Becky Sauerbrunn has officially been unveiled as a Utah Royals FC player. A World Cup winner and Olympic Gold Medalist, Sauerbrunn comes to the Utah side twice an NWSL champion and three-time NWSL Defender of the Year and current captain of the U.S. Women’s National Team.
A storied career follows the World Cup winner and Olympic Gold Medalist to Utah as she carries two league championships and a national team captaincy to the newest franchise in the National Women’s Soccer League. Amassing over 220 appearances for club and country, Sauerbrunn has solidified herself as one the most prolific defenders in worldwide women’s soccer.
“I’m incredibly excited to start this new adventure in Utah,” Sauerbrunn said. “To me it’s very clear the ownership wants to provide the team with the best chance to win a championship. Everything is going to be world class and it’s a really exciting thing to be a part of.”
Within a week of the Royals FC namesake and logo being revealed, Sauerbrunn boarded a flight to Utah to meet with RSL Owner Dell Loy Hansen and General Manager Craig Waibel to tour the club’s facilities and see what the plan for the league’s newest franchise looked like. After scouting and touring Rio Tinto Stadium and the Zions Bank Real Academy in Herriman, it didn’t take long for Sauerbrunn to decide that Utah was where she wanted to apply her craft.
“I was really fortunate I got to visit and meet Dell Loy Hansen, Craig Waibel and talk to Laura Harvey. Meeting the staff of the organization really cemented my decision,” Sauerbrunn recalled. Coming to Salt Lake and seeing the world-class facilities and meeting the staff made it a really easy decision.”
An original member of the NWSL, Sauerbrunn has faced Laura Harvey – now her head coach – in two NWSL Championship matches and has twice defeated Harvey in the title match, in both 2014 and 2015. Now aiming for an NWSL title together, Sauerbrunn relishes the opportunity to work with a storied coach who brandishes a style of soccer she has long admired.
“The hiring of Laura Harvey is amazing. I’ve been fortunate to play against her for five years during my time with Kansas City and the way she coached Seattle [Reign] and the way her team played is something I’ve always admired,” Sauerbrunn explained. “When I heard she was being hired I was so excited because I’ve always wanted the chance to play for her.”
Ahead of the club’s inaugural season and the league’s historic sixth season, Royals FC will be looked upon as one of the most prominent staples in the landscape of the growing league. As such, being a top team in the league inherently comes with a target on the back that according to Sauerbrunn, a target the club will wear proudly.
“You want to be on the team that everyone wants to play for,” Sauerbrunn said. “The way everything is being set up Royals FC is going to be a team everyone is going to want to play for. You see it with teams in the league that have been successful and with the way things are trending currently, we are going to have a team in the first year that is going to be very successful.”
Season tickets to see Sauerbrunn and the rest of Royals FC in its inaugural season are now available and can be purchased by calling 844.REAL.TIX.
