Dreams really do come true.
And in the case of Santa Clara University women's soccer alumna Jordan Angeli, they come true again and again.
When the National Women's Soccer League announced in early 2024 that it would award its newest expansion team to Denver, the national headlines focused on the league's continued growth and the city's passionate soccer fanbase. But behind the scenes, the announcement marked something far more personal for Angeli.
It was the culmination of a dream she had been nurturing since her college days at Santa Clara — one that now brings professional women's soccer to her home state for the first time in more than a decade.
"I knew we're going to be standing on the field on the first game of Denver NWSL," Angeli says. "And I knew that was going to happen."
Angeli was a key member of the grassroots group "For Denver FC," which spent more than two years building local momentum, organizing community events, and engaging with potential investors. But her drive, her resilience, and vision that shaped her journey began on the Mission Campus.
FROM THE ROCKIES TO THE SOUTH BAY
Angeli grew up in Lakewood, Colo., a suburb only minutes from downtown Denver just west of the city. She blew the competition away as a prep, winning a national club title and being named Colorado's Gatorade State Player of the Year. But even with all that early success, she wasn't heavily recruited until the summer before her senior year of high school. But when she attended a Santa Clara soccer camp after a regional tournament in Pleasanton, Calif., something clicked.
"I just remember getting there for the first time and being like, ugh, I want to go to school here," she says. "I already knew that they were good at soccer, but then just being on the campus, I loved it."
Despite other full-ride offers, she chose Santa Clara — and it was a perfect marriage.
"I (picked Santa Clara) over full rides at other places," she said, "because I knew not only was I going to love where I went to school, I would become a better soccer player."
Her instincts were right. In her first year on campus in 2004, Angeli played a critical role in helping the Broncos reach the NCAA College Cup, taking on a unique defensive assignment.
"I just wanted to be out there," she said. "So, I started as an outside back and then ended up being what Jerry [Smith] turned into a 'man-marker,' and I would mark the best player on the other team."
That mentality defined her entire college career. Angeli played nearly every position on the field at different times—center back, center forward, holding midfielder—wherever the team needed her. She was named a captain for three seasons and eventually earned a full scholarship with the Broncos by her junior year.
PAINFUL GROWTH
But Angeli's time at Santa Clara wasn't just about soccer success. She also faced adversity.
Angeli suffered two ACL tears in back-to-back years—first during her junior year, then again her senior year. The injuries extended her college career to six years and tested her in ways she never expected.
"The first one was really hard. The second one was brutal," she says.
It was also a moment when the Santa Clara community wrapped itself around her.
"There wasn't a day that I wasn't without support from my Broncos," Angeli says. "Bonnie [Bowman] had torn her ACL three times… her family took me under their wing. And Tina Estrada helped me through all the questions I had."
She even did part of her rehab alongside former Bronco
Leslie Osborne, a U.S. Women's National Team veteran. That experience helped Angeli see her role in a new light.
"How can I be a leader, but now from the sideline… how can I still be impactful to my teammates?" she says. "I adopted this attitude of, the only thing that this can do to me is make me better in various ways."
Being injured – multiple times, not being able to play the game she loves, forced to watch from the sidelines. It taught Angeli more lessons than just how to heal her knee.
"I had to forgive myself," she said. "I had to forgive my body. I had to forgive others. It was such a blessing, even though it was very difficult in the time."
FROM PLAYER TO PIONEER
After graduating, Angeli went on to play professionally—first in the now-defunct Women's Professional Soccer league and later in the early years of the NWSL. Her rookie season in Boston earned her Best XI honors, but another ACL tear in her second season again sidelined her career.
"I was making $13,000 a year," she recalls. "At that time, playing in the league was really difficult."
Despite those challenges, she stuck with the sport — eventually transitioning into broadcasting, youth development, and mentoring injured athletes through her own business.
"I feel really proud that I was part of building the foundation of this league," she says. "We sacrificed so much to make sure that the league would stay around so one day players could be paid a good wage."
That long-term vision led her back to Colorado. In 2023, a Twitter message from fellow soccer advocate Tom Dunmore sparked a conversation — and ultimately, a collaboration. Angeli became one of four founding voices of "For Denver FC," organizing World Cup watch parties and engaging thousands of fans.
"I've always had this little hope inside of me," she said. "Little bits of the dream have found their way to my heart over the years."
That dream became reality at the end of January when Denver was officially announced as the NWSL's 16th franchise, set to begin play in 2026.
BRONCOS FROM COAST TO COAST
As news of the expansion spread, so did congratulations from fellow Broncos — old teammates, alums, coaches, and current players.
"My roommates at Santa Clara are still some of my best friends," she said. "Kendall Doherty was with me when I found out (about the new NWSL franchise in Denver). Danielle Slaton, I talked to her a number of times through the process… and congratulations from her and Aly [Wagner] and Brandi [Chastain] and Leslie [Osborne]."
Yes, Angeli adds her name to the list of Santa Clara women's soccer alumnae who've worked to create new NWSL teams, after Chastain, Osborne, Slaton and Wagner worked to create Bay FC in the South Bay.
Still today, Angeli finds herself surrounded by the SCU network — whether calling games as a broadcaster or meeting alumni in unexpected places.
"I call games with Broncos in them all the time," she said. "And I always get my little, 'Where'd she go to school?' And I'm like, 'That's a Bronco. And she's tough because she's a Bronco.'"
And there's still one thing she hasn't let go.
"I've got a beef with Jerry still to this day," she laughed. "He took everybody else to their home states and we never came to Colorado… and I was like, 'Well, I don't care. I want to go.'"
Now, thanks to her efforts, the next generation of Colorado players — and Santa Clara alums —will have a professional stage in Denver to call home.
"My aunts, my uncles, my cousins, my next-door neighbor, my friends from high school — they all supported me, but they never got to see me play in real life," she says. "I just imagine this stadium filled with those people every single week."
A FUTURE STILL UNWRITTEN
What comes next? Angeli isn't sure. But in her words, that's part of the point.
"I always have just believed I can do anything," she said. "Like, if I work hard for something, I'll find a way."
She achieved her dreams of being the best high school player in her state, winning a youth club national title, playing college soccer, playing in the College Cup, playing professionally, becoming a broadcaster, and now – the dream of bringing professional women's soccer to Denver has also been achieved.
"Playing professionally was such a pinnacle of my sports life, but what made it amazing was the journey that got me there. The things that I remember the most are like, 'Wow, you are resilient. You do persevere. When you get knocked down, you get back up again. When you make a mistake, you learn from it.'
"I don't know what's next," she said. "But… you better believe that when it comes up, I'm going to figure out a way to make it happen."
