Denver Summit set for potentially record-breaking home debut

State of play: The Summit (1-1-1) will host the Washington Spirit (0-1-2) at Empower Field at Mile High for a game that's already sold 50,000 tickets.

• That's enough to eclipse the current National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) record of 40,091 set last year.

The latest: Denver will look to build on the team's first victory, a 2-0 win over the defending league champions, Gotham FC, on Wednesday in New Jersey.

Who to watch: The Summit boasts the league's co-leading scorer in German forward Melissa Kössler, who this week became just the second player in NWSL history to net three goals in her first three regular-season games.

• "Going back to Denver now, in front of … [thousands of] fans, which is crazy, it's really exciting, " Kössler said about their home debut.

Between the lines: The club will debut without its future talisman, Colorado native Lindsey Heaps, since she's slated to join in June.

• English forward Natasha Flint, plus two homegrown talents — defender and captain Janine Sonis, from Highlands Ranch, and forward Ally Brazier, from Colorado Springs — are Summit players to watch.

What they're saying: "We're an attacking team, and we'll go and attack everybody," Summit head coach Nick Cushing said Wednesday, describing his squad's playing style.

Zoom out: The team plays its next two home games at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, then moves to a stadium in Centennial in July.

• The Summit said on Thursday it had closed on its acquisition of Santa Fe Yards in Denver, where the club is building its permanent stadium

What's next: Saturday's game airs at noon on CBS.