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Utah Royals

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Utah Royals
FoundedNovember 16, 2017; 7 years ago (2017-11-16)
StadiumAmerica First Field
Sandy, Utah
Capacity20,213
Owners
PresidentJohn Kimball (interim)
Head coachJimmy Coenraets
LeagueNational Women's Soccer League
2024Regular season: 11th of 14
Playoffs: DNQ
Websitehttps://www.rsl.com/utahroyalsfc
Current season

The Utah Royals (formerly Utah Royals FC) are an American professional women's soccer team based in Salt Lake City, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established on November 16, 2017, as an expansion team, the Royals played their first stint in the 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]

History

Establishment

See also: National Women's Soccer League

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, 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]

Inaugural season

Main article: 2018 Utah Royals FC season

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]

Dissolution

Main article: 2020 Utah Royals FC season
See also: 2020 National Women's Soccer League season

In August 2020, Dell Loy Hansen announced plans to sell Utah Soccer LLC—the parent company of the Royals, Real Salt Lake, and Real Monarchs—following reports and allegations of racist and sexist behavior by staff across the properties.[14][15] Utah Royals FC were officially dissolved on December 7, 2020. The club's parent company, Utah Soccer LLC, sold the team's NWSL player contracts and franchise rights to Chris and Angie Long and Brittany Mahomes, who founded a new team provisionally named Kansas City NWSL and later renamed Kansas City Current.[16]

The sale of the Royals included a provision that any entity that purchased Real Salt Lake would be granted the option to launch an expansion team using the Utah Royals FC identity no sooner than the 2023 National Women's Soccer League season.[16]

Return

Main article: 2024 Utah Royals season

On March 11, 2023, Ryan Smith and David Blitzer—whose groups had jointly purchased ownership of Real Salt Lake—announced that they would exercise their option to launch an NWSL team alongside investment from a group known as 42 Futbol Group composed of Jessica Gelman, Daryl Morey, and Amy Reinhard. The new expansion team would begin play in the 2024 National Women's Soccer League season, joining alongside fellow expansion team Bay FC in San Jose, California.[15] The agreement reportedly allowed the Royals to enter the league at a considerably lower expansion fee of $2–$5 million, compared to around $50 million for Bay FC.[15][17]

The new ownership group named Michelle Hyncik as club president.[15] Hyncik hired former Utah Royals FC and United States women's national soccer team forward Amy Rodriguez, then serving as an assistant coach for the USC Trojans women's soccer team, as the team's inaugural head coach. Hyncik and Rodriguez had been teammates in high school.[18]

Colors and badge

Historical badges
2018–20 (primary)

The team was officially launched on December 1, 2017 with the announcements of its name, branding, season tickets, and social media.[19][20] 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.[21] Rio Tinto Stadium, now known as America First Field, was named as the team's playing ground.[22] By the end of December 2017 over 2,000 season tickets had been sold.[23] By early April 2018, the number of season tickets sold had increased to 5,000.[24]

Sponsorship

In February 2018, the Royals announced a three-year multimillion-dollar deal with Conservice, a utility company based in Logan, Utah.[25] The company's logo is featured on the front of the team's jerseys.[26] 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.[27]

Stadium

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.[19] America First Field is a soccer-specific stadium which opened on October 9, 2008.[28] The pitch features Kentucky Bluegrass[29] and is 120 × 75 yards.[30] The stadiums seats 20,213 for soccer matches.[30]

Players and staff

See also: List of Utah Royals FC players

Current squad

As of December 20, 2024[31]
No. Pos. Player Nation
1 GK Mandy Haught  United States
3 DF Olivia Griffitts  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
14 MF Macey Fraser  New Zealand
15 FW Brecken Mozingo  United States
16 DF Madison Pogarch  United States
17 DF Ana Tejada  Spain
18 DF Kaleigh Riehl  United States
21 MF Mikayla Cluff  United States
22 MF Dana Foederer  Netherlands
24 FW Cloé Lacasse  Canada
26 MF Claudia Zornoza  Spain
28 DF Imani Dorsey  United States
29 FW Mina Tanaka  Japan
32 GK Cristina Roque  Puerto Rico
33 FW Hannah Betfort  United States
— FW KK Ream  United States
— MF Alex Loera  United States

Out on loan

No. Pos. Player Nation
24 MF Emily Gray (at Odense Boldklub Q until December 31, 2024 [32])  United States

Technical staff

As of October 24, 2024[33][34][35]

Records

Season-by-season

As of November 05, 2024
Season NWSL Playoffs Top scorer
P W D L GF GA GD Pts. Pos. Player Goals
2018 24 9 8 7 22 23 -1 35 5th Did not qualify United States Katie Stengel 6
2019 24 10 4 10 25 25 0 34 6th Did not qualify United States Amy Rodriguez 9
2020
Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
 United States Tziarra King
United States Amy Rodriguez[a] 		2
2024 26 7 4 15 22 40 -18 25 11th Did not qualify United States Cloé Lacasse 4
  1. ^ Statistics from the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup and the 2020 NWSL Fall Series.

Head coaches' records

As of October 24, 2024
Name Nation Tenure P W D L GF GA Win%
Laura Harvey England ENG December 1, 2017 – January 6, 2020 47 18 12 17 45 47 038.30
Scott Parkinson (interim) England ENG January 6, 2020 – February 7, 2020 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Craig Harrington England ENG February 7, 2020 – September 20, 2020 5 1 2 2 4 5 020.00
Amy LePeilbet (interim) United States USA September 20, 2020 – December 7, 2020 4 0 2 2 3 8 000.00
Amy Rodriguez United States USA April 20, 2023 – June 30, 2024 15 2 2 11 7 27 013.33
Jimmy Coenraets (interim) Belgium BEL June 30, 2024 – October 24, 2024 13 7 2 4 23 13 053.85
Jimmy Coenraets Belgium BEL October 24, 2024 – present 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—

Team records

As of November 05, 2024.[39]
Top goalscorers
Player Goals scored
Name Nat. Pos. Royals career NWSL Playoffs Cup Other Total
Amy Rodriguez United States USA FW 2018–2020 14 0 1 1 16
Christen Press United States USA FW 2018–2020 10 0 0 0 10
Katie Stengel United States USA FW 2018–2019 8 0 0 0 8
Cloé Lacasse United States USA LW 2024- 4 0 0 0 4
Most appearances
Player Appearances
Name Nat. Pos. Royals career NWSL Playoffs Cup Other Total
Gunny Jónsdóttir Iceland ISL MF 2018–2020 48 0 4 0 52
Amy Rodriguez United States USA FW 2018–2020 43 0 4 4 51
Rachel Corsie Scotland SCO DF 2018–2020 43 0 5 0 48
Katie Stengel United States USA FW 2018–2019 47 0 0 0 47
Katie Bowen New Zealand NZL DF 2018–2020 38 0 5 4 47
Lo'eau LaBonta United States USA MF 2018–2020 38 0 5 4 47
Desiree Scott Canada CAN MF 2018–2020 38 0 0 0 38
Becky Sauerbrunn United States USA DF 2018–2019 34 0 0 0 34
Nicole Barnhart United States USA GK 2018–2020 32 0 1 0 33
Becca Moros United States USA DF 2018–2019 30 0 0 0 30

Broadcasting

See also: National Women's Soccer League § Broadcasting

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.[40] KALL ESPN 700 would carry the majority of Royals games on local radio – as it does for Real Salt Lake and Real Monarchs.[40] 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.[41]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Kansas City Returns to the NWSL as Expansion Team in 2021". NWSL. December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  2. ^ "Utah Soccer LLC Transfers Ownership of Utah Royals FC to Group in Kansas City, Kansas". Real Salt Lake. December 6, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  3. ^ Linehan, Meg. "Returning to NWSL, Utah Royals bring same name but plenty of changes".
  4. ^ Torres, Maria (November 16, 2017). "Announcement of new team in Salt Lake means women's pro soccer is likely done in KC". Kansas City Star. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  5. ^ Torres, Maria (November 20, 2017). "FC Kansas City women's soccer team folds, NWSL sends players to Salt Lake City". Kansas City Star. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  6. ^ "Utah's only Division 1 men's soccer program taking shape at UVU | KSL.com". Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  7. ^ Coon, John (July 12, 2008). "De-flated: With soccer popular among boys, why only one NCAA-sanctioned men's team in Utah?". DeseretNews.com. Archived from the original on March 11, 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  8. ^ "Dixie State University to Join WAC in 2020-21" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. January 11, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2023. NB: Dixie State University changed its name to Utah Tech University in 2022.
  9. ^ a b c "Can the new women's pro soccer team generate a following in Utah?". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  10. ^ Lee, Maddie (November 27, 2017). "Real Salt Lake hires Laura Harvey to coach new women's soccer team". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  11. ^ "The Iceland international who scored the first goal in Utah Royals history is making an immediate impact in the NWSL". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  12. ^ "Utah Royals sell out Rio Tinto Stadium for their inaugural home game against the Chicago Red Stars on Saturday". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  13. ^ Ltd, Simplestream. "Utah Royals FC vs. Chicago Red Stars". www.nwslsoccer.com. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  14. ^ "Dell Loy Hansen to begin process of selling Real Salt Lake, Utah Royals FC". ksl.com. KSL-TV. August 30, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  15. ^ a b c d Hansmann, Adam; Linnehan, Meg (March 11, 2023). "Utah Royals returning to NWSL in 2024; RSL owners Ryan Smith, David Blitzer among investors". The Athletic. The New York Times. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Walker, Sean (December 7, 2020). "Utah Royals FC sold to Kansas City owners, may return in 2023". ksl.com. KSL-TV. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  17. ^ Toonkel, Jessica; Bachman, Rachel (January 27, 2023). "NWSL Set to Expand With Record-Setting $50 Million Franchise Fees". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  18. ^ Carlisle, Jeff (April 19, 2023). "NWSL expansion team Utah Royals appoint ex-USWNT star Amy Rodriguez as coach". ESPN. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  19. ^ a b "Utah Royals FC unveils name, identity for 2018 NWSL season". RSL.com. MLS Digital. December 1, 2017. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  20. ^ "UTAH ROYALS FC NAME, LOGO, SEASON TICKET INFORMATION REVEALED". NWSLSoccer.com (Press release). December 1, 2017. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  21. ^ "Newest NWSL club Utah Royals FC unveils crest, social media presence – Equalizer Soccer". Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  22. ^ "Utah Royals: Logo, season ticket prices announced". RSL Soapbox. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  23. ^ "Utah Royals are off to a fast start at the box office". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  24. ^ McDonald, Ryan (April 11, 2018). "A look at the fans who will be backing Utah Royals FC as its home debut draws near". DeseretNews.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  25. ^ "Utah Royals land Conservice as jersey sponsor". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  26. ^ "Utah Royals ink jersey deal with Utah company Conservice; release secondary kit". RSL Soapbox. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  27. ^ "URFC Announces Multi-Year Deal With Young Living Essential Oils". April 2, 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  28. ^ "RSL confirms Oct. 9 stadium opening". The Salt Lake Tribune. August 5, 2008. Archived from the original on September 30, 2008. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  29. ^ "Real Salt Lake: Long-awaited field renovation underway at Rio Tinto Stadium". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  30. ^ a b "Rio Tinto Stadium | Sandy, UT 84070 | Salt Lake City Sports". Visit Salt Lake. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  31. ^ "Utah Royals Roster". Utah Royals. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  32. ^ rsl. "Utah Royals FC Loans Emily Gray To Odense Boldklub Q For Remainder Of 2024 Season | Utah Royals". rsl. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  33. ^ "URFC Unveils 2024 Coaching Staff". Real Salt Lake. March 13, 2024.
  34. ^ "Jimmy Coenraets And Sam Lismont Join Utah Royals FC Coaching Staff". Real Salt Lake. June 10, 2024.
  35. ^ rsl. "Utah Royals FC Announce Reorganization | Utah Royals". rsl. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  36. ^ "Utah Royals name Kelly Cousins, former Reading Women's manager, as first sporting director". The Athletic. July 18, 2023. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  37. ^ "Utah Royals make interim head coach Jimmy Coenraets permanent". ksl.com. KSL-TV. October 24, 2024. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  38. ^ rsl. "Utah Royals Announce James White as Goalkeeper Coach | Utah Royals". rsl. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  39. ^ "Utah Royals Stats, All Competitions".
  40. ^ a b "Utah Royals FC Unveils Inaugural Season Broadcast Options". March 22, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  41. ^ "Broadcast changes coming for Utah Royals FC's final 3 matches". August 17, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
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