2019 Utah Royals FC season

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.[1]

Utah Royals FC
2019 season
OwnerDell Loy Hansen
Head CoachLaura Harvey
StadiumRio Tinto Stadium
NWSL 5th
Top goalscorerAmy Rodriguez (9)
Highest home attendance18,015 vs Washington Spirit, April 20th, 2019
Lowest home attendance5,777 vs Sky Blue, June 15th, 2019
Average home league attendance10,774

In an effort to improve on the team's 5th place finish in 2018, the Royals signed former Spanish international and Spain's all-time leading scorer Vero Boquete for the 2019 season.[2]

Utah encountered numerous injury problems to start the season as both Brittany Ratcliffe and Taylor Lytle suffered season ending injuries before the season began.[3] Canadian international Diana Matheson suffered a toe injury with the Canadian National Team which would require surgery, this injury would also force her to miss the World Cup.[4] To help deal with these absences, Utah claimed Mallory Weber off waivers from the Portland Thorns FC.[5]

Six members of the Royals would miss games due to their participation at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. Becky Sauerbrunn, Kelley O'Hara and Christen Press for the United States, Desiree Scott for Canada, Katie Bowen for New Zealand and Rachel Corsie for Scotland.[6]

The Royals would lose another player at the end of June as defender Samantha Johnson announced her retirement from professional soccer.[7]

Defender Kelley O'Hara suffered an ankle injury during the first USWNT victory tour match on August 3, she would miss the remainer of Utah's season due to this injury.[8]

On August 14, Royals forward Christen Press was named NWSL Player of the Week for Week 17, this was the first time a player on the Utah Royals had received this award.[9] Press was also named Player of the Month for August, which was also a first for the club.[10]

The Royals were eliminated from playoff contention on September 28 after their fourth consecutive loss.[11]

Utah defender Becky Sauerbrunn was named 2019 NWSL Defender of the Year, this was her fourth time winning the award, as she had previously won it three times while playing for FC Kansas City.[12]

Competitions

Pre Season
March 20, 2019 Long Beach State 0–4 Utah Royals FC Long Beach, California
19:00
  • Jónsdóttir 71', 72', 75'
  • Strom-Okimito 86'
 Stadium: George Allen Field
March 23, 2019 USC Trojans v Utah Royals FC Long Beach, California
12:15 Report Stadium: George Allen Field

Overall Table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 North Carolina Courage (C) 24 15 4 5 54 23 +31 49 NWSL Shield
2 Chicago Red Stars 24 14 2 8 41 28 +13 44 NWSL Playoffs
3 Portland Thorns FC 24 11 7 6 40 31 +9 40
4 Reign FC 24 10 8 6 27 27 0 38
5 Washington Spirit 24 9 7 8 30 25 +5 34
6 Utah Royals FC 24 10 4 10 25 25 0 34
7 Houston Dash 24 7 5 12 21 36 −15 26
8 Sky Blue FC 24 5 5 14 20 34 −14 20
9 Orlando Pride 24 4 4 16 24 53 −29 16
Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(C) Champion

Results summary
OverallHomeAway
PldPtsWLTGFGAGDWLTGFGAGDWLTGFGAGD
24 34 10 10 4 25 25  0 7 4 1 15 12  +3 3 6 3 10 13  −3

Last updated: October 12, 2019
Source: NWSL Results
Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won; T = Matches tied; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference

Results by round
Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324
GroundHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAAAHAAHAH
ResultWWWLDWLWDLLDLLWWWDWLLLLW
Position[lower-alpha 1]421221322456776544444556
Source: NWSLsoccer.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
  1. UTA's position at the end of the matchweek not the match itself.
April
April 20, 2019 1 Utah Royals FC 1–0 Washington Spirit Sandy, Utah
7:00 pm MST Labonta 10' Report Matthews Yellow card 26' Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium
Attendance: 18,015
April 27, 2019 2 Orlando Pride 0–1 Utah Royals FC Orlando, Florida
7:00 pm MST
Report
Stadium: Orlando City Stadium
Attendance: 4,640
Referee: Jon Freemon
May
May 3, 2019 3 Utah Royals FC 1–0 Chicago Red Stars Sandy, Utah
7:00 pm MST
Report
Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium
Attendance: 16,556
May 11, 2019 4 Utah Royals FC 1–2 Houston Dash Sandy, Utah
7:00 pm MST Rodriguez 29'
S. Johnson Yellow card 44'
Corsie Yellow card 69'		 Report Daly 42' 50'
Hanson Yellow card 72'
Nairn Yellow card 83'		 Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium
Attendance: 10,138
May 19, 2019 5 North Carolina Courage 1–1 Utah Royals FC Cary, North Carolina
3:00 pm MST Eddy 78' Report Rodriguez 7'
Rodriguez Yellow card 40'		 Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 4,821
May 25, 2019 6 Utah Royals FC 2–0 Orlando Pride Sandy, Utah
6:00 pm MST Rodriguez 31' (pen)
Doniak 89'		 Box Weatherholt Yellow card 64'
Callahan Yellow card 68'		 Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium
Attendance: 7,345
Referee: Karen Abt
June
June 1, 2019 7 Washington Spirit 2–0 Utah Royals FC Boyds, Maryland
7:00 pm MST
Box Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex
Referee: 4,575
June 15, 2019 8 Utah Royals FC 1–0 Sky Blue FC Sandy, Utah
8:00 pm MST
Box
Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium
Attendance: 5,777
June 21, 2019 9 Portland Thorns FC 0–0 Utah Royals FC Portland, Oregon
8:00 pm MST
Box
Stadium: Providence Park
Attendance: 15,581
June 28, 2019 10 Utah Royals FC 0–2 Reign FC Sandy, Utah
8:00 pm MST Stengel Yellow card 84' Box
Report		 Fishlock 30'
Onumonu 35'
Groom Yellow card 49'		 Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium
Attendance: 6,910
July
July 12, 2019 11 Sky Blue FC 1–0 Utah Royals FC Piscataway, New Jersey
7:00 pm MST James Yellow card 42'
Flores Yellow card 77'
Pierre-Louis Yellow card 88'
Hoy 90+2'		 Report Stadium: Yurcak Field
Attendance: 1,842
July 19, 2019 12 Utah Royals FC 2–2 Portland Thorns FC Sandy, Utah
8:00 pm MST Press 43'
Corsie 90'		 Report Sinclair 9'
Foord Yellow card 83'
Sauerbrunn 87' (o.g)		 Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium
Attendance: 15,931
July 27, 2019 13 Utah Royals FC 1–2 North Carolina Courage Sandy, Utah
8:00 pm MST Press 13' Report Hamilton 34'
McDonald 54'		 Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium
Attendance: 10,545
August
August 3, 2019 14 Chicago Red Stars 2–0 Utah Royals FC Bridgeview, Illinois
7:00 pm MST Kerr 5'
Elby 85'		 Report Jónsdóttir Yellow card 74' Stadium: Toyota Park
Attendance: 4,335
August 7, 2019 15 Utah Royals FC 3–0 Sky Blue FC Sandy, Utah
8:00 pm MST Press 27', 29'
Rodriguez 28'		 Report Hoy Yellow card 60'
Wright Yellow card 60'		 Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium
Attendance: 7,715
August 11, 2019 16 Reign FC 1–3 Utah Royals FC Tacoma, Washington
7:00 pm MST Long Yellow card 14'
Groom 41'
Celia Yellow card 68'		 Report Stengel 3'
LaBonta 59'
Rodriguez 67'
Weber Yellow card 81'		 Stadium: Cheney Stadium
Attendance: 5,939
August 17, 2019 17 Orlando Pride 0–2 Utah Royals FC Orlando, Florida
7:00 pm MST Edmonds Yellow card 63' Report Press 60'
Rodriguez 77'		 Stadium: Orlando City Stadium
Attendance: 5,279
August 21, 2019 18 Washington Spirit 0–0 Utah Royals FC Boyds, Maryland
7:00 pm MST Kellond-Knight Yellow card 5' Report Press Yellow card 50' Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex
Attendance: 2,430
September
September 6, 2019 19 Utah Royals FC 1–0 Portland Thorns FC Sandy, Utah
7:30 pm MST Sauerbrunn 36'
Corsie Yellow card 65'
Rodriguez Yellow card 78'		 Report Sonnett Yellow card 61' Yellow-red card 77'
Horan Yellow card 80'		 Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium
Attendance: 10,897
September 13, 2019 20 Houston Dash 2–1 Utah Royals FC Houston, Texas
7:00 pm MST Huerta 27', 62'
Nairn Yellow card 87'		 Report Jónsdóttir 75' Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium
Attendance: 4,538
September 21, 2019 21 Utah Royals FC 0–3 North Carolina Courage Sandy, Utah
7:00 pm MST Report Mewis 30' (p)
O'Sullivan Yellow card 35'
Hinkle 65'
Debinha 70'		 Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium
Attendance: 9,946
September 25, 2019 22 Reign FC 2–1 Utah Royals FC Tacoma, Washington
7:00 pm MST Balcer 40'
McNabb Yellow card 77'
Taylor 86'		 Box
Report		 Stengel 67' Stadium: Cheney Stadium
Attendance: 5,015
Note: Game was rescheduled from September 18th due to unplayable field conditions
September 28, 2019 23 Chicago Red Stars 2–1 Utah Royals FC Bridgeview, Illinois
7:00 pm MST DiBernardo 40'
Short Yellow card 67'
Nagasato 85'		 Report Press 42' Stadium: Toyota Park
Attendance: 4,839
October
October 12, 2019 24 Utah Royals FC 2-1 Houston Dash Sandy, Utah
7:30 pm MST Press 3'
Rodriguez 23'
Weber Yellow card 70'		 Report Schmidt Yellow card 26'
Romero Yellow card 29'
Daly Yellow card 70'
Mewis 78'		 Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium
Attendance: 9,513

Stats
As of October 12, 2019

Honors and awards
As of October 24, 2019.

Best XI
Player Position Ref
United States Becky Sauerbrunn Defender [13]
United States Christen Press Forward [13]

Second XI
Player Position Ref
United States Kelley O'Hara Defender [13]

NWSL Player of the Month
Month Result Player Ref.
August Won United States Christen Press [10]

NWSL Team of the Month
Month Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards Ref
April United States Becky Sauerbrunn United States Christen Press [14]
May Scotland Rachel Corsie Spain Vero Boquete United States Amy Rodriguez [15]
June United States Amy Rodriguez [16]
August United States Lo'eau LaBonta United States Christen Press
United States Amy Rodriguez		 [17]

NWSL Player of the Week
Week Result Player Ref.
17 Won United States Christen Press [18]

NWSL Goal of the Week
Week Result Player Ref.
2 Nominated United States Lo'Eau LaBonta [19]
3 Nominated United States Christen Press [20]
4 Nominated United States Amy Rodriguez [21]
5 Nominated United States Amy Rodriguez [22]
6 Nominated United States Amy Rodriguez [23]
7 Nominated United States Makenzy Doniak [24]
9 Won United States Amy Rodriguez [25][26]
14 Won United States Christen Press [27]
15 Won United States Christen Press [28]
17 Won United States Amy Rodriguez [29]
18 Won United States Christen Press [30]
21 Won United States Becky Sauerbrunn [31]
25 Nominated United States Amy Rodriguez [30]

NWSL Save of the Week
Week Result Player Ref.
3 Nominated United States Nicole Barnhart [32]
4 Nominated United States Nicole Barnhart [33]
7 Nominated United States Nicole Barnhart [34]
10 Nominated United States Nicole Barnhart [35]
13 Nominated United States Nicole Barnhart [36]
16 Nominated United States Nicole Barnhart [37]
21 Won United States Nicole Barnhart [38]
24 Nominated United States Nicole Barnhart [39]

Club

Roster
  • Age calculated as of the start of the 2019 season.
As of August 5, 2019[2][40][41][42]
No. Name Nationality Positions Date of birth (age) Signed from Year with club (year signed)
1 Abby Smith  United States GK (1993-10-04)October 4, 1993 (aged 25) United States Boston Breakers 2 (2018)
2 Rachel Corsie  Scotland DF (1989-08-17)August 17, 1989 (aged 29) United States Seattle Reign 2 (2018)
3 Rebecca Moros  United States DF (1985-05-06)May 6, 1985 (aged 33) United States FC Kansas City 2 (2018)
4 Becky Sauerbrunn  United States DF (1985-06-06)June 6, 1985 (aged 33) United States FC Kansas City 2 (2018)
5 Kelley O'Hara  United States DF (1988-08-04)August 4, 1988 (aged 30) United States Sky Blue FC 2 (2018)
6 Katie Bowen  New Zealand DF (1994-04-15)April 15, 1994 (aged 24) United States FC Kansas City 2 (2018)
7 Mandy Laddish  United States MF (1992-05-13)May 13, 1992 (aged 26) United States FC Kansas City 2 (2018)
8 Amy Rodriguez  United States FW (1987-02-17)February 17, 1987 (aged 32) United States FC Kansas City 2 (2018)
9 Lo'eau LaBonta  United States MF (1993-03-18)March 18, 1993 (aged 26) United States FC Kansas City 2 (2018)
10 Diana Matheson  Canada MF (1984-04-06)April 6, 1984 (aged 35) United States Seattle Reign FC 2 (2018)
11 Desiree Scott  Canada MF (1987-07-31)July 31, 1987 (aged 31) United States FC Kansas City 2 (2018)
12 Taylor Lytle  United States MF (1989-03-31)March 31, 1989 (aged 30) United States Sky Blue FC 2 (2018)
13 Makenzy Doniak  United States FW (1994-02-25)February 25, 1994 (aged 25) United States North Carolina Courage 2 (2018)
14 Gaby Vincent  United States DF (1997-12-07)December 7, 1997 (aged 21) United States University of Louisville 1 (2019)
15 Erika Tymrak  United States MF (1991-08-07)August 7, 1991 (aged 27) United States FC Kansas City 2 (2018)
17 Sydney Miramontez  United States DF (1994-10-11)October 11, 1994 (aged 24) United States FC Kansas City 2 (2018)
18 Nicole Barnhart  United States GK (1981-10-10)October 10, 1981 (aged 37) United States FC Kansas City 2 (2018)
19 Michelle Maemone  United States DF (1997-03-18)March 18, 1997 (aged 22) United States Pepperdine University 1 (2019)
20 Mallory Weber  United States FW (1994-04-04)April 4, 1994 (aged 25) United States Portland Thorns FC 1 (2019)
21 Verónica Boquete  Spain FW (1987-04-09)April 9, 1987 (aged 32) China Beijing BG Phoenix 1 (2019)
22 Madeline Nolf  United States DF (1996-03-29)March 29, 1996 (aged 23) United States Penn State University 1 (2019)
23 Christen Press  United States FW (1988-12-29)December 29, 1988 (aged 30) Sweden Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC 2 (2018)
24 Katie Stengel  United States FW (1992-02-29)February 29, 1992 (aged 27) United States Boston Breakers 2 (2018)
25 Brittany Ratcliffe  United States FW (1994-02-07)February 7, 1994 (aged 25) United States FC Kansas City 2 (2018)
42 Raisa Strom-Okimoto  United States FW United States University of Hawaii 1 (2019)
66 Gunnhildur Jónsdóttir  Iceland MF (1988-09-28)September 28, 1988 (aged 30) Norway Vålerenga 2 (2018)
Melissa Lowder  United States GK United States Santa Clara University 1 (2019)

Player Transactions
As of August 3, 2019[2]

Transfers In
Player Position Previous Club Fees/Notes Date
Spain Verónica Boquete MF China Beijing BG Phoenix Signed [2] 01/04/19
United States Gaby Vincent DF University of Louisville Signed [43] 04/17/19
United States Mallory Weber FW Portland Thorns FC Acquired off the NWSL Waiver Wire [5] 05/13/19
United States Raisa Strom-Okimoto DF University of Hawaii Signed [44] 07/26/19
United States Melissa Lowder GK Santa Clara University Signed [44] 07/26/19

Transfers Out
Player Position Next Club Fees/Notes Date
United States Alex Arlitt DF unattached option declined 10/01/18
Australia Katrina Gorry MF Australia Brisbane Roar[45] option declined 10/01/18
Norway Elise Thorsnes FW Norway LSK Kvinner[46] option declined 10/01/18
United States Samantha Johnson DF retired[7] 06/28/19

2019 NWSL College Draft
Source: National Women's Soccer League[47]
Round Pick Nat. Player Pos. Previous Team
Round 323United StatesMichelle MaemoneDPepperdine
Round 326United StatesMadeline NolfDPenn State
Round 432PeruAlexandra KimballMNorth Carolina

References
  1. "Here's everything you need to know about the Utah Royals' women's soccer league, the NWSL". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2018-01-21.
  2. "Utah Royals FC Signs MF Vero Boquete". rsl.com. January 4, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  3. "Brittany Ratcliffe tears acl". April 16, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  4. "Canada's Matheson, McLeod ruled out of Women's World Cup with injury". May 16, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  5. "Utah Royals FC Acquire Mallory Weber off NWSL Waiver Wire". rsl.com. May 13, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  6. "Utah Royals in France: A World Cup 2019 Preview". June 6, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  7. "Utah Royals lose 2-0 to the visiting Seattle Reign as Samantha Johnson retires from professional soccer". June 28, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  8. "Kelley O'Hara #5". Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  9. "Utah Royals FC Forward Christen Press Selected as NWSL Player of the Week". August 14, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  10. "August Player of the Month: Christen Press". September 4, 2019. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  11. Vejar, Alex (28 September 2019). "Utah Royals FC eliminated from playoffs with 2-1 loss to Chicago". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  12. "Utah Royals FC defender Becky Sauerbrunn named 2019 NWSL Defender of the Year". Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  13. "2019 NWSL Best XI and Second XI announced". October 24, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  14. Balf, Celia (May 3, 2019). "March Team of the Month". NWSLsoccer. NWSL. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  15. "May Team of the Month". NWSLsoccer. NWSL. May 31, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
  16. "June Team of the Month". NWSLsoccer. NWSL. July 8, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  17. "August Team of the Month". NWSLsoccer. NWSL. September 5, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  18. "Week 17 Player of the Week: Christen Press". August 14, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  19. "Week 2 Goal of the Week Nominees". National Women's Soccer League. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  20. "Week 3 Goal of the Week nominees". April 29, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  21. "Week 4 Goal of the Week nominees". May 6, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  22. "Vote: Goal of the Week Nominees". National Women's Soccer League. 13 May 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  23. "Vote: Goal of the Week Nominees". National Women's Soccer League twitter. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  24. "Week 7 Goal of the Week Nominees". National Women's Soccer League youtube. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  25. "Week 9 Goal of the Week nominees". 17 June 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  26. "Week 9 Goal of the Week". 18 June 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  27. "Fans selected forward Christen Press for Goal of the Week Friday against Portland Thorns FC". 23 July 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  28. "Christen Press, Utah Royals FC Week 15 Goal of the Week". 30 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  29. "Utah Royals FC forward Amy Rodriquez's tally against Sky Blue FC has been voted the Week 17 NWSL Goal of the Week". August 13, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  30. "Christen Press, Utah Royals FC Week 18 #NWSL Goal of the Week". August 20, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  31. "Becky Sauerbrunn, Utah Royals FC Week 21 #NWSL Goal of the Week". September 10, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  32. "Week 3 Save of the Week nominees". April 29, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  33. "Week 4 Save of the Week nominees". May 5, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  34. "Week 7 Save of the Week Nominees". National Women's Soccer League youtube. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  35. "Week 10 Save of the Week nominees". NWSL twitter. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  36. "Week 13 Save of the Week nominees". NWSL twitter. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  37. "Week 16 Save of the Week nominees #NWSL 2019". YouTube. NWSL. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  38. "Nichole Barnhart, Utah Royals FC Week 21 #NWSL Save of the Week". September 10, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  39. "Week 24 Save of the Week Nominees #NWSL 2019". YouTube. NWSL. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  40. "Three Utah Royals FC Players Change Numbers for 2019 Season". March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  41. "URFC Signs Michelle Maemone, Madeline Nolf and Gaby Vincent to Supplemental Roster". April 17, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  42. "Utah Royals FC Promotes Three Players". July 24, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  43. "URFC Signs Michelle Maemone, Madeline Nolf and Gaby Vincent to Supplemental Roster". rsl.com. April 17, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  44. "Such a pro already': Utah Royals FC rookie Gaby Vincent signs full contract with team". July 26, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  45. "Westfield Matildas star commits to Brisbane Roar". October 2, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  46. "Elise Thorsnes avslører hvorfor hun valgte LSK Kvinner". Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  47. "List: Every pick of the 2019 NWSL College Draft". National Women's Soccer League. January 10, 2019. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
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