Bracket busters: Royals take aim at Washington Spirit in NWSL semifinal

HERRIMAN — The Utah Royals have receipts.

After upsetting second-seeded San Diego Wave FC in the NWSL quarterfinals, the Royals took to social media with a collection of pundits’ playoff brackets predicting a Wave victory, some even picking San Diego to win the championship.

“Sorry not sorry for shattering your brackets,” the club posted alongside the popular woman yelling at a cat meme.

Head coach Jimmy Coenraets wasn’t surprised by the predictions. He’d seen them before.

“In the beginning of the season, we were put last and second to last in the league by NWSL experts,” Coenraets said Tuesday. “You go into the playoffs, you’re put last again, and you go, ‘Okay, that’s now twice.'”

Now, after eliminating one of the league’s favorites, the seventh-seeded Royals are headed to Washington for Saturday’s NWSL semifinal against the Spirit, with a place in the championship game at stake.

Semifinal storylines ahead of Saturday’s match 📖

📰: https://t.co/pzOwtKYHlT https://t.co/dEmUMlNtEB

— x – Utah Royals FC (@UtahRoyalsFC) November 13, 2026

A familiar opponent, a different challenge

Washington trounced Portland 4-1 in their quarterfinal behind two goals and an assist from Trinity Rodman.

The Spirit opened the scoring in the sixth minute before striking twice more in the 34th and 35th, sending the home crowd at Audi Field into a frenzy.

Coenraets knows Utah will have to manage both Washington’s attack and the atmosphere at “Rowdy Audi.”

“I think it’s being smart about momentum, it’s being smart about timing our stuff,” Coenraets said. “Maybe sometimes killing the game slightly more.”

The Royals faced the Spirit twice during the regular season, earning a 1-1 draw in Washington in March before falling 1-0 at home in July.

Utah changed its approach against San Diego after two regular-season losses, but Coenraets expects fewer adjustments against Washington.

“I do think that the differences in terms of performances weren’t that big,” he said. “So I think we’ll have a similar style of play than how we played them twice with small tweaks.”

Midfielder Madison Hammond expects another demanding contest.

“I would say their midfield is one of the best in the league,” Hammond said. “There’s so much experience, and also their ability to create things is similar to San Diego.” 

“It’s just getting the smallest of touches on balls to disrupt the flow, to give us momentum back,” she added.

“Loading that box”

The Royals entered the postseason winless in four matches, including three straight without a goal. Kiana Palacios ended the scoring drought with the winner against San Diego, sending Utah into its first NWSL semifinal.

Utah had been without leading scorer Mina Tanaka since she suffered a hamstring injury while on international duty with Japan. A setback in training ahead of the quarterfinal kept her out against San Diego, and her availability for Saturday remains uncertain.

Coenraets credited a more aggressive attacking approach, using a single defensive midfielder and two attacking midfielders to get additional players forward.

“I think we also, as a coaching staff, we were slightly more bold,” he said.

On Palacios’ goal, Hammond made a near-post run that helped create space for the finish.

“I remember I looked behind me and I was like, ‘It’s me, I have to make the near post run,'” Hammond said.

Hammond, who considers herself more of a defensive-minded player, said the team had emphasized getting numbers into the penalty area.

Coenraets pointed to the movement of Hammond, Miyabi, and Paige Cronin as examples of how Utah generated opportunities.

“If we keep on doing that, loading that box, I think we can score goals,” he said.

A homecoming with everything at stake

For Hammond, who grew up in the Washington, D.C., area, Saturday is a homecoming. By Tuesday morning, she’d already secured 18 tickets for family and friends, with more requests coming in.

“We were watching the game against Portland and we were like, ‘We get to go home. We’re so excited,'” Hammond said.

She would love nothing more than to quiet the home crowd.

“It’s our job to go in there and spoil it as much as we can,” Hammond said.

Coenraets credited the team’s willingness to make recovery runs, defend collectively and adjust positions for the quarterfinal victory.

“If you look at the game against San Diego, I think if there is one thing that our team had was heart,” he said.

Hammond credits the closeness of the locker room for helping the Royals navigate the season’s highs and lows.

“There’s just a lot of pride and a lot of joy that has been in this locker room this year,” she said.

The Royals may have already surpassed the expectations placed on them by pundits before the season, but they want more.

“Going into the season, we obviously, we had ambitions, we had an idea of what we wanted to do,” Coenraets said. “But if you look at it back right now, we’re not done yet, but we can be happy about what we’ve done in 2026.”

How to watch

Who: Utah Royals at Washington Spirit

When: Saturday, Nov. 14, 10 a.m. MST

Where: Audi Field, Washington, D.C.

TV/Streaming: CBS and Paramount+

Official watch party: The Royals will host a free semifinal watch party at the Legacy Club at America First Field in Sandy. Doors open at 9 a.m. MST. Free tickets are required and can be claimed through the Royals’ official social media accounts.