hayes’ U.S. women’s national team in Colorado this week, as the Americans prepare for their third and final April friendly against Japan on Friday.
Hayes called the move “a win for the NWSL” and said Heaps will bring the kind of professionalism that comes from years as a top-level player. She added that Heaps is “so ultra competitive” and will want to drive the team as a leader, saying the return home will lift both the league and the sport in the country.
For Denver, the arrival comes during a difficult start to life in its debut season. The club is 1-3-1, and Heaps’ name gives the expansion side an immediate centerpiece as it tries to build a fan base and compete in a crowded league. Hayes said the U.S. staff has already held 360 meetings with Heaps to map out how to prepare for the transition and what support she needs before the move.
The timing also places the transfer in the middle of a compressed international window. The U.S. beat Japan 2-1 in San Jose on Saturday, with Heaps and Rose Lavelle scoring, then lost 1-0 in Seattle on Tuesday when Maika Hamano’s first-half goal decided the match. Heaps came on as a substitute in the 71st minute at Lumen Field, a reminder that even as the next club chapter approaches, she is still part of Hayes’ plans.
Heaps’ return carries the weight of a career that has stretched from turning pro in 2012 to starring for the Portland Thorns from 2016 to 2021. She has won the Première Ligue four times, lifted the UEFA Champions League once and the Coupe de France Féminine once, while also collecting an NWSL championship, two NWSL Shields, the 2018 NWSL MVP award, the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup title and Olympic gold. Denver is getting more than a marquee signing. It is getting a decorated veteran who now has to turn a homecoming into a lift for a young club, and maybe for the league around it.
