A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
 | |||
| 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 resuming in 2024.[2][3]
History
Establishment
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]
Inaugural 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]
Colors and badge
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]
Sponsorship
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]
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.[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]
Players and staff
Current squad
- As of 24 April 2024[26]
| 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
|
| 10 | MF | Amandine Henry |  France
|
Technical staff
- As of 14 March 2024[27]
- Sporting director:
Kelly Cousins[28] - Head coach:
Amy Rodriguez[29] - Assistant coach:
Vanessa Mann - Assistant coach:
Frédéric Brillant - Goalkeeping coach:
Maryse Bard-Martel
Records
Season-by-season
- As of 23 October 2023
| 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[a]
|
2 | |||||||||
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
- ^ Statistics from the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup and the 2020 NWSL Fall Series.
Head coaches' records
| 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 | — |
Team records
- As of 17 October 2020.[30]
| 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 |
