![]() | |||
Founded | November 16, 2017 | ||
---|---|---|---|
Stadium | America First Field (Sandy, Utah) | ||
Capacity | 20,213 | ||
Owners | |||
President | John Kimball (interim) | ||
Head coach | Jimmy Coenraets (interim) | ||
League | National Women's Soccer League | ||
2020 | Regular season: Canceled Playoffs: Canceled Challenge Cup: Quarter-finals Fall Series: 9th of 9 | ||
Website | Club website | ||
The Utah Royals (formerly Utah Royals FC) are an American women's professional soccer club based in Salt Lake City. Established on November 16, 2017, as an expansion club, the Royals played its first stint in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) from 2018 until ceasing operations in 2020, with their player-related assets transferred to the expansion Kansas City Current. [1] In 2023, Real Salt Lake owners Ryan Smith and David Blitzer reestablished the team. [2] [3]
On November 16, 2017, Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer announced that it had acquired a franchise in the National Women's Soccer League. [4] On November 20, 2017, the league announced that FC Kansas City of the National Women's Soccer League would fold their club, and the team's player contracts, draft picks, and other rights would be transferred to the new Salt Lake City club. [5] As of August 2017 [update] , Utah's six NCAA Division I women's soccer teams outnumbered the men's, [6] [7] a seventh women's soccer school moved from Division II to Division I in 2020, [8] and the state has the highest rate of girls' high school soccer players recruited by Division I colleges. [9] Attendance at Division I women's soccer games in Utah is among the highest in the NCAA. [9] The decision to bring a NWSL team to Utah was based on the established interest in men's soccer in the state as well as Dell Loy Hansen's gut feeling and longtime interest in a team. [9]
The new Salt Lake City team announced its hiring of former Seattle Reign FC coach Laura Harvey as its inaugural head coach on November 27, 2017. [10]
Gunnhildur Yrsa Jónsdóttir scored the first goal in franchise history on March 24, 2018 in the third minute of the club's inaugural match against Orlando Pride in Orlando. [11] 18,500 tickets were sold ahead of their first home match (with only club seats and standing-only tickets remaining). [12] Official attendance the day of the match, in which they played the Chicago Red Stars, was reported as 19,023. [13]
The team was officially launched on December 1, 2017 with the announcements of its name, branding, season tickets, and social media. [14] [15] The badge features a gold Lioness head and “Claret Red”, “Cobalt Blue” and “Victory Gold” colors. Two stylized balls surround the name “UTAH ROYALS FC” in the lower half of the badge which represent the team's connection to the organization's MLS and United Soccer League teams. [16] Rio Tinto Stadium, now known as America First Field, was named as the team's playing ground. [17] By the end of December 2017 over 2,000 season tickets had been sold. [18] By early April 2018, the number of season tickets sold had increased to 5,000. [19]
In February 2018, the Royals announced a three-year multimillion-dollar deal with Conservice, a utility company based in Logan, Utah. [20] The company's logo is featured on the front of the team's jerseys. [21] Utah announced a multi-year partnership deal with Young Living Essential Oils on April 2, 2019. The Young Living partnership will include an original video series called ‘Rise up to Royalty’ which profiles URFC players personal lives. This 12-episode series, will run throughout the course of the 2019 season. [22]
Utah Royals FC play at America First Field (known before September 2022 as Rio Tinto Stadium), located 15 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City in Sandy, Utah, as the men's team, Real Salt Lake, does. [14] America First Field is a soccer-specific stadium which opened on October 9, 2008. [23] The pitch features Kentucky Bluegrass [24] and is 120 × 75 yards. [25] The stadiums seats 20,213 for soccer matches. [25]
No. | Pos. | Player | Nation |
---|---|---|---|
1 | GK | Mandy Haught | ![]() |
3 | DF | Olivia Griffitts | ![]() |
4 | FW | Paige Monaghan (Captain) | ![]() |
5 | DF | Lauren Flynn | ![]() |
6 | MF | Agnes Nyberg | ![]() |
7 | FW | Michele Vasconcelos | ![]() |
8 | DF | Kate Del Fava | ![]() |
9 | FW | Ally Sentnor | ![]() |
10 | MF | Amandine Henry | ![]() |
11 | FW | Ifeoma Onumonu | ![]() |
12 | DF | Zoe Burns | ![]() |
13 | DF | Addisyn Merrick | ![]() |
14 | MF | Macey Fraser | ![]() |
15 | FW | Brecken Mozingo | ![]() |
16 | DF | Madison Pogarch | ![]() |
17 | DF | Ana Tejada | ![]() |
18 | DF | Kaleigh Riehl | ![]() |
19 | MF | Frankie Tagliaferri | ![]() |
20 | FW | Cameron Tucker | ![]() |
21 | MF | Mikayla Cluff | ![]() |
22 | MF | Dana Foederer | ![]() |
24 | MF | Emily Gray | ![]() |
27 | GK | Carly Nelson | ![]() |
28 | DF | Imani Dorsey | ![]() |
32 | GK | Cristina Roque | ![]() |
33 | FW | Hannah Betfort | ![]() |
Season | NWSL | Playoffs | Top scorer | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts. | Pos. | Player | Goals | |||
2018 | 24 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 22 | 23 | 35 | 5th | Did not qualify | ![]() | 6 | |
2019 | 24 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 25 | 25 | 34 | 6th | Did not qualify | ![]() | 9 | |
2020 | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ![]() ![]() | 2 | |||||||||
2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Name | Nation | Tenure | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Win% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laura Harvey | ![]() | December 1, 2017 – January 6, 2020 | 47 | 18 | 12 | 17 | 45 | 47 | 38.30 |
Scott Parkinson (interim) | ![]() | January 6, 2020 – February 7, 2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Craig Harrington | ![]() | February 7, 2020 – September 20, 2020 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 20.00 |
Amy LePeilbet (interim) | ![]() | September 20, 2020 – December 7, 2020 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 0.00 |
Amy Rodriguez | ![]() | April 20, 2023 – June 30, 2024 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 7 | 27 | 13.33 |
Jimmy Coenraets | ![]() | June 30, 2024 – present | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Player | Goals scored | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Nat. | Pos. | Royals career | NWSL | Playoffs | Cup | Other | Total |
Amy Rodriguez | ![]() | FW | 2018–2020 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
Christen Press | ![]() | FW | 2018–2020 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Katie Stengel | ![]() | FW | 2018–2019 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
Player | Appearances | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Nat. | Pos. | Royals career | NWSL | Playoffs | Cup | Other | Total |
Gunny Jónsdóttir | ![]() | MF | 2018–2020 | 48 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 52 |
Amy Rodriguez | ![]() | FW | 2018–2020 | 43 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 51 |
Rachel Corsie | ![]() | DF | 2018–2020 | 43 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 48 |
Katie Stengel | ![]() | FW | 2018–2019 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 |
Katie Bowen | ![]() | DF | 2018–2020 | 38 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 47 |
Lo'eau LaBonta | ![]() | MF | 2018–2020 | 38 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 47 |
Desiree Scott | ![]() | MF | 2018–2020 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 |
Becky Sauerbrunn | ![]() | DF | 2018–2019 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 |
Nicole Barnhart | ![]() | GK | 2018–2020 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 |
Becca Moros | ![]() | DF | 2018–2019 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
The Utah Royals announced that all matches in 2018, except for their six NWSL Game of the Week appearances on Lifetime, would be broadcast locally on KMYU My Utah TV and streamed on the KSL app, as an extension of the broadcast rights agreements with Sinclair Broadcast Group and KSL with Real Salt Lake. [33] KALL ESPN 700 would carry the majority of Royals games on local radio – as it does for Real Salt Lake and Real Monarchs. [33] On August 17, 2018, KSL announced that Utah Royals games would no longer be broadcast on television or radio, but they would continue to be streamed on the KSL website and app. [34]
Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. Founded in 2004, the club began play in 2005 as an expansion team of the league.
America First Field is an American soccer-specific stadium in Sandy, Utah, that serves as home stadium for Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake and National Women's Soccer League club Utah Royals. The stadium opened on October 9, 2008, and seats 20,213 for soccer, but can be expanded to over 25,000 for concerts.
Real Salt Lake Women was an American women's soccer team that was founded in 2008. The team was a founding member of United Women's Soccer league, in the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada. The team played in the Women's Premier Soccer League from 2008-2015.
This article presents a detailed, year-by-year history of Real Salt Lake (2004–present). For other information about the professional soccer club based in Utah, please see the main article.
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. Headquartered in New York City, it is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federation.
The expansion of the National Women's Soccer League began with the league's sophomore season in 2014, when the league expanded to a ninth team in Houston, and is an ongoing process that currently has seen five expansions, three direct or indirect relocations, and one contraction. The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) was established as the top level of professional women's soccer in the United States in 2013 in the wake of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association and Women's Professional Soccer.
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Gunnhildur Yrsa Jónsdóttir is an Icelandic professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Stjarnan of the Besta deild kvenna. She was a member of the Iceland national team from 2011 to 2023.
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The 2019 Utah Royals FC season marks the team's second year of existence and its second season in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top division of the American soccer pyramid.
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Kathryn Jean Del Fava is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Utah Royals in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
Dell Loy Hansen is an American businessman and sports team owner. He is the founder and CEO of Wasatch Group, a real estate investment firm, and was the owner of Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer.
S. Ryan Smith is an American billionaire businessman and chairman of Smith Entertainment Group. He is the executive chairman and co-founder of Qualtrics, an experience management company based in Provo, Utah. Smith is also owner of the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Utah Hockey Club of the National Hockey League (NHL) in Salt Lake City, and co-owner of Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer (MLS) with sports investor David Blitzer.
The 2021 Real Salt Lake season was the team's 17th year of existence, and their 17th consecutive season in Major League Soccer, the top division of the American soccer pyramid. RSL entered the 2021 season looking to rebound from a tumultuous 2020 season, having finished near the bottom of the table and endured the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic continued to have a significant impact on MLS in 2021, causing the season's start to be delayed to mid-April instead of the traditional first weekend in March, a reworked schedule that focused heavily on intra-conference play to reduce travel, and stadiums at reduced capacity. The state of Utah allowed RSL to open the season with Rio Tinto Stadium at 50% capacity. The 2021 Major League Soccer season began on April 16, 2021, though RSL did not begin their season until the following week, April 24, having had a bye in the opening weekend due to the odd number of teams in MLS in 2021.
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Cameron Tucker is an American soccer forward for Utah Royals in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She is a native of Highland, Utah.