‘Get off this roller coaster’: Utah Royals begin search for consistency in Houston

HERRIMAN — The Utah Royals have spent the last month alternating between showing why they belong near the top of the NWSL table and showing how difficult it can be to stay there.

Win. Loss. Win. Loss. Win. Loss.

With seven matches remaining in the regular season, Paige Cronin is ready to get off the ride.

“We kind of need to get off this roller coaster,” Cronin said after training Tuesday. “If we ride the ups and downs, like if the highs are high and the lows are lows, it’s gonna be really tough.”

The Royals get their next opportunity to find some consistency Saturday when they travel to face the Houston Dash at Shell Energy Stadium.

Utah enters the weekend fourth in the NWSL with 39 points, level with third-place North Carolina and fifth-place San Diego. But with Portland one point behind and Kansas City two points back, there is little separation in a crowded playoff race.

The Royals are coming off a disappointing 2-1 home loss to Boston Legacy FC, a match in which they were outshot 14-9 and conceded the winner in the 86th minute.

“We’ve seen in this league that anyone can win on any given day, and we’re at home; we have to play better than that,” Kate Del Fava said after the loss. “It wasn’t a performance we’re proud of.”

Del Fava went a step further, saying Utah had been “out-worked,” something she said does not happen often with this group.

Cronin said the response this week has been to turn the focus inward.

“We know that we’re our best when we focus on ourselves,” she said. “We just talked about is we need to focus on ourselves and raise the level this week.”

Utah’s 10-match unbeaten run earlier this season established the Royals near the top of the NWSL table. Their last six matches have produced three wins and three losses, with every victory immediately followed by a defeat.

Cronin believes the answer is less about riding the emotional swings of individual results and more about returning to what got Utah into the playoff race in the first place.

“We just need to be objective and just get back to controlling what we can, being really good at our basics and just sticking to our identity,” she said. “So that’s what we need to bring this week in training, so that way in the game it doesn’t feel like a big jump.”

Match no. 24 is on the horizon

📰: https://t.co/RkF9yvCuBp pic.twitter.com/ubj9k2TGGn

— Utah Royals FC (@UtahRoyalsFC) September 10, 2026

A chance to respond on the road

Houston enters Saturday going through a more pronounced downturn.

The Dash have lost three straight matches after back-to-back wins over North Carolina and Chicago. Houston sits 12th in the league with 26 points and is coming off a 3-1 loss at Orlando.

But the Dash have one of the league’s most dangerous young attackers in Kat Rader.

Rader has scored nine goals in 23 appearances, accounting for nearly a third of Houston’s 29 goals this season. She provides another test for a Utah defense that has conceded in each of its last six matches.

The Royals have been more productive going forward, scoring 40 goals through 23 games, with Mina Tanaka scoring eight goals and Cloe Lacasse adding seven to go with her 10 assists.

Kiana Palacios provided Utah’s lone goal against Boston, running onto a long punt from goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn and finishing for her fourth goal of the season.

Head coach Jimmy Coenraets has been pleased with Palacios’ ability to combine the defensive work demanded of Utah’s forwards with production in front of goal, but said the Royals may be able to get even more from her by finding a better balance between the two.

“It’s looking at how we can maybe even slightly decrease her work out of possession and ensure she can even score more goals by being even fresher in front of the goal,” Coenraets said.

Utah will also have another attacking option available after adding Jameese Joseph from the Chicago Stars this week.

“Good things take time,” Cronin said. “Obviously, it’s really good to win games.”

The Royals are ready to smooth out their ride.

Match information

Who: Utah Royals FC at Houston Dash

When: Saturday, Sept. 12, 6:45 p.m. MT

Where: Shell Energy Stadium, Houston

TV: ION