A Fort Collins native who battled injuries early in her professional career before emerging as one of the NWSL's standout midfielders comes back to Colorado this weekend as a member of the league's top-ranked club. Jaelin Howell was taken second overall in the 2022 NWSL draft out of Florida State, but the years that followed were marked by injury and struggle — a stretch that did not reverse course until Gotham FC brought her aboard in late 2024.
"Gotham was the first place that felt like home," Howell said. "The coaches believed in me and did an incredible job taking me under their wing and making sure I had everything I needed. Ultimately, I could just play free and with joy again with world-class players and a very good coaching staff that knew how to get the best out of me."
Howell was raised in Fort Collins, where she attended Fossil Ridge High School and played club soccer for Real Colorado alongside Portland's Sophia Wilson. Numerous family members and friends plan to attend Sunday's match, some of whom have never previously watched her play in an NWSL game.
Gotham holds a 13-6-3 record and 45 points, placing the club firmly atop the league standings on the back of a 10-game unbeaten run, with its most recent defeat occurring July 4 against San Diego. Denver sits in 10th place at 7-6-8 with 27 points, pressing for a postseason berth.
The 2025 campaign has been Howell's finest as a professional, with four regular-season goals giving her five total goal contributions — more than she had accumulated across all prior seasons combined. She appeared in all but one of Gotham's matches, logging 2,246 minutes, which ranks second in club history. That performance earned her a recall to the U.S. Women's National Team, with whom she recorded six appearances and one goal. Howell considers herself the midfield "engine" who drives her team's intensity, and her tackle and interception totals — 73 and 38, respectively — rank among the league's best.
Howell's Gotham teammates include World Cup and Olympic champion Rose Lavelle as well as international forward Sam Kerr, who joined the club on a deal running through 2030. Gotham also recently secured Lavelle on a new contract through 2029; she was instrumental in the club's 2025 NWSL Championship run and took home MVP honors.
"The club sets the standard for others in the NWSL," Howell said. "Their ownership involvement and what they pour into the club and us is unbelievable. A huge reason for our success is everyone's willingness to invest in the club and in each other. The main reason why Gotham has been on top for the past three years is our consistency and leadership and experience."
Denver heads into the weekend with momentum of its own. The Summit has scored nine goals across its two most recent outings, including a 6-1 rout of last-place Chicago Stars followed by a 3-0 defeat of Gotham — the league's top team and defending champions. Meanwhile, the club has drawn widespread national attention after midfielder Emma Regan's viral "quadruple meg" video amassed 11.6 million views and 85,000 likes on X, drawing coverage from ESPN and The Athletic. Regan said the move was entirely spontaneous and not computer-generated.
Whether Gotham can regroup after Sunday's loss in Denver — and whether the Summit can sustain its playoff push into the following week's road trip to Angel City — will be worth watching in the days ahead.