WASHINGTON, District of Columbia (Wed., March 25, 2026) – Utah Royals FC (0-2-1, 1 pt, 15th NWSL) earned a hard fought point at Washington Spirit (0-1-2, 2 pts, 13th NWSL) in a tightly contested 1-1 stalemate against the 2025 NWSL runner-up.
Utah Royals FC opened its two-game road trip Wednesday night in Washington, facing the NWSL runner-up, Washington Spirit. Heading into the match, head coach Jimmy Coenraets made one positional adjustment and three personnel changes to the starting lineup. He also welcomed two key reinforcements back to the squad, with Japanese forward Mina Tanaka and defender Miyabi Moriya available off the bench for the first time in 2026 after international duty with Japan at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup where they took home the trophy.
URFC started the match composed, working together from the back like a brick wall to stop any offensive opportunities for the Spirit early on. Midfielder Cece Delzer gave Utah the first tangible scoring opportunity in the 13th minute but was unable to capitalize. Just four minutes later, the home side struck on the counter after a deflected shot found its way into the box, where Washington’s Rebeca Bernal headed it into the roof of the net. Unable to find an equalizer despite a string of opportunities, the last coming in the 45th minute with a strike from Ana Tejada that forced the goalkeeper to punch the ball up and off the crossbar, URFC headed into halftime down by one.
The second half started much like the first, with both sides trading possession. Goalkeeper Mia Justus came up clutch for the Royals, making two massive one-on-one saves against the Washington attack to keep the score at 1–0 and give her teammates a chance to even it up. In the 62nd minute, the Japanese duo of Tanaka and Miyabi made their 2026 NWSL season debuts, with Miyabi also logging her first minutes as a Utah Royal. Both immediately made an impact, bringing energy and fresh creativity to the match.
In the 85th minute the hard work and determination paid off after Delzer stepped in front of a pass by the Washington goalkeeper and bringing the ball into the box, beating a defender before sending the ball across for Tanaka who shot with composure, putting the ball into the back of the net and bringing the score to one apiece. The goal marks the 12th straight match with a score for Utah, a club record, and marks the 100th goal scored in Royals history.
With the late equalizer by Tanaka, the Royals fought hard to finish out the match on top with Tanaka scoring a second goal that was ultimately called offside. The final whistle blew with the score remaining 1-1 and the Utah Royals heading to Boston with one point.
The Royals will close out its two-game road trip this Saturday, March 28th in Boston, taking on 2026 expansion side Boston Legacy and former URFC teammate Bianca St-Georges. Kickoff is scheduled for 10 a.m. MT and will be streaming on ESPN2. Following the match, the Royals return to America First Field to host the Chicago Stars on Friday, April 3rd, Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. MT and tickets are available for purchase.
WAS: Rebeca Bernal (Unassisted) 17’: After a shot by Sofia Cantore was blocked from the top of the box, Bernal crashed the net to head the ball past Justus and put the home side up 1-0.
UTA: Mina Tanka (Cece Delzer) 85’: After a poor pass by the Washington keeper, Delzer stepped in front gaining possession at the top of the box and taking a few touches before sending it across the goal line past the goalkeeper to Tanaka who took a right footed shot into the back of the net.
Utah Royals FC (4-2-3-1): Mia Justus, Kameron Simmonds (Alexa Spaanstra, 73’), Kaleigh Riehl, Kate Del Fava ©, Janni Thomsen (Miyabi Moriya, 62’); Ana Tejada, Dayana Pierre-Louis (Courtney Brown, 62’); Brecken Mozingo, Cece Delzer, Cloé Lacasse (Lara Prašnikar, 73’); Kiana Palacios (Mina Tanaka, 62’)
Subs not used: DeAira Jackson, Aria NAgai
Washington Spirit (4-2-3-1): Sandy Maclver; Lucia Di Guglielmo,Esme Morgan, Tara Rudd © Kate Wiesner (Paige Metayer, 47’); Hal Hershfelt, Rebeca Bernal; Trinity Rodman, Deb Abiodum (Claudia Martinez, 63’), Rose Kouassi; Sofia Cantore
Subs not used: Kaylie Collins, Elisabeth Tsé, Legacy Santos, Andi Sullivan, Gabby Carle, Tamara Paranagua, Madison Haugen
UTA: Kameron Simmonds (Yellow Card – 20’)
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