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Jeff Kassouf
Multiple Authors
NWSL expansion side Denver Summit FC has acquired forward Yazmeen Ryan and midfielder Delanie Sheehan from the Houston Dash in a major trade one week into the 2026 NWSL season.
Houston received $800,000 in intra-league transfer funds and $200,000 in expansion allocation money from Denver in return. There is also a conditional $100,000 in add-ons, plus a future sell-on fee.
As part of the deal, Houston also sent $150,000 in regular allocation money to Denver for a net gain of $850,000 guaranteed for the two players. The exchange of different types of allocation money gives Houston until the end of 2027 to use the expansion allocation money. General allocation money is being phased out by the NWSL and must be used by the end of 2026.
Ryan and Sheehan each arrived in Houston from Gotham FC ahead of the 2025 NWSL season and were expected to be anchors of the Dash’s long-term rebuilding process.
“We did not anticipate this move at the start of the year, but it creates an opportunity for us to invest in players and resources that support our long-term vision and our ambition for the season ahead,” Houston Dash president of women’s soccer Angela Hucles Mangano said in a statement.
The NWSL’s primary transfer window closed on Monday, but intra-league trades can take place at any time up until the Oct. 8 roster freeze.
Ryan joined the Dash in a transfer that sent a then-league record $400,000 in allocation money to Gotham, in addition to an international roster spot (Gotham sent back $80,000 in intra-league transfer funds).
That transfer was announced in December 2024, a few weeks after Sheehan signed with Houston as a free agent. Both players were part of Gotham’s 2023 NWSL Championship-winning team.
Ryan started 24 games for the Dash last season, registering four goals and three assists. Her form over the past two years earned her semi-regular call-ups to the United States women’s national team. She has 16 caps and two goals.
Ryan is a versatile forward who also won the NWSL Championship with the Portland Thorns in 2022.
Sheehan is a box-to-box midfielder who started 25 games for the Dash last season, scoring once and adding two assists.
Houston opened the 2026 NWSL season on Saturday with a 1-0 victory over the San Diego Wave. Sheehan was an unused substitute, and Ryan came off the bench in the second half.
Asked by ESPN why Ryan came off the bench, Dash head coach Fabrice Gautrat said after the match: “It’s still preseason. We’re looking — there’s always conversations of rotations.
“There’s also, as you know, ending the game. If you look at last year, nine of our 27 goals were scored off substitute positions, so there’s a game-changing aspect of it as well. But there’s also competition in the group.
“And so, I think that’s also a testament to our roster as a whole. But I think, overall, she came in and had an impact and did really well for us.”
Denver lost 2-1 to Bay FC on Saturday in the Summit’s first game in franchise history.
The Summit signed several NWSL veterans, highlighted by the expected arrival of USWNT captain and 2018 NWSL MVP Lindsey Heaps this summer.
