FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (Saturday, March 28, 2026) – Utah Royals FC (1-1-2, 4 points, 9th NWSL) earned its first victory of the young 2026 campaign with a 2-1 win over Boston Legacy FC (0-0-3, 0 points, 16th NWSL) at Gillette Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The result marks Utah’s first win of the season and the Club’s first-ever victory against Boston, while also extending the Royals’ road unbeaten streak to two matches, capturing four points in its East Coast road trip at Washington and Boston this week.
Utah Royals FC Head Coach Jimmy Coenraets made five personnel changes and one positional switch to the starting XI from Wednesday’s come-from-behind 1-1 draw at Washington, while also shifting the team’s shape from a 4-2-3-1 to a more attacking 4-3-3. Swiss army knife Alexa Spaanstra and defender Tatumn Milazzo were both inserted into the lineup, alongside Miyabi Moriya making her first start of the 2026 season. In attack, Japanese international Mina Tanaka earned her first start of the campaign, while Slovenian international Lara Prašnikar returned to the starting XI to lead the line as Utah looked to build momentum and secure its first win of the 2026 season.
The Royals opened the match with attacking intent, looking to strike first and establish early control. In the ninth minute, URFC goalkeeper Mia Justus came up with a crucial save to keep the match scoreless, denying Boston and preserving the clean sheet in the early stages.
Defensively, Utah was anchored by consistency, as Kate Del Fava made her 55th consecutive start for the Royals, appearing in every match since the Club’s 2024 return to the league. Including her time with Kansas City, Del Fava has now started 68 straight matches, the longest active streak in the NWSL and the eighth-longest in league history.
The breakthrough came in the 34th minute, when Utah capitalized on a set-piece opportunity. After earning a free kick, the Royals executed a well-worked routine that saw Canadian forward Cloé Lacasse deliver a perfectly-placed ball to the far post. Milazzo met it first-time, finishing cleanly to give Utah a 1-0 lead, with the goal marking Milazzo’s second of the 2026 season and the sixth of her NWSL career, with four of those coming via headers. It also marked her second goal for Utah, as she continues to make an impact in her first season with the Club.
Notably, Milazzo has now scored Utah’s first-ever goals against both Kansas City and Boston, and this marks just the second time in her career (first since 2022) that she has recorded multiple goals in a single season. Lacasse earned her second assist of the 2026 campaign on the play.
Utah nearly doubled its advantage just before halftime. In first-half stoppage time (45+1’), forward Cece Delzer found herself in a dangerous position in front of goal and got her head on the end of a service, but her effort was saved by the Boston goalkeeper, keeping the score at 1-0 heading into the break.
Coming out of the locker room, Utah Royals looked to build on its first-half advantage and continue applying pressure in the attacking third.
The game-sealing moment came shortly after the restart, as Utah earned a penalty in the 49th minute, marking the second consecutive week Boston had conceded from the spot. Slovenian international Prašnikar stepped up in the 51st minute and delivered with confidence, firing a powerful shot into the top left corner to extend the Royals’ lead to 2-0. The finish secured Prašnikar’s second goal of the 2026 season.
The goal also put Utah on track for a rare road shutout victory, something the club accomplished just once during the 2025 campaign. The last time Utah earned a multi-goal shutout win away from home came on September 27 against Bay FC, a 2-0 result that also marked goalkeeper Justus’ first NWSL win and clean sheet. Of Utah’s six wins last season, four were shutout victories, but only one came on the road.
However, Boston responded in the 73rd minute, finding a breakthrough through a dangerous Aissata Traoré. Forward Amanda Gutierres played a well-weighted ball into space, allowing Traoré to outpace the Utah backline before calmly finishing past Royals goalkeeper Justus to cut the deficit to 2-1. The goal marked the first in Boston’s club history and shifted momentum late in the match.
The hosts continued to push forward in search of an equalizer, applying sustained pressure in the final minutes. However, Utah’s defense remained organized and disciplined under pressure, with the back line holding firm to preserve the lead.
Despite Boston’s late surge, the Royals saw out the result to secure a 2-1 victory on the road, earning their first win of the 2026 season.
Following today’s result, Utah Royals FC returns to the Beehive State this week to host Chicago Stars FC in its second home match of the year on Friday, April 3, at America First Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. MT. with tickets available for purchase here.
BOS 1:2 UTA
UTA: Tatumn Milazzo (Cloé Lacasse) 34’ — Utah Royals struck first in the 34th minute as the hosts capitalized on a set-piece opportunity. After earning a free kick, Utah executed a well-designed play that saw Canadian forward Cloé Lacasse deliver a perfectly placed ball to the far post. Defender Tatumn Milazzo met it first-time, finishing cleanly to give the Royals the lead. The goal marked Milazzo’s second of the 2026 season, while Lacasse recorded her second assist of the campaign.
UTA: Lara Prašnikar (Penalty) 51’ — Utah Royals doubled its advantage early in the second half after earning a penalty in the 49th minute. Slovenian international Lara Prašnikar stepped up to the spot and confidently struck a powerful shot into the top left corner, leaving the Boston goalkeeper with no chance. The finish secured Prašnikar’s second goal of the 2026 season and extended Utah’s lead to 2-0.
BOS: Aissata Traoré (Amanda Gutierres) 73’ — Boston pulled one back in the 73rd minute as forward Amanda Gutierres delivered a well-timed pass into space for Aissata Traoré. The striker outpaced the Utah backline before calmly slotting the ball past Royals goalkeeper Mia Justus, cutting the deficit to 2-1. The finish marked Boston’s first goal in club history.
LINEUPS:
Utah Royals FC (4-3-3): Mia Justus; Miyabi Moriya, Kate Del Fava ©, Tatumn Milazzo, Alexa Spaanstra (Madison Hammond 73’); Ana Tejada, Dayana Pierre-Louis (Courtney Brown 63’), Mina Tanaka; Cece Delzer (Janni Thomsen 63’), Cloé Lacasse (Kiana Palacios 64’), Lara Prašnikar (Kameron Simmonds 84’)
Subs not used: DeAira Jackson, Kaleigh Riehl, Aria Nagai
Head Coach: Jimmy Coenraets
Boston Legacy FC (4-1-4-1): Casey Murphy; Sammy Smith, Jorelyn Carabali, Laurel Ansbrow, Bianca St-Georges; Annie Karich; Bárbara Olivieri (Aleigh Gambone 71’), Ella Stevens © (Amanda Gutierres dos Santos 55’), Alba Caño, Fauzia Najjemba (Nichelle Prince 71’); Aissata Traoré
Subs not used: Laurel Ivory, Emerson Elgin, Josefine Hasbo, Amanda Allen, Chloe Ricketts, Sophia Lowenberg
Head Coach: Filipa Patão
Stats Summary: BOS / UTA
Possession: 60 / 40
Shots: 11 / 7
Shots on Goal: 2 / 3
Corner Kicks: 4 / 3
Fouls: 25 / 15
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
BOS: Aissata Traoré (Yellow Card, 18’)
BOS: Ella Stevens (Yellow Card, 37’)
UTA: Mina Tanaka (Yellow Card, 45 +4’)
BOS: Annie Karich (Yellow Card, 45 +5’)
UTA: Cloé Lacasse (Yellow Card, 48’)
BOS: Alba Caño (Yellow Card, 69’)
UTA: Kate Del Fava (Yellow Card, 79’)
