Royal Reaction: Utah Royals establishing road mentality, home and away
Royal Reaction: Utah Royals establishing road mentality, home and away
Even in the Royals' 2-1 road loss to Washington, the rebooted 2.0 version of the franchise showed its foundation: Utah is up for a fight.
Moral victories matter as much as a loss in the standings of a professional soccer league.
But in the Utah Royals’ 2-1 loss to the Washington Spirit over the weekend, the rebooted expansion side showed something that has been a common thread of the Royals’ first three matches of the 2024 NWSL season.
This club is here to fight. And while what that fight means in terms of talent or age gap or inexperience on the field — both together and overall — the fight is shaping up to be the backbone of Amy Rodriguez’s first group of professionals in Utah.
This isn’t a team that will just wind up and play on the counter, get out and run, and utilize its athletes.
There may be a time and a place for that tactic. But the Royals 2.0 are building in a different way. And that’s intentional, A-Rod says.
“I think my team is completely in this for the long haul. We’re trying to build an identity,” Rodriguez said shortly after the Spirit held off Ally Sentnor’s second-half strike to take all three points at home. “We're trying to change the landscape of the NWSL. I'm not a huge fan of transitional play, but I understand that's a big element of the NWSL, and we're trying to play beautiful soccer. We’re trying to build through the thirds, and I'm gonna continue pushing my team to grind out these games where we try to keep possession against a high press opponent.
“We try to high press our opponents and win the ball back as soon as possible. I can't speak more proudly of the work that's been put in to get us to this point. I don't think that for a for a new team being 7-8 weeks in people would have predicted the quality of play that we're starting to show. But I know we're still only scratching the surface, and we got a long ways to go — but again, I'm proud of the group, and I love the fight. I love the grit of this group; that’s gonna get us far this season, and I'm gonna work just as hard as they are to ensure that we keep getting better each weekend.”
The Royals are 1-2 at the first international break of the season, a two-week extended bye for the 14-team league while the United States hosts the #SheBelieves Cup against Brazil, Canada and Japan at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio (the U.S. opens April 6 against Japan, with kickoff at 10:30 a.m. MT on TNT and MAX).
There’s a lot left of the story to be written by the expansion side, and that’s certainly the hope for league stalwarts Portland Angel City that opened the season winless at 0-2-1 apiece, as well.
But if one chapter has been inked in Utah’s 2024 campaign, let it be this: the Royals are going to work, with fitness a clear priority.
“I feel like it’s something that Amy has instilled in us ever since we got here,” said Olivia Griffitts, the rookie fullback out of BYU who made her pro debut Sunday. “On the first day, she wanted us to be the fittest, toughest NWSL team in the league. I think just having that as a mindset really helps us be able to do that on the field.”
Utah will return from the mini-international break on Friday, April 12 to host winless Orlando Pride (0-0-3). Kickoff from America First Field in Sandy, Utah is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. MT on NWSL+.
