2019 Utah Royals FC season

Utah Royals FC
2019 season
Owner	Dell Loy Hansen
Head Coach	Laura Harvey
Stadium	Rio Tinto Stadium
NWSL	5th
Top goalscorer	Amy Rodriguez (9)
Highest home attendance	18,015 vs Washington Spirit, April 20th, 2019
Lowest home attendance	5,777 vs Sky Blue, June 15th, 2019
Average home league attendance	10,774
Home colors	Away colors
	← 2018 2020 →

OwnerDell Loy Hansen

Head CoachLaura Harvey

StadiumRio Tinto Stadium

NWSL 5th

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]

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]

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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

Pos	Team v t e	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

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	Pts	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD
24	34	10	10	4	25	25	0	7	4	1	15	12	+3	3	6	3	10	13	−3

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Ground	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H
Result	W	W	W	L	D	W	L	W	D	L	L	D	L	L	W	W	W	D	W	L	L	L	L	W
Position^[a]	4	2	1	2	2	1	3	2	2	4	5	6	7	7	6	5	4	4	4	4	4	5	5	6

2019 Utah Royals FC season

Pre Season

NWSL Regular Season

Overall Table

Results summary

Results by round

Match results

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

Stats

Honors and awards

NWSL awards

Best XI

Second XI

NWSL Monthly Awards

NWSL Player of the Month

NWSL Team of the Month

NWSL Weekly Awards

NWSL Player of the Week

NWSL Goal of the Week

NWSL Save of the Week

Club

Roster

Player Transactions

Transfers In

Transfers Out

2019 NWSL College Draft

References

Related Articles

April 20, 2019 1	Utah Royals FC	1–0	Washington Spirit	Sandy, Utah
7:00 pm MST	Labonta 10'	Report	Matthews 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	Kennedy 40' Pickett 90'	Report	Press 19' Bowen 87'	Stadium: Orlando City Stadium Attendance: 4,640 Referee: Jon Freemon

May 3, 2019 3	Utah Royals FC	1–0	Chicago Red Stars	Sandy, Utah
7:00 pm MST	Maemone 66' Rodriguez 83'	Report	K.Johnson 42' Stanton 66' Kerr 80'	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 44' Corsie 69'	Report	Daly 42' 50' Hanson 72' Nairn 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 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 64' Callahan 68'	Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium Attendance: 7,345 Referee: Karen Abt

June 1, 2019 7	Washington Spirit	2–0	Utah Royals FC	Boyds, Maryland
7:00 pm MST	Hatch 23' Bailey 70'	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	Rodriguez 16' Tymrak 90+2'	Box	Skroski 84'	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	LaBonta 56'	Box	Boureille 30'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 15,581

June 28, 2019 10	Utah Royals FC	0–2	Reign FC	Sandy, Utah
8:00 pm MST	Stengel 84'	Box Report	Fishlock 30' Onumonu 35' Groom 49'	Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium Attendance: 6,910

July 12, 2019 11	Sky Blue FC	1–0	Utah Royals FC	Piscataway, New Jersey
7:00 pm MST	James 42' Flores 77' Pierre-Louis 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 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 3, 2019 14	Chicago Red Stars	2–0	Utah Royals FC	Bridgeview, Illinois
7:00 pm MST	Kerr 5' Elby 85'	Report	Jónsdóttir 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 60' Wright 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 14' Groom 41' Celia 68'	Report	Stengel 3' LaBonta 59' Rodriguez 67' Weber 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 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 5'	Report	Press 50'	Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex Attendance: 2,430

Related Articles

"August Player of the Month: Christen Press"

"Utah Royals FC defender Becky Sauerbrunn named 2019 NWSL Defender of the Year"

"2019 NWSL Best XI and Second XI announced"

"Vote: Goal of the Week Nominees"

"List: Every pick of the 2019 NWSL College Draft"

September 6, 2019 19	Utah Royals FC	1–0	Portland Thorns FC	Sandy, Utah
7:30 pm MST	Sauerbrunn 36' Corsie 65' Rodriguez 78'	Report	Sonnett 61' 77' Horan 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 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' (pen.) O'Sullivan 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 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 67' Nagasato 85'	Report	Press 42'	Stadium: Toyota Park Attendance: 4,839

October 12, 2019 24	Utah Royals FC	2-1	Houston Dash	Sandy, Utah
7:30 pm MST	Press 3' Rodriguez 23' Weber 70'	Report	Schmidt 26' Romero 29' Daly 70' Mewis 78'	Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium Attendance: 9,513

Month	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards	Ref
April	Becky Sauerbrunn		Christen Press	^[14]
May	Rachel Corsie	Vero Boquete	Amy Rodriguez	^[15]
June			Amy Rodriguez	^[16]
August		Lo'eau LaBonta	Christen Press Amy Rodriguez	^[17]

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

Week	Result	Player	Ref.
3	Nominated	Nicole Barnhart	^[32]
4	Nominated	Nicole Barnhart	^[33]
7	Nominated	Nicole Barnhart	^[34]
10	Nominated	Nicole Barnhart	^[35]
13	Nominated	Nicole Barnhart	^[36]
16	Nominated	Nicole Barnhart	^[37]
21	Won	Nicole Barnhart	^[38]
24	Nominated	Nicole Barnhart	^[39]

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)	Boston Breakers	2 (2018)
2	Rachel Corsie	Scotland	DF	(1989-08-17)August 17, 1989 (aged 29)	Seattle Reign	2 (2018)
3	Rebecca Moros	United States	DF	(1985-05-06)May 6, 1985 (aged 33)	FC Kansas City	2 (2018)
4	Becky Sauerbrunn	United States	DF	(1985-06-06)June 6, 1985 (aged 33)	FC Kansas City	2 (2018)
5	Kelley O'Hara	United States	DF	(1988-08-04)August 4, 1988 (aged 30)	Sky Blue FC	2 (2018)
6	Katie Bowen	New Zealand	DF	(1994-04-15)April 15, 1994 (aged 24)	FC Kansas City	2 (2018)
7	Mandy Laddish	United States	MF	(1992-05-13)May 13, 1992 (aged 26)	FC Kansas City	2 (2018)
8	Amy Rodriguez	United States	FW	(1987-02-17)February 17, 1987 (aged 32)	FC Kansas City	2 (2018)
9	Lo'eau LaBonta	United States	MF	(1993-03-18)March 18, 1993 (aged 26)	FC Kansas City	2 (2018)
10	Diana Matheson	Canada	MF	(1984-04-06)April 6, 1984 (aged 35)	Seattle Reign FC	2 (2018)
11	Desiree Scott	Canada	MF	(1987-07-31)July 31, 1987 (aged 31)	FC Kansas City	2 (2018)
12	Taylor Lytle	United States	MF	(1989-03-31)March 31, 1989 (aged 30)	Sky Blue FC	2 (2018)
13	Makenzy Doniak	United States	FW	(1994-02-25)February 25, 1994 (aged 25)	North Carolina Courage	2 (2018)
14	Gaby Vincent	United States	DF	(1997-12-07)December 7, 1997 (aged 21)	University of Louisville	1 (2019)
15	Erika Tymrak	United States	MF	(1991-08-07)August 7, 1991 (aged 27)	FC Kansas City	2 (2018)
17	Sydney Miramontez	United States	DF	(1994-10-11)October 11, 1994 (aged 24)	FC Kansas City	2 (2018)
18	Nicole Barnhart	United States	GK	(1981-10-10)October 10, 1981 (aged 37)	FC Kansas City	2 (2018)
19	Michelle Maemone	United States	DF	(1997-03-18)March 18, 1997 (aged 22)	Pepperdine University	1 (2019)
20	Mallory Weber	United States	FW	(1994-04-04)April 4, 1994 (aged 25)	Portland Thorns FC	1 (2019)
21	Verónica Boquete	Spain	FW	(1987-04-09)April 9, 1987 (aged 32)	Beijing BG Phoenix	1 (2019)
22	Madeline Nolf	United States	DF	(1996-03-29)March 29, 1996 (aged 23)	Penn State University	1 (2019)
23	Christen Press	United States	FW	(1988-12-29)December 29, 1988 (aged 30)	Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC	2 (2018)
24	Katie Stengel	United States	FW	(1992-02-29)February 29, 1992 (aged 27)	Boston Breakers	2 (2018)
25	Brittany Ratcliffe	United States	FW	(1994-02-07)February 7, 1994 (aged 25)	FC Kansas City	2 (2018)
42	Raisa Strom-Okimoto	United States	FW		University of Hawaii	1 (2019)
66	Gunnhildur Jónsdóttir	Iceland	MF	(1988-09-28)September 28, 1988 (aged 30)	Vålerenga	2 (2018)
	Melissa Lowder	United States	GK		Santa Clara University	1 (2019)

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

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