USWNT captain Lindsey Heaps will join NWSL expansion team Denver Summit
Heaps will depart France's OL Lyonnes at the start of the summer to join the new team in her hometown. It's another chapter in the story of U.S. stars crossing the Atlantic in both directions.
U.S. women’s soccer team captain Lindsey Heaps will join NWSL expansion team Denver Summit in June, ending a four-year tenure at France’s OL Lyonnes to move to her hometown’s new club.
The move had been speculated about on both sides of the Atlantic for some time, but was not finalized until now. Heaps will depart OL at the end of the ongoing European season, in which she will almost certainly win a fourth French league title and could add a second Champions League crown.
She grew up in Golden, Colo., and opened a pipeline of American pros who have come from the region. Mallory Swanson and Sophia Wilson are the biggest names, and many more have had solid careers in the NWSL.
“This club represents something special, not just for the league, but for this community and for the next generation of players growing up here,” Heaps said in a statement. “I’m fully committed to finishing the season strong with Lyon, and I can’t wait to begin this next chapter in Denver this summer.”
She previously played in the NWSL from 2016 to 2021 with the Portland Thorns, after starting her career with Paris Saint-Germain in 2012 — famously becoming the first major American women’s soccer prospect to spurn college as a teen.
Heaps won the 2017 NWSL championship and two regular-season titles with the Thorns, and with the U.S. won the 2019 World Cup and 2024 Olympics. Her 170 U.S. caps rank 19th all-time, tied with Carla Overbeck.
Now 31 years old, Heaps returns to the U.S. circuit as a seasoned veteran, and with a husband in San Diego FC sporting director Tyler Heaps, whom she married in 2024.
The timing of the announcement will be noted by fans who have a close eye on the battle between the NWSL and European clubs for U.S. stars. Sam Coffey still seems to be on the cusp of moving to Manchester City, and the Penn State product was at the team’s home game Sunday.
» READ MORE: Lindsey Heaps is a natural in the Champions League. But will other USWNT stars fit well in Europe?
Trinity Rodman’s future, meanwhile, remains undecided. The NWSL’s “High Impact Player” provision designed to keep her in the league remains contentious, and the NWSL Players Association wants to take the league to arbitration over it. Heaps qualifies for the status, but Denver’s announcement did not say if she has been given it.