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...