Utah Royals: Why the (bleep) not us?

The Utah Royals had an auspicious start to their NWSL playoff run with a 1-0 quarterfinal victory over the second-seeded San Diego Wave.

Seventh-seeded Utah was making its first-ever playoff appearance. They grabbed the victory without Mina Tanaka, who was out with a hamstring injury. They were winless in four straight going into the game, hadn’t scored a goal since early October and had lost all six of their previous matches against the Wave.

But none of those things mattered in the end, and now the Royals are in the semifinals.

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Gotham’s recent history shows that the old cliché about how in the playoffs “anything can happen.”  Eighth-seeded Gotham swept through the playoffs to the win the championship last season. In 2023 Gotham was also the lowest seed and went on to win it all.

So it certainly seems possible when goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn shouted in the team’s postgame celebration on Friday night “Why the f*** not us?”

“I was a part of the beginning with this team and just building this club from the foundation, and just, I was emotional after the game, just because this is history, and we are writing it. It’s right in front of us,” McGlynn said postgame. “It surpasses what’s happened in the past for me. And like this is where I wanted to want to be, and I want to make moments like this happen. That’s what I said when I came to Utah, I want to get this club off the ground, and I want to do it with a really special group. And it’s this year.”

McGlynn, who was on the Gotham squad that won the title in 2023, finished with four saves. Her biggest came in the 77^th minute, when she tipped Gia Corley’s shot over the net.

“I was just like, clean sheet, clean sheet. You know what I mean? I was like, this is like a new season,” she said about her approach to the postseason. “I did not even think about how the performances were going before into the playoffs because in this league anyone can win on any given day, and we proved that today.”

Kiana Palacios picked up a low cross from Cloé Lacasse, took a touch and scored in the 30^th minute for the lone goal of the quarterfinal match. And the victory came despite the Wave dominating possession and out-shooting Utah 16-8, including a 5-2 advantage for shots on target.

Now the challenge is the third-seeded Washington Spirit, who overwhelmed the Portland Thorns on Sunday. Trinity Rodman scored a pair of goals for the Spirit.

The other semifinal will feature No. 1 seed Gotham, which defeated the Reign 1-0 on Sunday, against the Kansas City Current, who downed Angel City 1-0 on Saturday.

“I just think we’re just on the same page, and we all like egos aside, selfishness aside, we all want to play for one another and just literally run and tackle, be aggressive for one another,” Palacios said. “I feel like you could see that on the field. Like one person does something, and we all hype each other up. That motivates me and wants me to keep going, and I think it motivates everybody else too.”

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Links

Kara Nortman is an Enneagram devotee

Angel City decries penalty in quarterfinal

The NY Post did a feature on Midge Purce

ESPN looks at the needs for every team eliminated from the playoffs.

Nice feature on the many behind ION’s celly cam

USA Today looks at the potential stadium issues in the playoffs

Gotham adds $100 million in investment

NWSL average attendance up 3 percent this year, bolstered by expansion Denver

FA and WSL launch study into ACL injuries in women’s soccer

FIFA considers restricting women’s Olympic soccer to the under-23s

Nice feature on Chelsea’s Ellie Carpenter

The Guardian on Nigeria’s fall from grace

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Soccer: Annie Peterson, @AnnieMPeterson, AP Women’s Soccer
Tennis: Joey Dillon, @JoeyDillon, Freelance Tennis Writer
Basketball: Howard Megdal, @HowardMegdal, The IX Sports
Softball: Maren Angus-Coombs, @Maren-Angus, The IX Sports
Golf: Marin Dremock, @MDremock, The IX Sports
Hockey: @TheIceGarden, The Ice Garden
Gymnastics: Jessica Taylor Price, @jesstaylorprice, Freelance Writer