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2024 Utah Royals season

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Utah Royals
2024 season
Owners
Sporting DirectorKelly Cousins
Head coachJimmy Coenraets (interim since June 30; permanent since October 24)
Amy Rodriguez (until June 30)
StadiumAmerica First Field
NWSLTBD
NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer CupGroup stage
Top goalscorerLeague: Cloé Lacasse (4)
All: Ally Sentnor (5)
Highest home attendance20,370
(Mar 16 vs CHI)
Lowest home attendance7,491
(May 25 vs KC)
Average home league attendance10,304
← 2020
2025 →
All statistics correct as of November 2, 2024.

The 2024 Utah Royals season marks the team's fourth season of existence in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top division of the American soccer pyramid. This season marks the team's first since 2020, after which the original club relocated to become the Kansas City Current.[1] The club plays its home games at America First Field in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy. The club's head coach is Jimmy Coenraets, who served as interim head coach following the firing of former Royal and national team player Amy Rodriguez[2][3] and was named the permanent head coach on october 24.[4]

Staffing changes

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On April 19, 2023, the Royals hired former Royals player and USC Trojans women's soccer assistant coach Amy Rodriguez as the club's head coach. The role was Rodriguez's first as a head coach.[5][6] Club president Michelle Hyncik was a high-school teammate of Rodriguez's and offered the role to Rodriguez.[7]

On July 18, 2023, the Royals hired former Reading F.C. Women manager Kelly Cousins as the club's first sporting director.[8][9]

On March 13, 2024, the Royals announced the hiring of Reno MVLA Soccer Club coaching director Vanessa Mann and D.C. United assistant coach Frédéric Brillant as the club's assistant coaches, and UConn Huskies women's soccer assistant coach Maryse Bard-Martel as goalkeeping coach.[10]

On May 20, Brillant was announced as the head coach for DC Power FC of the newly formed USL Super League.[11][12]

On June 7, the Royals hired Oud-Heverlee Leuven manager Jimmy Coenraets as an assistant coach and Sam Lismont as a performance analyst.[13][3]

After 11 league matches and a 1–9–1 record putting the team in last place, the Royals organization fired Rodriguez and Bard-Martel on June 30. The Royals also reassigned team president Michelle Hyncik, who had hired Rodriguez, to a position with the Blitzer Family Office and appointed Coenraets as the team's interim head coach.[3]

On October 9, the Royals hired former Bristol City Women goalkeeping coach James White as the team's goalkeeping coach. White had previously worked for Cousins at Reading Women.[14]

On October 24, the Royals named Coenraets the club's permanent head coach and announced that he had signed a contract to remain with the club through the 2027 season.[4]

Club

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Roster

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As of October 21, 2024[15][16]
No. Pos. Player Nation
1 GK Mandy Haught  United States
2 DF Julia Grosso  United States
3 DF Olivia Griffitts  United States
4 FW Paige Monaghan  United States
5 FW 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
12 DF Zoe Burns  Canada
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
20 FW Cameron Tucker  United States
21 MF Mikayla Cluff  United States
22 MF Dana Foederer  Netherlands
23 DF Darielle O'Brien  United States
24 FW Cloé Lacasse  Canada
26 MF Claudia Zornoza  Spain
27 GK Carly Nelson  United States
28 DF Imani Dorsey  United States
29 MF Mina Tanaka  Japan
32 GK Cristina Roque  Puerto Rico
33 FW Hannah Betfort  United States

On loan

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No. Pos. Player Nation
24 MF Emily Gray (at Odense Boldklub Q until December 31, 2024 [17])  United States

Competitions

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NWSL regular season

[edit]

The Royals were eliminated from playoff contention after Bay FC defeated the North Carolina Courage on October 19.[18]

Matches

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March 16 1 Utah Royals 0–2 Chicago Red Stars Sandy, Utah
5:30 pm MT
Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 20,370
Referee: Gaad Flores
March 22 2 Utah Royals 2–1 North Carolina Courage Sandy, Utah
7:30 pm MT
Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 8,161
Referee: Elijio Arreguin
March 31 3 Washington Spirit 2–1 Utah Royals Washington, D.C.
11 pm MT
Report
Stadium: Audi Field
Attendance: 8,182
Referee: Nabil Bensalah
April 12 4 Utah Royals 0–1 Orlando Pride Sandy, Utah
7:30 pm MT
Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 8,578
Referee: Thomas Snyder
April 20 5 Racing Louisville FC 5–1 Utah Royals Louisville, Kentucky
3 pm MT
Report
Stadium: Lynn Family Stadium
Attendance: 11,365
Referee: Joshua Encarnación
April 27 6 Utah Royals 0–0 Houston Dash Sandy, Utah
5:30 pm MT
Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 10,349
Referee: Shawn Tehini
May 3 7 Utah Royals 1–2 Angel City FC Sandy, Utah
7:30 pm MT
Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 10,731
Referee: Ricardo Fierro
May 8 8 San Diego Wave FC 2–0 Utah Royals San Diego, California
8:00 pm MT
Report
Stadium: Snapdragon Stadium
Attendance: 10,289
Referee: Katja Koroleva
May 12 9 Chicago Red Stars 3–1 Utah Royals Bridgeview, Illinois
3:30 pm MT
Report
Stadium: SeatGeek Stadium
Attendance: 3,104
Referee: Alyssa Nichols
May 17 10 North Carolina Courage 1–0 Utah Royals Cary, North Carolina
6:00 pm MT
Report
Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park
Attendance: 4,528
Referee: Alex Billeter
May 25 11 Utah Royals 0–1 Kansas City Current Sandy, Utah
8:00 pm MT
Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 7,491
Referee: Danielle Chesky
June 8 12 Utah Royals 1–0 Washington Spirit Sandy, Utah
5:30 pm MT
Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 8,486
Referee: Laura Rodriguez
June 16 13 Bay FC 0–1 Utah Royals San Jose, California
8:00 pm MT
Report Stadium: PayPal Park
Attendance: 10,367
Referee: Anya Voigt
June 21 14 Orlando Pride 6–0 Utah Royals Orlando, Florida
6:00 pm MT
Report
Stadium: Inter&Co Stadium
Attendance: 9,656
Referee: Alyssa Nichols
June 29 15 Utah Royals 0–0 Portland Thorns FC Sandy, Utah
8:00 pm MT
Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 8,677
Referee: Sergil Demlanchuk
July 7 16 Seattle Reign FC 1–1 Utah Royals Seattle, Washington
4:00 pm MT
Report
Stadium: Lumen Field
Attendance: 6,276
Referee: Matthew Thompson
August 23 17 Utah Royals 2-1 Bay FC Sandy, Utah
7:30 pm MT
Report Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 14,539
Referee: Jaclyn Metz
August 31 18 Houston Dash 1–3 Utah Royals Houston, Texas
7:30 pm MT
Report
Stadium: Shell Energy Stadium
Attendance: 5,171
Referee: Gerald Flores
September 7 19 Kansas City Current 1–0 Utah Royals FC Kansas City, Missouri
3:30 p.m. MT Report Stadium: CPKC Stadium
Attendance: 11,500
Referee: Calin Radosav
September 14 20 Utah Royals 1–2 San Diego Wave FC Sandy, Utah
8:00 pm MT
Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 9,494
Referee: Laura Rodriguez
September 22 21 NJ/NY Gotham FC 1–0 Utah Royals Harrison, New Jersey
11:00 am MT
Report
Stadium: Red Bull Arena
Attendance: 7,680
Referee: Eric Tattersall
September 28 22 Utah Royals 1–0 Racing Louisville FC Sandy, Utah
5:00 pm MT
Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 9,002
Referee: Alexandra Billeter
October 5 23 Portland Thorns FC 1–2 Utah Royals Portland, Oregon
5:00 pm MT Moultrie 53' (pen.) Report
Stadium: Providence Park
Attendance: 17,451
Referee: Rebecca Pagan
October 13 24 Utah Royals 3–0 Seattle Reign FC Sandy, Utah
3:00 pm MT
Report
Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 8,192
Referee: Elvis Osmanovic
October 20 25 Angel City FC 1–1 Utah Royals Los Angeles, California
5:30 pm MT
Report
Stadium: BMO Stadium
Attendance: 20,039
Referee: Sergii Demianchuk
November 1 26 Utah Royals 1–4 NJ/NY Gotham FC Sandy, Utah
7:30 pm MT
Report
Stadium: America First Field
Attendance: 9,879
Referee: Adorae Monroy

Standings

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
9 Racing Louisville FC 26 7 7 12 33 39 −6 28
10 San Diego Wave FC 26 6 7 13 24 35 −11 25
11 Utah Royals 26 7 4 15 22 40 −18 25
12 Angel City FC 26 7 6 13 29 42 −13 24[a]
13 Seattle Reign FC 26 6 5 15 27 44 −17 23
Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ Angel City FC were deducted three points for breaching spending cap rules.[19]

NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup

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The Utah Royals competed in the first edition of the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup. Group stage play began on July 19. The Royals finished at the top of Group A, but were the fifth-ranked group winner of the five groups and failed to advance to the tournament's knockout rounds.

Pos Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts UTA POR SEA TIJ
1 United States Utah Royals 3 2 0 0 1 9 4 +5 6 3–1 1–2 5–1
2 United States Portland Thorns FC 3 2 0 0 1 7 3 +4 6 1–3 1–0 5–0
3 United States Seattle Reign FC 3 1 0 0 2 4 5 −1 3 2–1 0–1 2–3
4 Mexico Tijuana 3 1 0 0 2 4 12 −8 3 1–5 0–5 3–2
Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: tiebreakers

Matches

[edit]
July 31 GS Utah Royals United States 5–1 Mexico Tijuana Sandy, Utah
8:00 pm MT
Report Stadium: America First Field

Statistics

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Squad appearances

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As of November 2, 2024[20]
No. Pos. Nat. Player Total NWSL Regular Season Summer Cup
Apps Starts Apps Starts Apps Starts
Goalkeepers
1 GK United States Mandy Haught 25 25 24 24 1 1
27 GK United States Carly Nelson 1 1 1 1 0 0
32 GK Puerto Rico Cristina Roque 3 3 1 1 2 2
Defenders
3 DF United States Olivia Griffitts 15 14 13 13 2 1
5 DF United States Lauren Flynn 12 10 12 10 0 0
8 DF United States Kate Del Fava 29 29 26 26 3 3
12 DF Canada Zoe Burns 24 16 21 14 3 2
16 DF United States Madison Pogarch 28 24 25 21 3 3
17 DF Spain Ana Tejada 18 18 15 15 3 3
18 DF United States Kaleigh Riehl 17 17 14 14 3 3
23 DF United States Darielle O'Brien 1 0 0 0 1 0
28 DF United States Imani Dorsey 2 2 2 2 0 0
Midfielders
6 MF Sweden Agnes Nyberg 12 8 11 8 1 0
14 MF New Zealand Macey Fraser 4 2 4 2 0 0
21 MF United States Mikayla Cluff 11 5 11 5 0 0
22 MF Netherlands Dana Foederer 26 21 23 17 3 3
26 MF Spain Claudia Zornoza 10 10 10 10 0 0
Forwards
4 FW United States Paige Monaghan 25 23 22 20 3 3
7 FW United States Michele Vasconcelos 17 2 15 2 2 0
9 FW United States Ally Sentnor 23 23 21 21 2 2
15 FW United States Brecken Mozingo 21 13 18 10 3 3
20 FW United States Cameron Tucker 19 4 18 3 1 1
24 FW Canada Cloé Lacasse 9 8 9 8 0 0
29 FW Japan Mina Tanaka 7 7 7 7 0 0
33 FW United States Hannah Betfort 27 21 24 18 3 3
Other players (Departed during season, short-term loan, etc.)
2 MF United States Ellie Boren 2 0 0 0 2 0
10 MF France Amandine Henry 10 9 10 9 0 0
11 FW Nigeria Ifeoma Onumonu 3 0 3 0 0 0
13 DF United States Addisyn Merrick 7 1 4 1 3 0
19 MF United States Frankie Tagliaferri 6 4 6 4 0 0
24 MF United States Emily Gray 0 2 0 2 0 0
35 FW United States Shaelan Grace Murison Brown 6 1 4 1 2 0

Goals

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As of November 2, 2024[20]
Rank Player Total NWSL Regular Season Summer Cup
1 United States Ally Sentnor 5 3 2
2 United States Hannah Betfort 4 2 2
Canada Cloé Lacasse 4 4 0
4 United States Paige Monaghan 3 2 1
5 United States Kate Del Fava 2 2 0
United States Brecken Mozingo 2 0 2
Spain Ana Tejada 2 2 0
United States Cameron Tucker 2 1 1
United States Michele Vasconcelos 2 1 1
Spain Claudia Zornoza 2 2 0
11 Netherlands Dana Foederer 1 1 0
United States Olivia Griffitts 1 1 0
Japan Mina Tanaka 1 1 0

Assists

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As of November 2, 2024[20]
Rank Player Total NWSL Regular Season Summer Cup
1 United States Ally Sentnor 5 4 1
2 Netherlands Dana Foederer 4 2 2
3 United States Paige Monaghan 3 1 2
Spain Claudia Zornoza 3 3 0
5 Spain Ana Tejada 2 1 1
6 Shaelan Grace Murison Brown 1 0 1
United States Kaleigh Riehl 1 1 0
United States Michele Vasconcelos 1 1 0

Clean sheets

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As of November 2, 2024[20]
Rank Player Total NWSL Regular Season Summer Cup
1 United States Mandy Haught 4 4 0
2 Puerto Rico Cristina Roque 1 1 0

References

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  1. ^ "NWSL Awards Expansion Team Rights to Utah". RSL.com. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  2. ^ "U.S. Women's National Team Legend Amy Rodriguez Named Utah Royals FC Head Coach". RSL.com. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Kassouf, Jeff (June 30, 2024). "Last-place Utah Royals fire head coach Amy Rodriguez". ESPN. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Linehan, Meg (October 24, 2024). "Utah Royals hire Jimmy Coenraets as head coach through 2027". The Athletic. The New York Times. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  5. ^ "Utah Royals hire former USWNT player Amy Rodriguez as manager". The Athletic. The New York Times. April 19, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  6. ^ Walker, Sean (April 20, 2023). "Why Amy Rodriguez's career is coming 'full circle' with Utah Royals FC, and the high school teammate who brought her back". Salt City FC. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  7. ^ Turner, Caleb (April 20, 2023). "How 2 high school teammates reunited as leaders of Utah Royals". KSL.com. KSL-TV. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  8. ^ "Utah Royals FC Name Kelly Cousins (Chambers) As First-Ever Sporting Director" (Press release). Utah Royals. July 18, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  9. ^ "Utah Royals name Kelly Cousins, former Reading Women's manager, as first sporting director". The Athletic. The New York Times. July 18, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  10. ^ "URFC Unveils 2024 Coaching Staff" (Press release). Utah Royals. March 13, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  11. ^ Goff, Steven (May 20, 2024). "Washington's new women's soccer team gets a name, logo and coach". Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  12. ^ "DC's new women's pro-soccer team unveils name, identity ahead of USL Super League launch". WJLA.com. WJLA-TV. May 20, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  13. ^ "Jimmy Coenraets And Sam Lismont Join Utah Royals FC Coaching Staff" (Press release). Utah Royals. June 7, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  14. ^ "Utah Royals Announce James White as Goalkeeper Coach" (Press release). Utah Royals. October 9, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  15. ^ "Roster". rsl.com. Utah Royals. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  16. ^ 2024 Utah Royals Media Guide (Report). Utah Royals. January 22, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  17. ^ rsl. "Utah Royals FC Loans Emily Gray To Odense Boldklub Q For Remainder Of 2024 Season | Utah Royals". rsl. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  18. ^ Turner, Caleb (October 20, 2024). "Utah Royals lose Lacasse, settle for 1-1 draw in final road game". ksl.com. KSL-TV. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  19. ^ "Angel City docked 3 points, fined for salary cap violation". October 3, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  20. ^ a b c d "Player Stats". National Women's Soccer League. Retrieved November 3, 2024.