A Colorado soccer icon’s legacy will carry on to the next generation. The Denver Post is proud to announce the creation of the April Heinrichs Award, which will be presented annually to the top high school senior girls soccer player, scholar and citizen in Colorado. The inaugural honor will be awa rded this June, following the conclusion of the high school soccer season in late May. Like the newspaper’s Gold Helmet Award in football and Roy Halladay Award in baseball, the April Heinrichs Award will factor in achievements and impact outside the field of play. In addition to skills on the pitch, candidates for the award will also be evaluated by their GPA and their community service. “It’s great for girls soccer to be on par with the boys sports (The Denver Post) is recognizing at the highest level,” said longtime Broomfield soccer coach Jim Davidson. “And while it’s great from a gender standpoint, it’s also awesome that we’re recognizing a player from a state that has had great success on the girls side of the game at the college, national, international and professional level.” An explosion of soccer talent While Heinrichs set the bar for Colorado high school girls soccer players — the 1982 Heritage High School graduate was the captain of the U.S. Women’s National Team that won the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991 — many other notable players have followed in her footsteps. As of late, the state has produced USWNT players such as captain Lindsey Heaps (née Horan), Mallory Swanson (née Pugh), Sophia Wilson (née Smith), Jaelin Howell and Ryan Williams. Plus, the state has churned out other stars such as Canadian national team pillar Janine Sonis (née Beckie) and three-time National Women’s Soccer League champion Jaelene Daniels (née Hinkle). That Colorado talent pipeline of world-class players is why, when The Denver Post evaluated which girls sport to honor with an annual award, girls soccer was the clear decision. “The state’s talent has really exploded in the last 15 years,” said Davidson, who coached the Broomfield girls for 25 years, with 385 wins, two state titles and six state runner-ups. “When we saw Lindsey Horan and Mallory Pugh rise to stardom, Colorado girls soccer was really making breakthroughs at the youth national team level and the national team level. “We’ve since maintained that, and it’s incredible to see these Colorado women on television, representing our country, playing in the NWSL, playing major Division I and having such great success.” The April Heinrichs Award is backed by a nonprofit, the Colorado High School Girls Soccer Player Award Corporation. The award is made possible by donations, including a sizable donation from Arvada resident Adam Stevinson. Additionally, new NWSL franchise Denver Summit FC has committed to an annual donation to support the award. The winner of the award will be profiled in The Denver Post, receive a trophy and have a celebratory banquet in her honor. Plus, Summit FC will recognize the player during a Denver home game this summer. Heinrichs gave her blessing for the award to take her name. The first female player inducted into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame embodies the talent and lasting impact of a local player that the award seeks to honor. After starring at Heritage, where Heinrichs led the Eagles to two state titles in 1979 and ’81 and was an All-American, she was a three-time first-team All-American at North Carolina, where the Tar Heels made four Division I championship games and won three of them. After playing for the USWNT and professionally in Italy, she was the head coach at Maryland and Virginia. She was an assistant coach on the 1996 Olympic gold medal team in Atlanta, and was the head coach for the USWNT that claimed silver at the 2000 Sydney Games and gold at the 2004 Athens Games. After that, she oversaw the USWNT’s youth program. “As a new women’s professional soccer franchise launches in Colorado, it feels fitting to launch an award that recognizes one of the state’s best female prep players and carries on the legacy of a trailblazer in the sport,” Denver Post sports editor Nate Peterson said. “Colorado has such a rich history of great players, coaches and teams in the women’s game, and April Heinrichs embodies that tradition. We couldn’t be more proud to partner with her to give out this award each year to a deserving player.” Denver Post sportswriter Kyle Newman is the chairman of the award’s nonprofit, and he is joined on the board by Stevinson and Davidson as well as other longtime Colorado girls high school soccer coaches in Theresa Echtermeyer, Dan Watkins and Kia Gudewicz. A 17-person selection committee to decide the winner will consist of community members with an extensive range of girls soccer insight and influence, as well as Heinrichs herself and Denver Post staffers. Theresa Echtermeyer, longtime Mountain Vista coach Reagan Kotschau, CU player/All-American at Broomfield Dave Cope, retired Battle Mountain coach Nikki Marshall, ex-Mead/CU star and retired pro April Heinrichs, former USWNT player/coach Gary Gustafson, Heinrichs’ coach at Heritage Kia Gudewicz, longtime Heritage coach Jim Davidson, retired Broomfield coach Dan Watkins, longtime Jeffco girls coach Adam Stevinson, award’s first donor Lori Punko, Denver Post deputy sports editor Matt Schubert, The Athletic digital managing editor Kyle Newman, Denver Post sportswriter Jen Millet, Denver Summit FC president Nate Peterson, Denver Post sports editor Patrick Saunders, Denver Post sportswriter Joe Nguyen, Denver Post sports digital strategist Nominations for the award are now open and will be accepted through May 24, following the CHSAA state championships earlier that week. Ideally, players with a strong case for the award would be nominated by their head coach or athletic director. The Post encourages any individuals or businesses who want to get involved in sponsoring the award with tax-deductible donations to reach out to board chairman Newman at [email protected]. 2026 April Heinrichs Award nomination form Nominations are open from March 1 through May 24 for the honor recognizing the state’s top senior girls soccer player. Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams. ...read more read less