The yo-yo effect of the Utah Royals’ win-loss cycle of the past 11 matches wasn’t taking a toll on the club’s collective psyche just yet.
But the NWSL side that has already made club history time and again broke the cycle Saturday, nonetheless.
Brecken Mozingo scored her second goal of the season in the final minutes of stoppage time to help Utah Royals FC secure a 1-1 draw with Racing Louisville at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Ky.
Racing Louisville (7-3-17, 24 points) matched the Royals with four shots on target. But after out-shooting Utah 8-3 in the first half, the visitors put up 13 shots to just three against after halftime that included the 16th goal in the final 15 minutes — the most conceded over that time in the 16-team NWSL.
It’s not 3 points on the road. But the draw snaps Utah’s alternating win-loss cycle that nearly dates back to the NWSL’s return from the international break after the FIFA men’s World Cup, and inches them closer to their first-ever playoff berth — and currently tied with Washington for third in the league with 46 points before the Spirit’s Sunday nightcap against Houston.
In a match that was largely defined by Savannah DeMelo’s emotional return to the pitch for the first time in 384 days following an on-field cardiac event, the Royals showed a few things about themselves, too.
“It definitely feels like a point on the road, not a win because it wasn’t a complete performance for us,” Utah forward Paige Cronin said. “But I’m really proud of the group … for having that reaction, and then Brecken having that skill to get a point.”
After a 2-1 win over Louisville back on May 17 on the Wasatch Front, the Royals (14-4-9, 46 points) were eyeing their first-ever sweep of Racing, which was found as an expansion club after Utah’s initial departure from the league in 2019 and has most recently fallen under a specter of ownership change and potential relocation.
Louisville entered Saturday morning second-to-last in the 16-team NWSL, just 7 points from last-place Chicago, and second-to-last in average attendance. Its star player, U.S. international Emma Sears has a standing transfer request, and Bev Yanez — who won NWSL coach of the year in 2025 — is out of contract in a few months, according to ESPN.
Louisville out-shot the visitors 7-3 in the first 40 minutes.
But after a series of saves that included Mina Tanaka’s goal-ling clearance, Arin Wright drew a foul in the penalty area and former University of Utah midfielder Katie O’Kane converted the spot kick past goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn for the halftime advantage.
Racing out-shot the Royals 8-3, held Utah to a single shot on target and 0.12 xG en route to the 1-0 halftime advantage.
But Mozingo, who replaced Miyabi as a second-half sub in the 80th minute, equalized on nearly the final touch of the match with a right-footed shot from outside the box in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time.
Moments prior, Cronin raced to the end line to keep the ball from going out of bounds, and Mozingo converted inside the bottom right corner to secure the point. The multiyear captain and former Louisville winger then played the ball to Nuria Rabano for a sequence that ended with Mozingo’s right foot — and a perfectly clinical finish.
“Once it came off her foot, I was like, Goal,” said McGlynn as she described the way the ball leaped off Mozingo’s foot from her vantage point some 70-plus yards away. “As it came bouncing, I saw her take it and it stayed low right into the pocket. It was golden — so cool.”
Added Cronin: “She will put that shot away nine times out of 10. As soon as she had it, it was the person we wanted.”
After a lengthy VAR review, Mozingo’s sixth goal of her NWSL career was confirmed to secure the Royals’ first draw since May 30 against Portland — and return a sense of urgency before the final three matches of the regular season.
“In this game, we needed to prepare like it was a playoff game,” Cronin said. “Can we get it done? Are we clawing for the ball?
“It’s something in our DNA that I’m really proud of with this group.”
The Utah Royals will return from the FIFA international window, Saturday, Oct. 17 when they host the Kansas City Current (4:30 p.m. MT, ION TV).
