HERRIMAN, Utah (Thursday, May 8, 2025) - Utah Royals FC (1-5-1, 4 pts, 13th NWSL) are set for a return to southern California to take on Angel City FC (3-2-2, 11 pts, 8th NWSL) on Friday, May 9th at 8:30 p.m. MT at BMO Stadium.
The Utah Royals are coming off a 2–0 home loss to the North Carolina Courage, who struck twice in the first half to secure the win. Head Coach Jimmy Coenraets made several changes to both the lineup and formation, deploying the team in a 4-2-2-2 setup. Utah took the field against North Carolina on Saturday, with a starting lineup featuring an average age of 23 years and 296 days—making it the youngest lineup in a regular-season NWSL match since June 17, 2016, when Western New York started a squad averaging 23 years and 281 days. The match marked a historic moment for KK Ream, who earned her first-ever NWSL start—becoming the youngest player in league history to do so at just 15 years, 9 months, and 26 days old. Lauren Flynn also returned to the starting XI, making her first start since suffering an injury last season, having made a return last week in Houston. Additionally, Mina Tanaka made her return to the pitch as a halftime substitute after recovering from an injury sustained while on international duty with Japan. The Royals once again showed improvement in the second half and will look to carry that momentum into the upcoming road matchup.
The first meeting between these two sides in the 2024 season saw Angel City earn a 2-1 road win in Utah. In that match, Dutch midfielder Dana Foederer scored her first NWSL goal, finishing a cutback assist from Ally Sentnor. In the return fixture in Los Angeles, the teams played to a 1-1 draw. Spanish midfielder Claudia Zornoza opened the scoring for Utah with a stunning direct free kick in the 21st minute—on her birthday. Sydney Leroux leveled the match for Angel City in the 57th minute with an acrobatic finish.
WATCH LIVE on KMYU with David James & Carla Haslam :: Utah Royals FC vs. Angel City FC | BMO Stadium | 7:00 p.m. MT | KMYU (2.2 over air / 12 satellite / 643 Comcast HD)
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WATCH LIVE on NWSL+ with Maura Sheridan & Jordan Angeli :: Utah Royals FC at Angel City FC | BMO Stadium | 7:30 p.m. MT
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LISTEN via KSL Sports Radio (102.7 FM / 1160 AM) starting at 7:00 p.m. MT
Angel City enters this match on the heels of a wild 4–3 road victory over the Washington Spirit. In a thrilling back-and-forth contest, rookie Riley Tiernan netted the game-winning goal in the 90+8th minute—her fifth of the season. LA opened the 2024 campaign with back-to-back draws against San Diego and Portland, followed by consecutive wins over Houston and Seattle. However, they stumbled in their next two matches, suffering defeats to both Gotham FC and Orlando Pride. Angel City is currently led by interim head coach Sam Laity, as the club awaits the June arrival of permanent head coach Alexander Straus from Bayern Munich.
Following Friday night’s match, Utah will head to the nation’s capital to take on Washington Spirit on May 17. Utah Royals FC then returns home to Sandy to host the 2024 NWSL Shield winners and NWSL champions, the Orlando Pride, on May 23. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. MT. Tickets for the match are available at https://www.rsl.com/utahroyals/tickets/single.
