| Club: | Utah Royals FC |
| Season: | 2020 |
| Stadium: | Rio Tinto Stadium |
| League: | NWSL |
| Chrtitle: | Owner |
| Chairman: | Dell Loy Hansen |
| Mgrtitle: | Head coach |
| Manager: | Amy LePeilbet (interim) |
| Cup1: | 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Quarter-finals |
| Pattern B1: | _utahroyals20h |
| Pattern Sh1: | _nikefootballnavylogo |
| Pattern So1: | _nikegold |
| Leftarm1: | 000833 |
| Body1: | 000833 |
| Rightarm1: | 000833 |
| Shorts1: | FCB61A |
| Socks1: | 000833 |
| Pattern B2: | _utahroyals19a |
| Leftarm2: | FFFFFF |
| Body2: | FFFFFF |
| Rightarm2: | FFFFFF |
| Shorts2: | FFFFFF |
| Socks2: | FFFFFF |
| American: | true |
| Prevseason: | 2019 |
| Nextseason: | 2021 (KC) 2024 (Utah) |
The 2020 Utah Royals FC season marks the team's third year and final season of existence and its third season and last edition before to Kansas City NWSL, in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top division of the American soccer pyramid.[1]
On January 6, 2020 the team mutually parted ways with head coach Laura Harvey so she could take a position with U.S Soccer as the head coach for the U-20 Women's National Team.[2]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the NWSL did not hold a regular season as originally scheduled.[3] The season was replaced by the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup in July and the Fall Series in September and October.[4]
The Royals began their Challenge Cup against the Houston Dash on June 30. They were without forward Christen Press who opted out of the tournament and Desiree Scott who withdrew from the tournament for personal reasons.[5] [6]
Preliminary Round
Knockout Round
The Royals would be without several players for the NWSL Fall Series. Forward Christen Press signed with Manchester United. Rachel Corsie went on loan to Birmingham City and Gunnhildur Jónsdóttir was loaned to Valur. Kelley O'Hara, Desiree Scott and Diana Matheson all opted out of the Fall Series.[7]
Head Coach Craig Harrington and assistant coach Louis Lancaster were placed on administrative leave prior to the first game of the Fall Series, Amy LePeilbet was named interim head coach.[8]
| No. | Name | Nationality | Positions | Date of birth (age) | Signed from | Year with club (year signed) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | |||||||
| Defenders | |||||||
| Midfielders | |||||||
| Forwards | |||||||
| 1 | data-sort-value="Smith" | September 20, 2020 |  Boston Breakers | 3 (2018) | |||
| 2 | data-sort-value="Corsie" | September 20, 2020 | Seattle Reign | 3 (2018) | |||
| 3 | data-sort-value="King" | September 20, 2020 | North Carolina State University | 1 (2020) | |||
| 5 | data-sort-value="O'Hara" | September 20, 2020 | Sky Blue FC | 3 (2018) | |||
| 6 | data-sort-value="Bowen" | September 20, 2020 | FC Kansas City | 3 (2018) | |||
| 8 | data-sort-value="Rodriguez" | September 20, 2020 | FC Kansas City | 3 (2018) | |||
| 7 | data-sort-value="Ball" | September 20, 2020 | Portland Thorns | 1 (2020) | |||
| 9 | data-sort-value="LaBonta" | September 20, 2020 | FC Kansas City | 3 (2018) | |||
| 10 | data-sort-value="Matheson" | September 20, 2020 | Seattle Reign FC | 3 (2018) | |||
| 11 | data-sort-value="Scott" | September 20, 2020 | FC Kansas City | 3 (2018) | |||
| 12 | data-sort-value="Lytle" | September 20, 2020 | Sky Blue FC | 3 (2018) | |||
| 13 | data-sort-value="Leach" | Chestley Strother | September 20, 2020 |  Sundsvalls DFF | 1 (2020) | ||
| 14 | data-sort-value="Vincent" | September 20, 2020 | University of Louisville | 2 (2019) | |||
| 17 | data-sort-value="Ship" | September 20, 2020 | Washington Spirit | 1 (2020) | |||
| 18 | data-sort-value="Barnhart" | September 20, 2020 | FC Kansas City | 3 (2018) | |||
| 19 | data-sort-value="Maemone" | September 20, 2020 | Pepperdine University | 2 (2019) | |||
| 20 | data-sort-value="Weber" | September 20, 2020 | Portland Thorns | 2 (2019) | |||
| 21 | data-sort-value="Boquete" | September 20, 2020 |  Beijing BG Phoenix | 2 (2019) | |||
| 22 | data-sort-value="Nolf" | September 20, 2020 | Penn State University | 2 (2019) | |||
| 24 | data-sort-value="Leach" | September 20, 2020 | Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC | 1 (2020) | |||
| 25 | data-sort-value="Ratcliffe" | September 20, 2020 | FC Kansas City | 3 (2018) | |||
| 29 | data-sort-value="Del Fava" | September 20, 2020 | Illinois State University | 1 (2020) | |||
| 38 | data-sort-value="Diallo" | September 20, 2020 |  Paris Saint-Germain | 1 (2020) | |||
| 42 | data-sort-value="Strom-Okimoto" | September 20, 2020 | University of Hawaii | 2 (2019) | |||
| 61 | data-sort-value="Lowder" | Melissa Lowder | Santa Clara University | 2 (2019) | |||
| 66 | data-sort-value="Jónsdóttir" | September 20, 2020 |  Vålerenga | 3 (2018) | |||
| data-sort-value="Vasconcelos" | September 20, 2020 | Chicago Red Stars | 1 (2020) | ||||
| Date | Player | Positions played | Previous club | Fee/notes | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/05/19 | Kyra Carusa | FW | Sky Blue FC | Re-Entry Wire | [13] | |
| 11/05/19 | Cali Farquharson | FW | Washington Spirit | Re-Entry Wire | ||
| 11/05/19 | Arielle Ship | FW | Washington Spirit | Re-Entry Wire | ||
| 01/06/20 | Taylor Leach | DF | Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC | Signed | [14] | |
| 01/07/20 | Chestley Strother | MF | Sundsvalls DFF | Signed | [15] | |
| 03/03/20 | Elizabeth Ball | DF | Portland Thorns | Acquired in a trade with the Portland Thorns in exchange for Becky Sauerbrunn and allocation money. | [16] | |
| 03/11/20 | Aminata Diallo | MF | Paris Saint-Germain | Signed on loan from Paris Saint-Germain. | [17] | |
| 09/10/20 | Michele Vasconcelos | FW | Chicago Red Stars | Acquired in a trade with the Chicago Red Stars in exchange for $55,000 in allocation money. | [18] |
| Date | Player | Positions played | Destination club | Fee/notes | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/12/19 | Cali Farquharson | FW | KIF Örebro DFF | Waived | [19] | |
| 12/19/19 | Makenzy Doniak | FW | Chicago Red Stars | Traded to the Chicago Red Stars, in exchange for Chicago's second round pick in the 2021 NWSL College Draft | [20] | |
| 01/06/20 | Erika Tymrak | MF | Retired | [21] | ||
| 01/08/20 | Katie Stengel | FW | Houston Dash | Traded to the Houston Dash along with Utah's third round pick in the 2020 College Draft in exchange for Houston's second round pick in the 2020 and 2021 NWSL College Drafts | [22] | |
| 02/03/20 | Mandy Laddish | MF | Retired | [23] | ||
| 02/03/20 | Becca Moros | DF | Waived | |||
| 02/19/20 | Sydney Miramontez | DF | Retired | [24] | ||
| 03/03/20 | Becky Sauerbrunn | DF | Portland Thorns | Traded to the Portland Thorns in exchange for Elizabeth Ball and allocation money. | ||
| 09/09/20 | Christen Press | FW | Manchester United | Signed with Manchester United in the FA Women's Super League, Utah retains her rights in the NWSL. | [25] |
Source: National Women's Soccer League[26]
| Round | Pick | Player | Previous Team | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | 8 | | F | North Carolina State University | ||
| Round 2 | 12 | | M | Illinois State University | ||
| Round 4 | 31 | | F | University of Texas |