In their second season, the Utah Royals look to grab first playoff berth
By Jordan Small
In 2018, the Utah Royals finished just one spot out of the playoffs. Can they improve in year two to get into the top four?
The Utah Royals entered the league in 2018 with the ghosts of FC Kansas City still with them. But after a year in Salt Lake City, they’re ready to show they belong by making the playoffs for the first time. To do that, they’re going to have to overcome the leadup to and playing of the World Cup, during which they’ll have eight players representing their countries.
Utah have arguably one of the best goalkeeping tandems heading into the 2019 season, and neither of their keepers is going to the World Cup. This is super helpful for consistency along the backline. They also have two players who could both start in Abby Smith and Nicole Barnhart. Barnhart brings the veteran presence, 10 years after first beginning her professional career. Then there’s Smith, who’s gotten to play quality minutes over the past two seasons between Boston and Utah. It seemed like last year would be a passing of the torch in goal for the Royals, so expect Smith to start come opening day.
On defense, the Royals have pretty strong options when everyone is available. They’ll be losing what is likely their starting four in Kelley O’Hara, Rachel Corsie, Becky Sauerbrunn and Katie Bowen when they represent their countries in France this summer. During the beginning of the season, they’ll definitely be stretched thin and might have to shift players around and try different formations to make things work.
The Royals picked up a big name for their midfield in the offseason when they signed Vero Boquete to a contract. Boquete played for the Portland Thorns in 2014 before returning to Europe to play for a number of different clubs. Diana Matheson and Desire Scott will be important parts of the Royals path to the playoffs as they add great experience to the roster. And finally, Gunny Jonsdottir will be a great offensive weapon to have while the national team players are away.
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The front line for the Royals will be something to watch out for this season. Christen Press is obviously very capable of scoring goals at every level, but will she be able to come back from the World Cup and be in prime form for Utah? The question of who will fill in for Press is a pretty simple one. It’ll be a team effort. There really is no one player who has the ability to score like Press does right now. But having players like Amy Rodriguez and Katie Stengel on the roster sure will help. If Stengel can repeat the 2018 season she had, the Royals will be in good shape.
While the Royals won’t be completely out of it, it’s hard to imagine they’ll be able to survive this beginning period. They have too many players out on the back end to be competitive for a long stretch. But never count Laura Harvey and her teams out. Look for Utah to finish about the middle of the table in 2019.