2024 Utah Royals season

Last updated

Utah Royals
2024 season
URFC WordmarkLong Cobalt.svg
Owners
Sporting Director Kelly Cousins
Head coach Jimmy Coenraets (interim since June 30; permanent since October 24)
Amy Rodriguez (until June 30)
Stadium America First Field
NWSL TBD
NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup Group stage
Top goalscorerLeague: Cloé Lacasse (4)
All: Ally Sentnor (5)
Highest home attendance20,370
(Mar 16 vs CHI)
Lowest home attendance7,491
(May 25 vs KC)
Average home league attendance10,304
←  2020
2025 →
All statistics correct as of November 2, 2024.

The 2024 Utah Royals season marks the team's fourth season of existence in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top division of the American soccer pyramid. This season marks the team's first since 2020, after which the original club relocated to become the Kansas City Current. [1] The club plays its home games at America First Field in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy. The club's head coach is Jimmy Coenraets, who served as interim head coach following the firing of former Royal and national team player Amy Rodriguez [2] [3] and was named the permanent head coach on october 24. [4]

Contents

Staffing changes

On April 19, 2023, the Royals hired former Royals player and USC Trojans women's soccer assistant coach Amy Rodriguez as the club's head coach. The role was Rodriguez's first as a head coach. [5] [6] Club president Michelle Hyncik was a high-school teammate of Rodriguez's and offered the role to Rodriguez. [7]

On July 18, 2023, the Royals hired former Reading F.C. Women manager Kelly Cousins as the club's first sporting director. [8] [9]

On March 13, 2024, the Royals announced the hiring of Reno MVLA Soccer Club coaching director Vanessa Mann and D.C. United assistant coach Frédéric Brillant as the club's assistant coaches, and UConn Huskies women's soccer assistant coach Maryse Bard-Martel as goalkeeping coach. [10]

On May 20, Brillant was announced as the head coach for DC Power FC of the newly formed USL Super League. [11] [12]

On June 7, the Royals hired Oud-Heverlee Leuven manager Jimmy Coenraets as an assistant coach and Sam Lismont as a performance analyst. [13] [3]

After 11 league matches and a 1–9–1 record putting the team in last place, the Royals organization fired Rodriguez and Bard-Martel on June 30. The Royals also reassigned team president Michelle Hyncik, who had hired Rodriguez, to a position with the Blitzer Family Office and appointed Coenraets as the team's interim head coach. [3]

On October 9, the Royals hired former Bristol City Women goalkeeping coach James White as the team's goalkeeping coach. White had previously worked for Cousins at Reading Women. [14]

On October 24, the Royals named Coenraets the club's permanent head coach and announced that he had signed a contract to remain with the club through the 2027 season. [4]

Club

Roster

As of October 21, 2024 [15] [16]
No.Pos.PlayerNation
1 GK Mandy Haught Flag of the United States.svg  United States
2 DF Julia Grosso Flag of the United States.svg  United States
3 DF Olivia Griffitts Flag of the United States.svg  United States
4 FW Paige Monaghan Flag of the United States.svg  United States
5 FW Lauren Flynn Flag of the United States.svg  United States
6 MF Agnes Nyberg Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden
7 FW Michele Vasconcelos Flag of the United States.svg  United States
8 DF Kate Del Fava Flag of the United States.svg  United States
9 FW Ally Sentnor Flag of the United States.svg  United States
12 DF Zoe Burns Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
14 MF Macey Fraser Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
15 FW Brecken Mozingo Flag of the United States.svg  United States
16 DF Madison Pogarch Flag of the United States.svg  United States
17 DF Ana Tejada Flag of Spain.svg  Spain
18 DF Kaleigh Riehl Flag of the United States.svg  United States
20 FW Cameron Tucker Flag of the United States.svg  United States
21 MF Mikayla Cluff Flag of the United States.svg  United States
22 MF Dana Foederer Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
23 DF Darielle O'Brien Flag of the United States.svg  United States
24 FW Cloé Lacasse Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
26 MF Claudia Zornoza Flag of Spain.svg  Spain
27 GK Carly Nelson Flag of the United States.svg  United States
28 DF Imani Dorsey Flag of the United States.svg  United States
29 MF Mina Tanaka Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
32 GK Cristina Roque Flag of Puerto Rico.svg  Puerto Rico
33 FW Hannah Betfort Flag of the United States.svg  United States

On loan

No.Pos.PlayerNation
24 MF Emily Gray (at Odense Boldklub Q until December 31, 2024 [17] )Flag of the United States.svg  United States

Competitions

NWSL regular season

The Royals were eliminated from playoff contention after Bay FC defeated the North Carolina Courage on October 19. [18]

Matches

March 161 Utah Royals 0–2 Chicago Red Stars Sandy, Utah
5:30 pm MT
 Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 20,370
Referee: Gaad Flores
March 222 Utah Royals 2–1 North Carolina Courage Sandy, Utah
7:30 pm MT
 Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 8,161
Referee: Elijio Arreguin
March 313 Washington Spirit 2–1 Utah Royals Washington, D.C.
11 pm MT
 Report
Stadium: Audi Field
Attendance: 8,182
Referee: Nabil Bensalah
April 124 Utah Royals 0–1 Orlando Pride Sandy, Utah
7:30 pm MT
 Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 8,578
Referee: Thomas Snyder
April 205 Racing Louisville FC 5–1 Utah Royals Louisville, Kentucky
3 pm MT
 Report
Stadium: Lynn Family Stadium
Attendance: 11,365
Referee: Joshua Encarnación
April 276 Utah Royals 0–0 Houston Dash Sandy, Utah
5:30 pm MT
 Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 10,349
Referee: Shawn Tehini
May 37 Utah Royals 1–2 Angel City FC Sandy, Utah
7:30 pm MT
 Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 10,731
Referee: Ricardo Fierro
May 88 San Diego Wave FC 2–0 Utah Royals San Diego, California
8:00 pm MT
 Report
Stadium: Snapdragon Stadium
Attendance: 10,289
Referee: Katja Koroleva
May 129 Chicago Red Stars 3–1 Utah Royals Bridgeview, Illinois
3:30 pm MT
 Report
Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
Attendance: 3,104
Referee: Alyssa Nichols
May 1710 North Carolina Courage 1–0 Utah Royals Cary, North Carolina
6:00 pm MT
 Report
Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 4,528
Referee: Alex Billeter
May 2511 Utah Royals 0–1 Kansas City Current Sandy, Utah
8:00 pm MT
 Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 7,491
Referee: Danielle Chesky
June 812 Utah Royals 1–0 Washington Spirit Sandy, Utah
5:30 pm MT
 Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 8,486
Referee: Laura Rodriguez
June 1613 Bay FC 0–1 Utah Royals San Jose, California
8:00 pm MT
 Report
Stadium: PayPal Park
Attendance: 10,367
Referee: Anya Voigt
June 2114 Orlando Pride 6–0 Utah Royals Orlando, Florida
6:00 pm MT
 Report
Stadium: Inter&Co Stadium
Attendance: 9,656
Referee: Alyssa Nichols
June 2915 Utah Royals 0–0 Portland Thorns FC Sandy, Utah
8:00 pm MT
 Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 8,677
Referee: Sergil Demlanchuk
July 716 Seattle Reign FC 1–1 Utah Royals Seattle, Washington
4:00 pm MT
 Report
Stadium: Lumen Field
Attendance: 6,276
Referee: Matthew Thompson
August 2317 Utah Royals 2-1 Bay FC Sandy, Utah
7:30 pm MT
 Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 14,539
Referee: Jaclyn Metz
August 3118 Houston Dash 1–3 Utah Royals Houston, Texas
7:30 pm MT
 Report
Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium
Attendance: 5,171
Referee: Gerald Flores
September 719 Kansas City Current 1–0 Utah Royals FC Kansas City, Missouri
3:30 p.m. MT
 Report Stadium: CPKC Stadium
Attendance: 11,500
Referee: Calin Radosav
September 1420 Utah Royals 1–2 San Diego Wave FC Sandy, Utah
8:00 pm MT
 Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 9,494
Referee: Laura Rodriguez
September 2221 NJ/NY Gotham FC 1–0 Utah Royals Harrison, New Jersey
11:00 am MT
 Report
Stadium: Red Bull Arena
Attendance: 7,680
Referee: Eric Tattersall
September 2822 Utah Royals 1–0 Racing Louisville FC Sandy, Utah
5:00 pm MT
 Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 9,002
Referee: Alexandra Billeter
October 523 Portland Thorns FC 1–2 Utah Royals Portland, Oregon
5:00 pm MT Moultrie Soccerball shade.svg53' (pen.) Report
Stadium: Providence Park
Attendance: 17,451
Referee: Rebecca Pagan
October 1324 Utah Royals 3–0 Seattle Reign FC Sandy, Utah
3:00 pm MT
 Report
Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 8,192
Referee: Elvis Osmanovic
October 2025 Angel City FC 1–1 Utah Royals Los Angeles, California
5:30 pm MT
 Report
Stadium: BMO Stadium
Attendance: 20,039
Referee: Sergii Demianchuk
November 126 Utah Royals 1–4 NJ/NY Gotham FC Sandy, Utah
7:30 pm MT
 Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 9,879
Referee: Adorae Monroy

Standings

PosTeam
PldWDLGFGAGDPts
9 Racing Louisville FC 2677123339−628
10 San Diego Wave FC 2667132435−1125
11 Utah Royals 2674152240−1825
12 Angel City FC 2676132942−1324 [lower-alpha 1]
13 Seattle Reign FC 2665152744−1723
Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ↑ Angel City FC were deducted three points for breaching spending cap rules. [19]

NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup

The Utah Royals competed in the first edition of the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup. Group stage play began on July 19. The Royals finished at the top of Group A, but were the fifth-ranked group winner of the five groups and failed to advance to the tournament's knockout rounds.

PosTeam
PldWPWPLLGFGAGDPts UTA POR SEA TIJ
1 Flag of the United States.svg Utah Royals 3200194+56— 3–1 1–2 5–1
2 Flag of the United States.svg Portland Thorns FC 3200173+46 1–3 — 1–0 5–0
3 Flag of the United States.svg Seattle Reign FC 3100245−13 2–1 0–1 — 2–3
4 Flag of Mexico.svg Tijuana 31002412−83 1–5 0–5 3–2 —
Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: tiebreakers

Matches

July 31GS Utah Royals Flag of the United States.svg 5–1 Flag of Mexico.svg Tijuana Sandy, Utah
8:00 pm MT
 Report
Stadium: America First Field

Statistics

Squad appearances

As of November 2, 2024 [20]
No.Pos.Nat.PlayerTotalNWSL Regular SeasonSummer Cup
AppsStartsAppsStartsAppsStarts
Goalkeepers
1GK Flag of the United States.svg Mandy Haught 2525242411
27GK Flag of the United States.svg Carly Nelson 111100
32GK Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Cristina Roque 331122
Defenders
3DF Flag of the United States.svg Olivia Griffitts 1514131321
5DF Flag of the United States.svg Lauren Flynn 1210121000
8DF Flag of the United States.svg Kate Del Fava 2929262633
12DF Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Zoe Burns 2416211432
16DF Flag of the United States.svg Madison Pogarch 2824252133
17DF Flag of Spain.svg Ana Tejada 1818151533
18DF Flag of the United States.svg Kaleigh Riehl 1717141433
23DF Flag of the United States.svg Darielle O'Brien100010
28DF Flag of the United States.svg Imani Dorsey 222200
Midfielders
6MF Flag of Sweden.svg Agnes Nyberg 12811810
14MF Flag of New Zealand.svg Macey Fraser 424200
21MF Flag of the United States.svg Mikayla Cluff 11511500
22MF Flag of the Netherlands.svg Dana Foederer 2621231733
26MF Flag of Spain.svg Claudia Zornoza 1010101000
Forwards
4FW Flag of the United States.svg Paige Monaghan 2523222033
7FW Flag of the United States.svg Michele Vasconcelos 17215220
9FW Flag of the United States.svg Ally Sentnor 2323212122
15FW Flag of the United States.svg Brecken Mozingo 2113181033
20FW Flag of the United States.svg Cameron Tucker 19418311
24FW Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Cloé Lacasse 989800
29FW Flag of Japan.svg Mina Tanaka 777700
33FW Flag of the United States.svg Hannah Betfort 2721241833
Other players (Departed during season, short-term loan, etc.)
2MF Flag of the United States.svg Ellie Boren200020
10MF Flag of France.svg Amandine Henry 10910900
11FW Flag of Nigeria.svg Ifeoma Onumonu 303000
13DF Flag of the United States.svg Addisyn Merrick 714130
19MF Flag of the United States.svg Frankie Tagliaferri 646400
24MF Flag of the United States.svg Emily Gray 020200
35FW Flag of the United States.svg Shaelan Grace Murison Brown614120

Goals

As of November 2, 2024 [20]
RankPlayerTotalNWSL Regular SeasonSummer Cup
1 Flag of the United States.svg Ally Sentnor 532
2 Flag of the United States.svg Hannah Betfort 422
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Cloé Lacasse 440
4 Flag of the United States.svg Paige Monaghan 321
5 Flag of the United States.svg Kate Del Fava 220
Flag of the United States.svg Brecken Mozingo 202
Flag of Spain.svg Ana Tejada 220
Flag of the United States.svg Cameron Tucker 211
Flag of the United States.svg Michele Vasconcelos 211
Flag of Spain.svg Claudia Zornoza 220
11 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Dana Foederer 110
Flag of the United States.svg Olivia Griffitts 110
Flag of Japan.svg Mina Tanaka 110

Assists

As of November 2, 2024 [20]
RankPlayerTotalNWSL Regular SeasonSummer Cup
1 Flag of the United States.svg Ally Sentnor 541
2 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Dana Foederer 422
3 Flag of the United States.svg Paige Monaghan 312
Flag of Spain.svg Claudia Zornoza 330
5 Flag of Spain.svg Ana Tejada 211
6Shaelan Grace Murison Brown101
Flag of the United States.svg Kaleigh Riehl 110
Flag of the United States.svg Michele Vasconcelos 110

Clean sheets

As of November 2, 2024 [20]
RankPlayerTotalNWSL Regular SeasonSummer Cup
1 Flag of the United States.svg Mandy Haught 440
2 Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Cristina Roque 110

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References

  1. ↑ "NWSL Awards Expansion Team Rights to Utah". RSL.com. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  2. ↑ "U.S. Women's National Team Legend Amy Rodriguez Named Utah Royals FC Head Coach". RSL.com. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 Kassouf, Jeff (June 30, 2024). "Last-place Utah Royals fire head coach Amy Rodriguez". ESPN . Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Linehan, Meg (October 24, 2024). "Utah Royals hire Jimmy Coenraets as head coach through 2027". The Athletic . The New York Times . Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Utah Royals hire former USWNT player Amy Rodriguez as manager" . The Athletic . The New York Times. April 19, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  6. ↑ Walker, Sean (April 20, 2023). "Why Amy Rodriguez's career is coming 'full circle' with Utah Royals FC, and the high school teammate who brought her back". Salt City FC. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  7. ↑ Turner, Caleb (April 20, 2023). "How 2 high school teammates reunited as leaders of Utah Royals". KSL.com. KSL-TV . Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Utah Royals FC Name Kelly Cousins (Chambers) As First-Ever Sporting Director" (Press release). Utah Royals. July 18, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Utah Royals name Kelly Cousins, former Reading Women's manager, as first sporting director" . The Athletic . The New York Times. July 18, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  10. ↑ "URFC Unveils 2024 Coaching Staff" (Press release). Utah Royals. March 13, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  11. ↑ Goff, Steven (May 20, 2024). "Washington's new women's soccer team gets a name, logo and coach" . Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  12. ↑ "DC's new women's pro-soccer team unveils name, identity ahead of USL Super League launch". WJLA.com. WJLA-TV. May 20, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Jimmy Coenraets And Sam Lismont Join Utah Royals FC Coaching Staff" (Press release). Utah Royals. June 7, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Utah Royals Announce James White as Goalkeeper Coach" (Press release). Utah Royals. October 9, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Roster". rsl.com. Utah Royals. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  16. ↑ 2024 Utah Royals Media Guide (Report). Utah Royals. January 22, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  17. ↑ rsl. "Utah Royals FC Loans Emily Gray To Odense Boldklub Q For Remainder Of 2024 Season | Utah Royals". rsl. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  18. ↑ Turner, Caleb (October 20, 2024). "Utah Royals lose Lacasse, settle for 1-1 draw in final road game". ksl.com. KSL-TV . Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Angel City docked 3 points, fined for salary cap violation". October 3, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  20. 1 2 3 4 "Player Stats". National Women's Soccer League. Retrieved November 3, 2024.