Utah Royals FC Receive Orlando’s Recently-Acquired First Round Pick in the 2019 NWSL College Draft (via Seattle)
Sandy, Utah (Friday, February 2, 2018) — Utah Royals FC have acquired the Orlando Pride’s 2019 first round draft pick (via Seattle) in exchange for the rights to USWNT forward Sydney Leroux, Head Coach Laura Harvey and General Manager Craig Waibel announced today.
The exchange occurred after the Utah Royals FC participated in the 2018 Dispersal Draft, and three weeks prior to the commencement of the Utah club’s inaugural preseason.
The NWSL Dispersal Draft was held on Tuesday afternoon. Below is the list of players the club selected:
Overall Pick / Player / Position
5th / Abby Smith / GK
14th / Katie Stengel / FW
23rd / Brooke Elby / MF
32nd / Amanda DaCosta / MF (rights only)
With the Breakers ceasing operations, the 2018 NWSL season will now feature a nine-team, single-table alignment with a 24-game schedule. Each club will play three games against every opponent in the league. The NWSL roster size requirements will remain unchanged, with a minimum of 18 players and a maximum of 20 players per club. Contracted players (included allocated players) and 2018 College Draft picks selected via the Dispersal Draft will not count against the club’s official 18-20 player roster for the 2018 season.
Be a part of history and catch Utah Royals FC as it kicks off NWSL regular-season action the weekend of March 24, and witness the historic home opener on April 14 at Rio Tinto Stadium. Buy your season tickets for the 2018 Utah Royals FC season at www.RSL.com/NWSL or 844.Real.Tix.
