Royals not ready to panic, know they need to be better

Photo Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Many pundits tabbed Utah Royals FC to climb the table in their second National Women’s Soccer League season. They retooled the coaching staff and the roster last summer and reaped immediate rewards. Their attacking prodigy Ally Sentnor prepped for the season with a breakout performance for the United States in the SheBelieves Cup.

But three matches into 2025, and alarm bells can already be heard in the Wasatch Valley. The Royals have taken only one out of nine points—less than the start of their expansion year—are being exploited trying to play out of the back, and remain without several injured players heading into Friday night’s home match against the Thorns.

“I think we made the right analysis and had a lot of individual talks as well,” Royals coach Jimmy Coenraets said Wednesday. “A lot of what we’re doing right now is not bad at all. It’s just making sure we fine-tune the individual things.”

A look at the Royals gameplay suggests they may have to do more than just fine-tune. The last match before the FIFA break saw them get smothered by the Kansas City Current, turning the ball over in dangerous spots time and again.

Coenraets said his team did a decent job against the Current advancing the ball from Zone 1 to Zone 2 (the back line to the midfield) but struggled to get to Zone 3, particularly with any amount of danger.

“They had 20 box entries, we only had six,” Coenraets said of the Current match. He preceded that by quoting 47 final third entries for the Royals against 48 for the Current. But many of the Royals were last-ditch, desperation balls. On the other side, the Current were often creating turnovers and entering the final 3rd in transition.

“We have a (set) of rules and principles that we introduced to the team that we’re applying 70 percent,” the coach said. “It’s getting that 70 percent to a 90 percent or 100 percent, and then we will be successful.”

Time will tell if the Royals will remain stubborn and keep playing through keeper Mandy McGlynn in buildup play. Friday’s guests, the Thorns, are likewise struggling to fill the back of the net and are without their best defensive forward Sophia Wilson, who is pregnant.

Asked last week about the process of playing a strict, possession style, McGlynn said: “It’s a work in progress.” McGlynn has always been aggressive off her line and capable of sweeping up attacks before they materialize. Using her feet to elude pressure and keep opponents off-balance is a different story, though.

“The hardest thing was how we conceded those goals, we trained a lot on that,” midfielder Dana Foederer said. “That’s what we have continued doing now. How is our press? How do we defend in our own box?”

Foederer pointed to her relationship with Claudia Zornoza and said, “I know I can pass her any ball.” That partnership will only become stronger with more precision passing from the backline. And Sentnor, who has spent too much time dribbling into defenders who have swarmed her en masse. That is a problem that could be largely alleviated by stronger service.

Coenraets is pleased with the amount of possession the Royals have had, but said too much of it has been horizontal. He would like to see that possession used to push the ball down the pitch.

“Can we have the same possession but play the vertical balls instead of keep on going horizontal, keep on going back to our goalkeeper. So very happy with the fact that we are on the ball more but not it’s translating that on the ball performance into forward threats, making sure we’re getting into the final third.”

The coach is remaining calm, though, and cautions that it has only been three games out of 26.

“We’re three games into the season,” he said. “I do understand the results, but it’s a process thing and we have to make sure we’re not throwing everything overboard.

“We have to become better at what we do.”