Resilience, Tanaka’s PK rallies Utah Royals to 3-2 win over Bay FC

SANDY — The Utah Royals’ trio of Japanese internationals helped keep an unbeaten streak alive against a western rival Friday night.

Miyabi and Narumi each scored a first-half goal, and Mina Tanaka converted the decisive penalty kick as Utah Royals FC rallied to a 3-2 win over Bay FC in front of an announced crowd of 7,020 fans at America First Field.

The victory was the 11th of the season for Utah, which returned to second place in the NWSL with an 11-3-6 record — the most wins in a single season in franchise history.

It wasn’t easy, though. The Royals had to rally — twice, even — but bounced back in much the same way it bounced back

“Unfortunately, it’s experiencing the situation,” Utah manager Jimmy Coenraets said. “We all have to acknowledge that once you’ve been through a few situations in your life, you know how to handle it. That’s what we’ve seen on the pitch right now; it’s not the first time we’ve gone down — and we’ve learned a lot from our mistakes.

“We’re still growing, and that’s what you saw today, as well,” he added. “I think the Utah Royals of a year ago probably would not have won this one, in all honesty. But those are the steps we’re making as a team.”

Much of that was with the Royals’ Japanese contingent, a trio the front office has made a priority with impending free agency for much of the roster.

“They’re the best,” said Utah native Courtney Brown, who made her 50th career NWSL appearance. “They’re so fun to be around; they have such fun personalities. They’re a great unit in the group, and tonight they were super excited about the win and all their goals — it was very deserving for each one of them.”

Making history 🇯🇵✨

Every @UtahRoyalsFC goal tonight came from a Japanese player, the most ever for one team in a single NWSL match!

🇯🇵 Miyabi Moriya 7'
🇯🇵 Narumi Miura 22'
🇯🇵 Mina Tanaka 79' (P) pic.twitter.com/0gFTh9ePwv

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) August 15, 2026

Karlie Lema opened the scoring in the seventh minute, taking advantage of a giveaway in the back before slipping a right-footed shot past Mandy McGlynn to give Bay the 1-0 advantage.

The lead lasted less than a minute, though.

Miyabi found space on the right side, picking Cece Delzer’s shot that deflected off the defense and finishing inside the near post to equalize off the restart.

Narumi gave the Royals a lead just five minutes later, taking a pass from Cloé Lacasse and ripped a right-footed laser beam from about 35 yards out in the 22nd minute for the go-ahead score.

It’s the eighth assist for Lacasse this season, tied for the most in the NWSL.

Utah put five of its seven shots on target in the first half, and held Bay to just three shots on goal before the break.

But Heather Gilcrist scored the first NWSL goal of her career with a thunderous header in the 29th minute. The rookie out of Florida State rushed to a header from Hannah Bebar off a corner kick and slammed the ball across the face of goal into the bottom left corner to equalize, 2-2 before halftime.

Moments before Brown checked in for her career mark with her hometown Royals and the Washington Spirit side that drafted her in 2024, Mina Tanaka drew a foul off Claire Hutton in the penalty area.

Tanaka’s initial penalty was saved by Bay goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz. But the save was called back by video review, and Tanaka converted with the same shot on the same side to put Utah ahead, 3-2 in the 79th minute and send Utah back up the table.

The Royals hit the road next Friday, Aug. 21 against the San Diego Wave — the first of three road games in four games before returning to Sandy on Sept. 4 against Boston Legacy FC.