Player Spotlight | Tanaka brings home first home win for Utah Royals FC

By: Avery Romney

Friday, Apr 3, 2026 - America First Field

With the first win of the season under its belt against Boston FC, Utah Royals FC returned home to the Wasatch Front, hungry for its first victory of 2026 in Utah soil, hosting the Chicago Stars. After a scoreless first half despite overwhelming dominance, iconic midfielder Mina Tanaka put the first goal on the scoreboard with what lever to be the game-winning penalty kick, bringing home the victory under the night lights of America First Field.

URFC Head Coach Jimmy Coenraets made three changes to the 4-2-3-1 starting lineup, placing Kaleigh Reihl and Janni Thomsen in the back line and reinserting Kiana Palacios at striker.

Mina Tanaka Ends the Drought

Friday’s match set the Club record for the most shots in Royals history with 27, including 10 shots on goal, along with 14 corner kicks. The Chicago goalkeeper stood tall to deny the onslaught, while Utah’s Mia Justus came up with the key save needed to preserve the clean sheet.  

In the 73rd minute, Tanaka finally broke the silence. Forward Cece Delzer drew a foul in the box, as Tessa Dellarose lunged to defend an attack on the goal, bringing Delzer to the ground. After video review, the referee deemed the play a foul, calling for a penalty kick in the box. The Japanese star Tanaka stepped up to the task, taking a shot to the bottom right corner and landing the Royals its first home win of the season. 

This goal marks Tanaka’s second of the 2026 season and her seventh for URFC over the last three seasons with the Club. She is now tied for the early URFC Golden Boot lead with Tatumn Milazzo and Lara Prašnikar so far in the young 2026 campaign.

Mia Justus: An Unbreakable Force 

Friday's match meant the first clean sheet of the season for goalkeeper Mia Justus, and her first-ever shutout at home. Multiple chances from the Stars were denied by the GK, determined to keep the net untouched. Her first career clean sheet came last year away against Bay FC, where she helped secure the 2-0 road victory. 

Justus has received two Save of the Week nominations already this year, one of them coming after an impressive performance against Boston last Saturday. She has logged 13 saves in the first five games of the season, already surpassing her record last year.

Looking Ahead

The focus now turns to the upcoming FIFA International Break, as seven Royals players head out to compete in various World Cup Qualifiers for their home countries. URFC is set to take on Seattle Reign on April 26 Lumen Field, and then heads to L.A. to face Angel City on May 2 before coming home to challenge Houston Dash in Sandy on May 6 at 8 PM MT.