# 2018 Utah Royals FC season

The 2018 Utah Royals FC season was the team's inaugural season, and its first in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top division of women's soccer in the United States.

## Competitions
### NWSL regular season
#### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | North Carolina Courage (C) | 24 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 53 | 17 | +36 | 57 | NWSL Shield |
| 2 | Portland Thorns FC | 24 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 40 | 28 | +12 | 42 | NWSL Playoffs |
| 3 | Seattle Reign FC | 24 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 27 | 19 | +8 | 41 | NWSL Playoffs |
| 4 | Chicago Red Stars | 24 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 38 | 28 | +10 | 37 | NWSL Playoffs |
| 5 | Utah Royals FC | 24 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 22 | 23 | −1 | 35 | |
| 6 | Houston Dash | 24 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 35 | 39 | −4 | 32 | |
| 7 | Orlando Pride | 24 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 30 | 37 | −7 | 30 | |
| 8 | Washington Spirit | 24 | 2 | 5 | 17 | 12 | 35 | −23 | 11 | |
| 9 | Sky Blue FC | 24 | 1 | 6 | 17 | 21 | 52 | −31 | 9 | |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| Pld | Pts | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD |
| 24 | 35 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 22 | 23 | −1 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 7 | +4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 16 | −5 |
Last updated: September 8, 2018 Source: NWSLsoccer.com 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

| 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 |
| Stadium | A | A | H | A | H | H | H | H | A | A | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H |
| Result | D | D | L | D | D | W | D | W | L | W | W | L | D | W | L | L | L | D | W | W | L | D | W | W |
| Position | 4 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
* ↑ UTA's position at the end of the matchweek, not the match itself.

#### Match results
##### September
## Stats

    As of September 8, 2018.

## Honors and awards
### NWSL season awards

* Defender of the Year: Becky Sauerbrunn
* Best XI: Becky Sauerbrunn

### NWSL Team of the Month

| Month | Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders |
| March | | Becky Sauerbrunn | Gunnhildur Jonsdottir |
| April | | Becky Sauerbrunn | |
| May | Abby Smith | Becky Sauerbrunn | |
| June | | Becca Moros Becky Sauerbrunn | |
| July | | Rachel Corsie | |

### NWSL weekly awards
#### Goal of the Week

| Week | Result | Player |
| 1 | Won | Gunnhildur Jonsdottir |
| 4 | Nominated | Brittany Ratcliffe |
| 5 | Nominated | Amy Rodriguez |
| 6 | Won | Diana Matheson |
| 8 | Nominated | Erika Tymrak |
| 11/12 | Won | Brittany Ratcliffe |
| 19 | Won | Katie Stengel |
| 20 | Nominated | Katie Stengel |
| 21 | Nominated | Amy Rodriguez |
| 24 | Nominated | Amy Rodriguez |

#### Save of the Week

| Week | Result | Player(s) |
| 5 | Nominated | Abby Smith |
| 9 | Nominated | Abby Smith and Becky Sauerbrunn |
| 16 | Won | Rachel Corsie |
| 17 | Won | Rachel Corsie |
| 20 | Nominated | Abby Smith |
| 24 | Won | Nicole Barnhart |

## Club
### Roster

    As of July 20, 2018. Age calculated as of the start of the 2018 season. All players were in their first year with the club and signed in 2018.
| No. | Name | Nat. | Pos. | Date of birth (age) | Previous team |
| 1 | Abby Smith | USA | GK | (1993-10-04)October 4, 1993 (aged 24) | Boston Breakers |
| 2 | Rachel Corsie | SCO | DF | (1989-08-17)August 17, 1989 (aged 28) | Seattle Reign |
| 3 | Rebecca Moros | USA | DF | (1985-05-06)May 6, 1985 (aged 32) | FC Kansas City |
| 4 | Becky Sauerbrunn | USA | DF | (1985-06-06)June 6, 1985 (aged 32) | FC Kansas City |
| 5 | Kelley O'Hara | USA | DF | (1988-08-04)August 4, 1988 (aged 29) | Sky Blue FC |
| 6 | Katie Bowen | NZL | DF | (1994-04-15)April 15, 1994 (aged 23) | FC Kansas City |
| 7 | Mandy Laddish | USA | MF | (1992-05-13)May 13, 1992 (aged 25) | FC Kansas City |
| 8 | Amy Rodriguez | USA | FW | (1987-02-17)February 17, 1987 (aged 31) | FC Kansas City |
| 9 | Lo'eau LaBonta | USA | MF | (1993-03-18)March 18, 1993 (aged 25) | FC Kansas City |
| 10 | Diana Matheson | CAN | MF | (1984-04-06)April 6, 1984 (aged 34) | Seattle Reign FC |
| 11 | Desiree Scott | CAN | MF | (1987-07-31)July 31, 1987 (aged 30) | FC Kansas City |
| 12 | Taylor Lytle | USA | MF | (1989-03-31)March 31, 1989 (aged 29) | Sky Blue FC |
| 13 | Makenzy Doniak | USA | FW | (1994-02-25)February 25, 1994 (aged 24) | North Carolina Courage |
| 14 | Alex Arlitt | USA | DF | (1993-08-25)August 25, 1993 (aged 24) | FC Kansas City |
| 15 | Erika Tymrak | USA | MF | (1991-08-07)August 7, 1991 (aged 26) | FC Kansas City |
| 16 | Samantha Johnson | USA | DF | (1991-06-10)June 10, 1991 (aged 26) | Chicago Red Stars |
| 17 | Sydney Miramontez | USA | DF | (1994-10-11)October 11, 1994 (aged 23) | FC Kansas City |
| 18 | Nicole Barnhart | USA | GK | (1981-10-10)October 10, 1981 (aged 36) | FC Kansas City |
| 19 | Katrina Gorry | AUS | MF | (1992-08-13)August 13, 1992 (aged 25) | Brisbane Roar |
| 20 | Elise Thorsnes | NOR | FW | (1988-08-14)August 14, 1988 (aged 29) | Avaldsnes |
| 21 | Christen Press | USA | FW | (1988-12-29)December 29, 1988 (aged 29) | Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC |
| 23 | Gunnhildur Yrsa Jónsdóttir | ISL | MF | (1988-09-28)September 28, 1988 (aged 29) | Vålerenga |
| 24 | Katie Stengel | USA | FW | (1992-02-29)February 29, 1992 (aged 26) | Boston Breakers |
| 25 | Brittany Ratcliffe | USA | FW | (1994-02-07)February 7, 1994 (aged 24) | FC Kansas City |

### Transfers

    As of July 19, 2018.

#### In

| Date | Pos. | Nat. | Player | Previous club | Fees/notes |
| June 18, 2018 | FW | USA | Christen Press | Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC | Acquired in a three-team trade with Chicago Red Stars and Houston Dash. |
| June 18, 2018 | DF | USA | Samantha Johnson | Chicago Red Stars | Acquired in a three-team trade with Chicago Red Stars and Houston Dash. |
| June 28, 2018 | FW | USA | Makenzy Doniak | North Carolina Courage | Acquired in trade with the North Carolina Courage for the rights to Heather O'Reilly. |

#### Out

| Player | Position | Destination club | Fees/notes | Date |
| Alexa Newfield | MF | unattached | Released | 07/19/18 |
| Maegan Kelly | MF | unattached | Released | 06/20/18 |
| E.J. Proctor | GK | unattached | Released | 06/20/18 |
| Brooke Elby | MF | Chicago Red Stars | Three team trade with the Chicago Red Stars and Houston Dash | 06/18/18 |

##### Notes

* ^ Option Declined (OPT): Players who have had their option declined may still be resigned by the club under a new contract.
* ^ Free Agent (FREE): Players who are out of contract may still be resigned by the club under a new contract.

### Trialist

| Player | Position | Previous team | Notes | Date | Result |
| Taylor Isom | Defender | Brigham Young University | 2018 NWSL College Draft pick #14 | 01/18/18 | |
| E.J. Proctor | Goalkeeper | Duke University | 2018 NWSL College Draft pick #34 | 01/18/18 | |