# 2025 Utah Royals season

The 2025 Utah Royals season will be the team's fifth season of existence in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top tier of women's soccer in the United States. It will be the club's second season after returning to the league in 2024. The club plays its home games at America First Field in Sandy, Utah.

## Background

The Royals returned to the NWSL in 2024 following a three-year absence. Led by head coach Amy Rodriguez, the team had a slow start to the season that saw them at the bottom of the league table after the first half of the season. After a ten-game winless period, the club fired Rodriguez in late June and replaced her with interim head coach Jimmy Coenraets. Coenraets was promoted to a permanent role on October 24 after a more successful run of results and leading the Royals to a group victory in the 2024 NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup. The team finished 11th overall at the end of the season, failing to qualify for the NWSL playoffs.

## Summary
### Preseason

The Royals kicked off their preseason by announcing their end-of-year roster decisions. The club listed Zoe Burns, Julia Grosso, Shaelan Murison, Darielle O'Brien, Carly Nelson, and Cameron Tucker as players who would not be returning in 2025. Additionally, forward Hannah Betfort was listed as another player out of contract who was in negotiations with the Royals. The next day, the club signed 15-year-old KK Ream using the NWSL Under-18 Entry Mechanism. Ream became the club's youngest signing, surpassing forward Ally Sentnor. The Royals went on to add two more players on December 18 and December 30, trading to acquire Alex Loera and signing former Texas Longhorns goalkeeper Mia Justus to her first professional contract.
Following the turn of the new year, the Royals took to re-signing their current players. On January 7, Paige Monaghan was extended for three years, while Mandy McGlynn signed a five-year contract two days later. On January 10, the Royals announced the signing of Colombian international Ana María Guzmán on loan from Bayern Munich for one season.
Meanwhile, former goalkeeper Carly Nelson spoke out against the Royals on social media, alleging that she was subjected to emotional and psychological abuse in her tenure with the club. The Royals caught wind of Nelson's statement and posted a response to her claims one day later.
On January 13, the Royals announced two incoming players and three outgoings. The club announced the release both Agnes Nyberg and Michele Vasconcelos after buying out their contracts, as well as the official departure of Hannah Betfort. Later, the Royals revealed the signings of forward Aisha Solórzano and Tatumn Milazzo to bolster their roster.

## Team
### Current squad

    As of March 7, 2025
| No. | Name | Date of birth (age) | Since | Previous team | Notes |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| 1 | Mandy McGlynn | (1998-11-03)November 3, 1998 (aged 26) | 2024 | NJ/NY Gotham FC | |
| 32 | Cristina Roque | (2001-11-06)November 6, 2001 (aged 23) | 2024 | Florida State Seminoles | |
| — | Mia Justus | (2002-09-03)September 3, 2002 (aged 22) | 2025 | Texas Longhorns | |
| Defenders |||||||
| 3 | Olivia Griffitts | (2001-08-02)August 2, 2001 (aged 23) | 2024 | BYU Cougars | |
| 5 | Lauren Flynn | (2002-05-22)May 22, 2002 (aged 22) | 2024 | Florida State Seminoles | |
| 8 | Kate Del Fava | (1998-07-23)July 23, 1998 (aged 26) | 2024 | Kansas City Current | |
| 16 | Madison Pogarch | (1997-11-05)November 5, 1997 (aged 27) | 2024 | San Diego Wave FC | |
| 18 | Kaleigh Riehl | (1996-10-21)October 21, 1996 (aged 28) | 2024 | San Diego Wave FC | |
| 28 | Imani Dorsey | (1996-03-21)March 21, 1996 (aged 28) | 2024 | NJ/NY Gotham FC | |
| — | Kayla Colbert | | | USC Trojans | IRP |
| — | Ana María Guzmán | (2005-06-11)June 11, 2005 (aged 19) | 2025 | Bayern Munich | INT, LOA |
| — | Sydney Jones | (2002-10-24)October 24, 2002 (aged 22) | 2025 | Ohio State Buckeyes | IRP |
| — | Tatumn Milazzo | (1998-04-17)April 17, 1998 (aged 26) | 2025 | Chicago Stars FC | |
| — | Nuria Rábano | (1999-06-15)June 15, 1999 (aged 25) | 2025 | VfL Wolfsburg | INT |
| — | Janni Thomsen | (2000-02-16)February 16, 2000 (aged 25) | 2025 | Vålerenga | INT |
| Midfielders |||||||
| 14 | Macey Fraser | (2002-07-11)July 11, 2002 (aged 22) | 2024 | Wellington Phoenix | INT |
| 17 | Ana Tejada | (2002-06-02)June 2, 2002 (aged 22) | 2024 | Real Sociedad | INT |
| 21 | Mikayla Cluff | (1999-02-25)February 25, 1999 (aged 26) | 2024 | Orlando Pride | |
| 22 | Dana Foederer | (2002-07-27)July 27, 2002 (aged 22) | 2024 | Fortuna Sittard | INT |
| 26 | Claudia Zornoza | (1990-10-20)October 20, 1990 (aged 34) | 2024 | Real Madrid | INT |
| — | Alex Loera | (1999-06-19)June 19, 1999 (aged 25) | 2025 | Bay FC | |
| — | Aria Nagai | | 2025 | North Carolina Tar Heels | SCE |
| Forwards |||||||
| 4 | Paige Monaghan (captain) | (1996-11-13)November 13, 1996 (aged 28) | 2024 | Racing Louisville FC | |
| 9 | Ally Sentnor | (2004-02-18)February 18, 2004 (aged 21) | 2024 | North Carolina Tar Heels | |
| 15 | Brecken Mozingo | (2001-08-03)August 3, 2001 (aged 23) | 2024 | BYU Cougars | |
| 24 | Cloé Lacasse | (1993-07-07)July 7, 1993 (aged 31) | 2024 | Arsenal | INT |
| 29 | Mina Tanaka | (1994-04-28)April 28, 1994 (aged 30) | 2024 | INAC Kobe Leonessa | INT |
| — | KK Ream | | 2025 | Utah Avalanche | U18 |
| — | Aisha Solórzano | (1998-04-13)April 13, 1998 (aged 26) | 2025 | Club Tijuana | |
| — | Bianca St-Georges | (1997-07-28)July 28, 1997 (aged 27) | 2025 | North Carolina Courage | |
* ↑ denotes a season-ending injury.

#### Out on loan

| No. | Pos. | Player | Nation |
| — | MF | Emily Gray (loaned to Piteå IF) | United States |

### Technical staff

    As of January 12, 2025

## Competitions

Win  Draw  Loss

### Regular season
#### Regular-season standings
#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: NWSLsoccer.com

##### Results by matchday

* Matchday
* Ground
* Result
* Position
* ↑ UTA's position at the end of the day on which their match was played.

## Transactions
### Contract operations

Contract options :
| Date | Player | Pos. | Notes | Ref. |
| September 19, 2024 | Lauren Flynn | DF | Options exercised for 2025. | |
| September 19, 2024 | Cristina Roque | GK | Options exercised for 2025. | |
Re-signings :
| Date | Player | Pos. | Notes | Ref. |
| January 7, 2025 | Paige Monaghan | FW | Re-signed to a three-year contract through 2027. | |
| January 9, 2025 | Mandy McGlynn | GK | Re-signed to a five-year contract through 2029. | |

### Loans in

| Date | Player | Pos. | Previous club | Fee/notes | Ref. |
| January 10, 2025 | Ana María Guzmán | DF | Bayern Munich | Loaned through the 2025 NWSL season. | |

### Loans out

| Date | Player | Pos. | Destination club | Fee/notes | Ref. |
| January 28, 2025 | Emily Gray | MF | Piteå IF | Loaned through December 31, 2025. | |

### Transfers in

| Date | Player | Pos. | Previous club | Fee/notes |
| December 11, 2024 | KK Ream | FW | Utah Avalanche | Signed with NWSL Under-18 Entry Mechanism to a three-year contract. |
| December 18, 2024 | Alex Loera | MF | Bay FC | Traded in exchange for $25,000 in intra-league transfer fees and a 15% sell-on fee. |
| December 30, 2024 | Mia Justus | GK | Texas Longhorns | Free agent rookie signed to a three-year contract. |
| January 13, 2025 | Aisha Solórzano | FW | Club Tijuana | Acquired in exchange for an undisclosed fee and signed to a three-year contract. |
| January 13, 2025 | Tatumn Milazzo | DF | Chicago Stars FC | Free agent signed to a two-year contract. |
| January 29, 2025 | Nuria Rábano | DF | VfL Wolfsburg | Acquired in exchange for an undisclosed fee and signed to a three-year contract with a mutual option. |
| March 4, 2025 | Kayla Colbert | DF | USC Trojans | Signed to a short-term injury replacement contract. |
| March 4, 2025 | Sydney Jones | DF | Ohio State Buckeyes | Signed to a short-term injury replacement contract. |
| March 4, 2025 | Aria Nagai | MF | North Carolina Tar Heels | Signed to a Salary Cap Exempt contract. |
| March 6, 2025 | Bianca St-Georges | FW | North Carolina Courage | Signed to a one-year contract. |
| March 7, 2025 | Janni Thomsen | DF | Vålerenga | Signed to a two-year contract with a mutual option. |

### Transfers out

| Date | Player | Pos. | Destination club | Fee/notes |
| December 10, 2024 | Hannah Betfort | FW | North Carolina Courage | Out of contract. |
| December 10, 2024 | Zoe Burns | DF | | Out of contract. |
| December 10, 2024 | Julia Grosso | DF | Fort Lauderdale United FC | Out of contract. |
| December 10, 2024 | Shaelan Murison | FW | | Out of contract. |
| December 10, 2024 | Darielle O'Brien | DF | | Out of contract. |
| December 10, 2024 | Carly Nelson | GK | | Out of contract. |
| December 10, 2024 | Cameron Tucker | FW | Levante UD | Out of contract. |
| January 13, 2025 | Agnes Nyberg | MF | | Released. |
| January 13, 2025 | Michele Vasconcelos | FW | Levante Badalona | Released. |

### Preseason trialists

Trialists are non-rostered invitees during preseason and are not automatically signed. The Royals released their preseason roster on January 15, 2025.
| Player | Pos. | Previous club | Status |
| Jennifer Blitchok | FW | Western Michigan Broncos | |
| Cora Brendle | GK | Utah State Aggies | |
| Kayla Colbert | FW | USC Trojans | |
| Maryn Granger | DF | Utah Utes | |
| Sydney Jones | DF | Ohio State Buckeyes | |
| Aria Nagai | MF | North Carolina Tar Heels | |
| Chloe Sadler | MF | La Roca Premier | U18 trialist. |