Sandy, Utah (Saturday, September 12, 2026) – Utah Royals FC (13-9-3, 42 points, 5th NWSL) was unable to continue its winning form against Angel City FC (11-8-6, 39 points, 6th NWSL) after two first-half red cards forced the home side to play with nine players for over 65 minutes on Sunday evening at America First Field.
Royals Head Coach Jimmy Coenraets made three personnel changes to the starting XI following the 1-0 road victory against Houston last Saturday. Veteran goalkeeper and USWNT regular Mandy McGlynn returned to her spot between the posts while URFC Captain Paige Cronin slotted into right back bringing pace and her keen eye for the goal to the back line. Rounding out the changes was recently acquired forward Jameese Joseph who made her home debut and first-ever start with the Royals in the Sunday evening match against Angel City.
As the match began, both sides came out with energy, trading offensive opportunities until the 11th minute when Cronin received a red card following a VAR check, forcing the home side to play the remainder of the match with just 10 players. Following the send off, the Royals were forced to make an early substitute bringing on defender Tatumn Milazzo for Joseph in order to better thwart the ACFC attack.
While some calls were made in favor of the visitors the home side continued to push forward and into the offensive third despite the setback. In the 15th minute forward Cece Delzer showcased her speed and creativity to bring the ball into the box before shoveling it wide to Japanese midfielder Narumi whose on frame shot was saved by the keeper. Just nine minutes later the referee went to VAR once again ultimately giving Spanish defender Ana Tejada a controversial red card, forcing URFC to finish with two less players just 25 minutes into the match.
In the 42nd minute it seemed like the visitors had doubled the lead, but the goal was ultimately called back for offside keeping the score at 1-0. The Royals worked as one to keep the visitors at bay throughout multiple attacks in the home side's defensive end. After eight minutes of stoppage time Utah went into the locker room down by one.
As the second half began the pressure from the visitors and the absence of two of Utah’s veteran players became too much as Angel City doubled the score just two minutes in. While Utah continued to battle and bring energy into the difficult match, the visitors netted a third goal in the 67th minute.
Despite being down two players and three goals, URFC never wavered in its fight, continuously stepping in to stop attacking opportunities from the visitors and moving the ball up the field creatively to earn tangible scoring opportunities. The squad showed an incredible amount of fight on the defensive end, thwarting a whopping 23 total shots by the California side with McGlynn making an impressive seven saves on the busy night.
Although the evening match proved to be difficult from the beginning, the Royals fought until the final whistle showing an immense amount of grit in the 3-0 loss.
The Utah Royals will look to earn a result and take three points at America First Field next Sunday, September 27 against the North Carolina Courage and 2026 NWSL Golden Boot leader Ashley Sanchez. Kickoff for the match is scheduled for 5 p.m. MT with the tickets available for purchase here.
UTA 0 : 3 ACFC
ACFC: Ally Sentnor (Unassisted) 26’: Sentnor stepped up to the spot following a foul in the box and sent the ball into the top left corner with her left foot.
ACFC: Taylor Suarez (Gisele Thompson) 47’: Thompson found herself with the ball just two minutes into the second half and brought it closer to the 18-yard-box before passing off to Suarez who sent a left footed shot into the bottom corner of the net.
ACFC: Sveindís Jónsdóttir (Unassisted) 67’: After applying pressure in the Angel City offensive end, Jónsdóttir was able to strip the ball from the Utah defense, taking two touches before sending the ball into the back of the net.
LINEUPS:
Utah Royals FC (4-3-3): Mandy McGlynn; Paige Cronin ©, Kate Del Fava, Kaleigh Riehl, Nuria Rábano; Ana Tejada, Narumi (Madison Hammond ), Mina Tanaka; Cece Delzer (Brecken Mozingo, 63’), Jameese Joseph (Tatumn Milazzo, 63’), (Miyabi, 84’), Cloé Lacasse (Kiana Palacios, 63’)
Subs not used: Mia Justus, Kameron Simmonds, Courtney Brown, Alexa Spaanstra
Head Coach: Jimmy Coenraets
Angel City FC (4-4-2): Angelina Anderson; Sarah Gorden © (Mariara Niehues, 62’), Emily Sams, Evelyn Shores, Savy King; Gisele Thompson, Ary Borges (Riley Tiernan, 62’), Carina Lageyre, Ally Sentnor (Nealy Martin, 79’); Prisca Chilufya (Taylor Suarez 46’), Sveindís Jónsdóttir (Claire Emslie, 73’)
Subs not used: Hannah Seabert, Karsyn Cherry, Sophia Mattice, Jennie Immethun
Head Coach: Leif Smerud
Stats Summary: UTA / ACFC
Possession: 26% / 74%
Shots: 7 / 23
Shots on Goal: 2 / 10
Corner Kicks: 2 / 6
Fouls: 10 / 10
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
UTA: Paige Cronin (Red Card - 11‘)
UTA: Ana Tejada (Red Card - 24’)
ACFC: Prisca Chilufya (Yellow Card - 45‘)
ACFC: Ally Sentnor (Yellow Card - 71’)
UTA: Tatumn Milazzo (Yellow Card - 81’)
Photo Assets — Please Credit Utah Royals FC
URFC Next Home Match: 9/27 @ America First Field
URFC takes on North Carolina Courage at home on Swig Sunday $3 drinks at the stadium! Secure your seats for an unforgettable match at America First Field.
