Founded | November 16, 2017 | ||
---|---|---|---|
Stadium | America First Field, Sandy, Utah | ||
Capacity | 20,213 | ||
Owners | David Blitzer Ryan Smith Lindsey Vonn | ||
President | Michelle Hyncik | ||
Head coach | Amy Rodriguez | ||
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 to 2020.
In December 2020, the NWSL announced that the Royals would cease operations and their player-related assets transferred to the expansion Kansas City NWSL team, now known as the Kansas City Current. [1] Real Salt Lake owners David Blitzer and Ryan Smith reestablished the Royals in 2023, with play to resume in 2024. [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] 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. [15] Rio Tinto Stadium, now known as America First Field, was named as the team's playing ground. [16] By the end of December 2017 over 2,000 season tickets had been sold. [17] By early April 2018, the number of season tickets sold had increased to 5,000. [18]
In February 2018, the Royals announced a three-year multimillion-dollar deal with Conservice, a utility company based in Logan, Utah. [19] The company's logo is featured on the front of the team's jerseys. [20] 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. [21]
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. [22] The pitch features Kentucky Bluegrass [23] and is 120 × 75 yards. [24] The stadiums seats 20,213 for soccer matches. [24]
No. | Pos. | Player | Nation |
---|---|---|---|
1 | GK | Mandy Haught | United States |
4 | FW | Paige Monaghan (Captain) | United States |
5 | DF | Lauren Flynn | United States |
6 | MF | Agnes Nyberg | Sweden |
7 | FW | Michele Vasconcelos | United States |
8 | DF | Kate Del Fava | United States |
9 | FW | Ally Sentnor | United States |
11 | FW | Ifeoma Onumonu | Nigeria |
12 | DF | Zoe Burns | Canada |
13 | DF | Addisyn Merrick | United States |
15 | FW | Brecken Mozingo | United States |
16 | DF | Madison Pogarch | United States |
18 | DF | Kaleigh Riehl | United States |
19 | MF | Frankie Tagliaferri | United States |
20 | FW | Cameron Tucker | United States |
21 | MF | Mikayla Cluff | United States |
22 | MF | Dana Foederer | Netherlands |
24 | MF | Emily Gray | United States |
27 | GK | Carly Nelson | United States |
28 | DF | Imani Dorsey | United States |
32 | GK | Cristina Roque | Puerto Rico |
33 | FW | Hannah Betfort | United States |
— | MF | Macey Fraser | New Zealand |
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 | Katie Stengel | 6 | |
2019 | 24 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 25 | 25 | 34 | 6th | Did not qualify | Amy Rodriguez | 9 | |
2020 | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Tziarra King Amy Rodriguez [lower-alpha 1] | 2 | |||||||||
2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Name | Nation | Tenure | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Win% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laura Harvey | ENG | December 1, 2017 – January 6, 2020 | 47 | 18 | 12 | 17 | 45 | 47 | 38.30 |
Scott Parkinson (interim) | ENG | January 6, 2020 – February 7, 2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Craig Harrington | ENG | February 7, 2020 – September 20, 2020 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 20.00 |
Amy LePeilbet (interim) | USA | September 20, 2020 – December 7, 2020 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 0.00 |
Amy Rodriguez | USA | April 20, 2023 – present | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Player | Goals scored | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Nat. | Pos. | Royals career | NWSL | Playoffs | Cup | Other | Total |
Amy Rodriguez | USA | FW | 2018–2020 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
Christen Press | USA | FW | 2018–2020 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Katie Stengel | USA | FW | 2018–2019 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
Player | Appearances | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Nat. | Pos. | Royals career | NWSL | Playoffs | Cup | Other | Total |
Gunny Jónsdóttir | ISL | MF | 2018–2020 | 48 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 52 |
Amy Rodriguez | USA | FW | 2018–2020 | 43 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 51 |
Rachel Corsie | SCO | DF | 2018–2020 | 43 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 48 |
Katie Stengel | USA | FW | 2018–2019 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 |
Katie Bowen | NZL | DF | 2018–2020 | 38 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 47 |
Lo'eau LaBonta | USA | MF | 2018–2020 | 38 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 47 |
Desiree Scott | CAN | MF | 2018–2020 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 |
Becky Sauerbrunn | USA | DF | 2018–2019 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 |
Nicole Barnhart | USA | GK | 2018–2020 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 |
Becca Moros | USA | 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. [30] KALL ESPN 700 would carry the majority of Royals games on local radio – as it does for Real Salt Lake and Real Monarchs. [30] 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. [31]
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.
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The 2020 National Women's Soccer League season was the eighth season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer (2009–2011) and the Women's United Soccer Association (2001–2003), it was the 14th overall season of FIFA and USSF-sanctioned top division women's soccer in the United States.
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 business magnate and philanthropist best known for founding the Wasatch Group. Born in the State of Utah, many of Dell Loy’s charitable efforts and business endeavors have been centered on creating a better future for the state and surrounding communities. As the Founder and CEO of The Wasatch Group, Dell Loy’s work and investments have spanned from real estate development to medical device manufacturing and beyond.
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