The “new team” jitters are now a thing of the past as the Utah Royals FC enter the second week of preseason camp. The sizeable group, with several non-roster invitees included to counteract the absence of numerous internationals participating in either the SheBelieves or Algarve Cup tournaments – returned Monday to the world-class Zions Bank Real Academy Training Center in Herriman, Utah, to begin preparations for the club’s first preseason scrimmage this Saturday against Brigham Young University.
While the first week of practice featured drills aimed at meshing the women’s various playing styles, the next couple of days will be focused on preparing for this weekend’s match.
“The first week we all got that altitude sickness out of the way…so now we can adjust, play well, and prepare for the game,” said Utah Royals FC forward Katie Stengel, named late Sunday to the W-League’s “Team of the Year” as a substitute (with teammate Katrina Gorry named to the Best XI). “We have an amazing group of girls and a really deep roster, so I think it will be a really exciting match on Saturday.
For DF Sydney Miramontez, it all comes down to preparing for gameday.
“Today was a really great start to the week. Now we have a goal at the end of the week, with Saturday’s scrimmage, so our mindset is to get better everyday and keep working hard. This group understands what we have here, and understands the culture we are trying to build. That is our motivation. We see that we have every resource available possible to be good — and that has been our motivation day in and day out.”
This weekend will not only be the historic first scrimmage for the Utah Royals FC, but also gives Laura Harvey’s side a chance to kick someone else for a change.
“This Saturday is going to be exciting,” said Miramontez. “We have already made improvements over the last week, so I think fans are going to see quality performances, combinations of players coming together — a lot of work together. It will be neat to see a new kind of show.”
The upcoming days will be busy for the Utah Royals FC inaugural team. The official Zions Bank Real Academy “Grand Opening” ceremony will be held on Wednesday at 12:30 pm. Following this week’s ceremony and scrimmage, the Utah Royals FC continues on the Wasatch Front for a third consecutive week, prior to a brief road leg of the club’s preseason in Southern California from March 12-16, concluding with the final preseason scrimmage against the UCLA Bruins on that Friday.
