The Utah Royals will face the Seattle Reign for the final time this season on a historic day as the Royals and Real Salt Lake will play at Rio Tinto on the same day for the first time. Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match:
1. The Royals are coming off a 1-0 win over the Washington Spirit on Wednesday night. Katie Stengel scored the game-winner for the second match in a row, bringing her goal total to 5 on the season.
Amy Rodriguez, Christen Press, and Diana Matheson all have 2 goals and 1 assist and Brittany Ratcliffe has 2 goals.
2. With the win, Utah improved their record to 7-6-7 with 28 points. Utah sits in 6th place, just two spots out of the playoffs with 4 matches left. Saturday’s match will be Utah’s third match in seven days and the final time they face head coach Laura Harvey’s former team, Seattle Reign. The Royals are 0-1-1 against Seattle this season, drawing 0-0 at home and losing 1-0 in Seattle on July 11th. Since the loss in Seattle, Utah has gone 2-0-1 and won two matches in a row.
3. The Seattle Reign sit in 2nd place in the NWSL with a record of 9-4-6 and 33 points. Seattle is also coming off a home win against the Washington Spirit on Sunday, Jasmyne Spencer and Jodie Taylor scored for the Reign. Without a midweek match, the Reign have had the full week to prepare for the in-form Royals. The Reign are 3-3-4 on the road this season but their last road win came on May 26th against last-place Sky Blue FC. Seattle’s last two road matches have resulted in a 1-1 draw with Orlando and a 1-0 loss in Chicago. Megan Rapinoe leads the team with 7 goals and 5 assists, Jodie Taylor has 7 goals and 1 assist, and Allie Long has 3 goals and 1 assist.
Our coverage of Utah Royals vs Seattle Reign begins on Saturday, August 11 at 1:30 PM with Greg Wrubell and Carla Swensen-Haslam.
