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The 2020 Utah Royals FC season marks the team's third year and final season of existence in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top division of the American soccer pyramid.[1] After this season, the team folded and transferred players and coaches to the new Kansas City NWSL, now known as the Kansas City Current.
| 2020 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Owner | Dell Loy Hansen | ||
| Head coach | Amy LePeilbet (interim) | ||
| Stadium | Rio Tinto Stadium | ||
| NWSL | |||
| 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup | Quarter-finals | ||
|
| |||
On January 6, 2020 the team mutually parted ways with head coach Laura Harvey so she could take a position with U.S Soccer as the head coach for the U-20 Women's National Team.[2]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the NWSL did not hold a regular season as originally scheduled.[3] The season was replaced by the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup in July and the Fall Series in September and October.[4]
2020 NWSL Challenge Cup
The Royals began their Challenge Cup against the Houston Dash on June 30. They were without forward Christen Press who opted out of the tournament and Desiree Scott who withdrew from the tournament for personal reasons.[5][6]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina Courage | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 12 |
| 2 | Washington Spirit | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | OL Reign | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 5 |
| 4 | Houston Dash | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 4 |
| 5 | Utah Royals FC (H) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 4 |
| 6 | Chicago Red Stars | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 4[a] |
| 7 | Sky Blue FC | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 4[a] |
| 8 | Portland Thorns FC | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 |
Challenge Cup match results
Preliminary round
| June 30, 2020 1 | Houston Dash | 3–3 | Utah Royals FC | Herriman, Utah |
| 10:30 | Report | Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Referee: Karen Abt |
| July 4, 2020 2 | Utah Royals FC | 1–0 | Sky Blue FC | Herriman, Utah |
| 10:30 |
|
Report | Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Referee: Katja Koroleva |
| July 8, 2020 3 | Utah Royals FC | 0–1 | OL Reign | Herriman, Utah |
| 10:30 | Report |
|
Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Referee: Danielle Chesky |
| July 12, 2020 4 | Chicago Red Stars | 1–0 | Utah Royals FC | Herriman, Utah |
| 20:00 |
|
Report | Stadium: Zions Bank Stadium Referee: Michael Radchuk |
Knockout round
| July 17, 2020 Quarter-final | Houston Dash | 0–0 (3–2 p) | Utah Royals FC | Zions Bank Stadium Herriman, Utah |
| 20:00 | Report | |||
| Penalties | ||||
Fall Series
The Royals would be without several players for the NWSL Fall Series. Forward Christen Press signed with Manchester United. Rachel Corsie went on loan to Birmingham City and Gunnhildur Jónsdóttir was loaned to Valur. Kelley O'Hara, Desiree Scott and Diana Matheson all opted out of the Fall Series.[7]
Head Coach Craig Harrington and assistant coach Louis Lancaster were placed on administrative leave prior to the first game of the Fall Series, Amy LePeilbet was named interim head coach.[8]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portland Thorns FC (C) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 10 | Community Shield |
| 2 | Houston Dash | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 9 | Runners-up |
| 3 | Washington Spirit | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 7 | Third place |
| 4 | Sky Blue FC | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 6 | |
| 5 | North Carolina Courage | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 5 | |
| 6 | Chicago Red Stars | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 4 | |
| 7 | OL Reign | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 4 | |
| 8 | Orlando Pride | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 2 | |
| 9 | Utah Royals FC | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 2 |
Fall Series match results
| September 20, 2020 1 | Portland Thorns FC | 3–0 | Utah Royals FC | Portland, Oregon |
| Stadium: Providence Park |
| September 26, 2020 2 | Utah Royals FC | 2–2 | OL Reign | Sandy, Utah |
| Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium |
| October 3, 2020 3 | Utah Royals FC | 1–1 | Portland Thorns FC | Sandy, Utah |
|
|
Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium |
| October 17, 2020 4 | OL Reign | 2–0 | Utah Royals FC | Tacoma, Washington |
| Stadium: Cheney Stadium |
Roster
- Age calculated as of the start of the 2020 Fall Series.
- As of September 11, 2020
Transfers in
| Date | Player | Positions played | Previous club | Fee/notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/05/19 |  Kyra Carusa |
FW | Sky Blue FC |
Re-Entry Wire | [13] |
| 11/05/19 | Cali Farquharson |
FW | Washington Spirit |
Re-Entry Wire | [13] |
| 11/05/19 | Arielle Ship |
FW | Washington Spirit |
Re-Entry Wire | [13] |
| 01/06/20 | Taylor Leach |
DF |  Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC |
Signed | [14] |
| 01/07/20 | Chestley Strother |
MF | Sundsvalls DFF |
Signed | [15] |
| 03/03/20 | Elizabeth Ball |
DF | Portland Thorns |
Acquired in a trade with the Portland Thorns in exchange for Becky Sauerbrunn and allocation money. | [16] |
| 03/11/20 |  Aminata Diallo |
MF | Paris Saint-Germain |
Signed on loan from Paris Saint-Germain. | [17] |
| 09/10/20 | Michele Vasconcelos |
FW | Chicago Red Stars |
Acquired in a trade with the Chicago Red Stars in exchange for $55,000 in allocation money. | [18] |
Transfers out
| Date | Player | Positions played | Destination club | Fee/notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/12/19 | Cali Farquharson |
FW | KIF Örebro DFF |
Waived | [19] |
| 12/19/19 | Makenzy Doniak |
FW | Chicago Red Stars |
Traded to the Chicago Red Stars, in exchange for Chicago's second round pick in the 2021 NWSL College Draft | [20] |
| 01/06/20 | Erika Tymrak |
MF | Retired | [21] | |
| 01/08/20 | Katie Stengel |
FW | Houston Dash |
Traded to the Houston Dash along with Utah's third round pick in the 2020 College Draft in exchange for Houston's second round pick in the 2020 and 2021 NWSL College Drafts | [22] |
| 02/03/20 | Mandy Laddish |
MF | Retired | [23] | |
| 02/03/20 | Becca Moros |
DF | Waived | [23] | |
| 02/19/20 | Sydney Miramontez |
DF | Retired | [24] | |
| 03/03/20 | Becky Sauerbrunn |
DF | Portland Thorns |
Traded to the Portland Thorns in exchange for Elizabeth Ball and allocation money. | [16] |
| 09/09/20 | Christen Press |
FW |  Manchester United |
Signed with Manchester United in the FA Women's Super League, Utah retains her rights in the NWSL. | [25] |
2020 NWSL College Draft
- Source: National Women's Soccer League[26]
| Round | Pick | Nat. | Player | Pos. | Previous Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | 8 | | Tziarra King | F | North Carolina State University |
| Round 2 | 12 | | Kate Del Fava | M | Illinois State University |
| Round 4 | 31 | | Cyera Hintzen | F | University of Texas |
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