On Saturday afternoon, Seattle Reign concludes their three-game road trip against the Utah Royals. The match kicks off on June 21 at 2 p.m. PT and will air on FOX 13+ and stream on NWSL+ and Paramount+.
Fans can also head to Reign watch parties at Rough and Tumble, Queen Anne Beer Hall, and Doyles. Reign staff will open a $500 tab for Reign FC fans at each bar and give away tickets, as well as some of their Pride merchandise.
This weekend marks the last set of games before the NWSL takes a break for the month of July, as a large number of international players will head out for major tournaments, including the UEFA Women's EURO, Women's Africa Cup of Nations, and Copa America Femenina. Securing three points will be a helpful boost in momentum for the Reign as they head into the second half of the season.
For the second week in a row, the Reign are facing a team at the bottom of the NWSL table. But that doesn't mean they are coasting into this game. As head coach Laura Harvey told reporters in a pre-match press conference, Utah is a good team that isn't getting results but deserves a lot of respect—a story that sounds similar to what the Reign experienced last year.
"This league is unforgiving, I've always said that, and I think Utah have been on the end of that. I think they're actually a good team, I think they're a very good team between the two 18-yard boxes. I'm sure the area that they want to get better at is being a little bit more ruthless in their own 18 and in the opponent's 18. And we've been there where we've felt that too."
Head-to-head
- The Reign are 7-2-3 all-time against Utah.
- The Reign are 3-1-2 on the road against the Royals.
- In 12 games, the Reign have scored 15 goals against Utah while conceding 11.
2025 results
- The Royals sit at the bottom of the NWSL table with a 1-9-2 record (5 points).
- They have scored 10 goals and conceded 25, and are 1-4-1 at home.
- The Reign sit in 6th place with a 5-4-3 record (18 points). They have scored 13 goals and conceded 12, and are 3-1-2 on the road.
Recent results
- The Royals recently fell 3-0 to Gotham at home. They are 0-4-1 in their last five matches.
- The Reign are coming off a 2-2 comeback draw on the road against Chicago. They are 2-2-1 in their last five games.
Offseason moves
- The Royals didn't lose many starters in the offseason, but did part ways with several rotational players – including defender Zoe Burns and forwards Michelle Vasconcelos, Cam Tucker, and Hannah Betfort.
- They added Canadian forward Biana St-Georges, Colombian defender Ana María Guzmán on loan, Guatemalan forward Aisha Solórzano, Spanish defender Nuria Rábano, and Danish defender Janni Thomsen.
- Defender Tatumn Milazzo, who joined Utah as a free agent, tore her ACL earlier this season.
Players to watch
Claudia Zornoza: The Spanish midfielder joined Utah in the middle of the 2024 season and made an immediate impact. Zornoza is a skilled distributor who helped Spain win the 2023 World Cup, appearing in two of the group stage matches. She doesn't require many touches to make an impact. Zornoza is in the 80+ percentile among midfielders for progressive passes, shot-creating actions, and assists. She has a goal and an assist this year. The Reign will want to limit the amount of time she has on the ball and cut off her options further up the field.
Ally Sentnor: The U.S. Women's National Team forward has had a slower start for Utah this year, with one goal and one assist. But she's still an all-around threat that could cause Seattle problems. It's easy to forget that Sentnor is still only 21 years old. She is dangerous on the dribble and a strong progressive passer. Here's the key thing to remember about Sentnor: she only scores bangers for both Utah and the USWNT.
The average distance of Sentnor's shots this year is 25.3 yards. Utah's overall average is 21.7 yards, the longest distance in the league. By comparison, the average for the Reign is 17.1, and the Current sit at the bottom with an average shot distance of 15.8 yards.
Brecken Mozingo: While she didn't score last week, the second-year forward had scored three goals in three straight games heading into the match. These were her first three regular-season goals, so the trend might not continue. Still, you just can't let a player riding a streak like this get open looks.
What to watch
Utah's press: While Utah might not be a team that high presses other teams, they do like to close down quickly on opponents. That is evident in two key stats. Utah leads the league in fouls per match (13.5). And their PPDA (passes per defensive action) is 9.5. That means Utah allows 9.5 passes for every defensive action they take—interception, tackle, foul, etc. The lower the number, the more a team likes to pressure their opponents. The Reign's PPDA is 11.9. Expect Utah to try to disrupt the Reign frequently as they attempt to build possession.
Dealing with pressure like this is even harder in Sandy, Utah. Their stadium sits 4,450 feet above sea level. Harvey knows the impact of playing at altitude from her time serving as coach of the Royals. She told reporters that she knew teams would struggle if they flew into Utah two days prior to game day. The science shows that it really hits you at 48 hours. So the Reign are flying to Sandy on Friday afternoon and spending as little time at elevation as possible.
Transitional moments: The Reign gave up two goals in transition last week against Chicago. They're going to want to work hard to avoid that against Utah, a team that was one of the most dangerous in transition last year and has speedy players like Sentnor, Mozingo, and St-Georges who can punish opponent mistakes.
"I think if you don't respect them for who they are, they can play through you very easily. They have the players to be able to do that, and we felt that last year when we went there," Harvey said in reference to the Reign's 3-0 loss last fall. "We actually spoke about that this week. To try and make sure that we put ourselves in a better spot than we did a year ago when we went out there in regards to our performance and how we put ourselves up against them."
Early momentum: In each Reign win this year, they've scored before their opponent. In four of their five wins, they scored in the first half. That's not a surprise—an early goal gives you comfort, and the Reign have shown they can stay organized defensively to hold onto a lead.
Despite starting last week's match fairly well, the Reign weren't able to turn their possession into any chances. Instead, they conceded early goals to Chicago and had to climb back from a two-goal deficit. According to Harvey, the team is proud of their comeback effort but has been focused this week on putting together a more complete performance to make their push for three points easier.
"We were happy with the fact that we were able to show that resiliency, grit mentality. But I think we all know that we have that in this group. I think the question we've been asking ourselves is: how can we try and put ourselves in a position where we can perform at the level that we did in the second half, without having that adversity before it happens? So that's been a big key for us this week. How do we put ourselves in a position where we start games like we were playing the last 5 minutes? That's been the big source of conversation, and as ever, the group's been responsive."
Injury / Availability Report
Seattle Reign
OUT: Lauren Barnes (leg), Ryanne Brown (SEI – knee), Veronica Latsko (SEI – lower leg), Cassie Miller (D-45 - leg)
INTERNATIONAL DUTY: Ana-Maria Crnogorčević (SUI), Jess Fishlock (WAL), Angharad James-Turner (WAL)
Utah Royals
OUT: Cloe Lacasse (SEI – knee), Olivia Griffitts (maternity leave), Tatumn Milazzo (SEI – knee), Macey Fraser (knee), Alex Loera (SEI – knee), Cece Kizer (hamstring)
How to watch
The match against the Utah Royals kicks off Saturday, June 21, at 2 PM PT. The game will air on Fox 13+, NWSL+ and Paramount+. You can also head to Reign watch parties at Rough and Tumble, Queen Anne Beer Hall, and Doyles. Reign staff will be opening a $500 tab for Reign FC fans at each bar.
