‘Back to who we are’: Utah Royals collect 3 points with 1-0 win in Houston

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Royals were back to being themselves Saturday night, which is to say they were back to winning.

Mina Tanaka scored the lone goal of the match midway through the second half as Utah Royals FC took all 3 points from a trip to Houston with a 1-0 win in front of an announced crowd of 6,637 fans at Shell Energy Stadium in the Bayou City.

Nuria Rabano assisted on the game-winner for Utah (13-8-3, 42 points), which inched up to third place in the 16-team NWSL with the win in the return of Kaleigh Riehl to center back alongside team “iron woman” Kate Del Fava.

“I think that we kind of got back to who we are in this game,” Riehl said after the match. “A big thing for us was playing out of the back, and we were able to do that successfully with our build and nullify their threats for the most part.

“Mia stepped up huge; we got a shutout, which we haven’t consistently had.”

Utah out-shot the Dash 8-2 in the first half, climbing back into control with 56% of possession after captain Del Fava returned from an injury stoppage in the 20th minute with a head wrap that followed a collision with Houston’s Kiki Van Zanten.

But nothing, it seems, can keep Del Fava from finishing her 75th straight start for the only player to have featured in every minute since the Royals’ return from NWSL hiatus ahead of the 2024 season.

“I think she’s going to have to break a leg to pull Kate off the field,” joked goalkeeper Mia Justus. “She’s not coming off.

“She’ll throw a bag of ice on that and be good by Sunday,” she added. “She’s just a rock star.”

The Royals conceded plenty in the first half, but ended the opening 45 minutes without conceding a goal for the first time in four matches as manager Jimmy Coenraets has stressed a need to find consistency in the club’s form.

Newly signed forward Jameese Joseph made her debut in the 68th minute, replacing Kiana Palacios alongside Paige Cronin for Miyabi.

The Maryland native was acquired Monday from Chicago Stars FC for $750,000 with add-ons of up to $840,000 in intraleague transfer funds.

Joseph, the 24-year-old former No. 15 overall pick in the 2024 NWSL college draft, totaled seven goals and four assists in 63 appearances with the Stars.

Right place, right time for Mina 🙂‍↕️ pic.twitter.com/N9mE4NtqSa

— Utah Royals FC (@UtahRoyalsFC) September 13, 2026

Moments later, Utah opened the scoring when Rabano’s cross into the box found a sliding Tanaka to give the Royals a 1-0 lead in the 69th minute. Both subs impacted the play, including Joseph collecting a loose ball that caromed off a Houston defender from Rabano’s initial cross to reset the play — and find an unmarked Tanaka at the right moment for the go-ahead score.

Justus earned one of the cleaner shutouts of her career, a zero-save clean sheet with only had a handful of touches against a Houston squad that registered just four shots and 12 touches in the Royals’ box.

“The back line made my job super easy. The organization in front of me was great,” said the usual reserve goalkeeper who filled in for U.S. international Mandy McGlynn, who was available off the bench. “They didn’t have anything centrally, and on their crosses we were able to get into good areas.”

Dogged by inconsistencies, according to Coenraets, the Royals have consistently set a trend — every loss during an eight-match, start-stop run of wins and losses has been followed by a win.

The trend continued Saturday, a week after the club’s 2-1 loss to NWSL expansion club Boston Legacy FC — which followed a 2-1 win in Orlando.

Next up

The Royals return home Sunday, Sept. 20 to host Angel City FC in Sandy. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. MT on NWSL+ and KMYU.