Utah Royals host red-hot Kansas City Current with playoff positioning on the line

SANDY — The Utah Royals return from the international break Saturday with a chance to put some distance between themselves and one of their closest competitors in the NWSL standings.

Fourth-place Utah (14-4-9, 46 points) hosts fifth-place Kansas City Current (13-5-9, 44 points) at America First Field with just two points separating the clubs and three matches remaining in the regular season.

A win would give Utah a five-point cushion over Kansas City while strengthening the Royals’ chances of hosting a playoff match.

But the Current arrive in Sandy having scored nine goals in their last two matches, defeating Denver Summit 4-1 before dismantling Bay FC 5-1 heading into the international break.

For Royals head coach Jimmy Coenraets, the focus is less on the playoff picture than the opponent immediately in front of him.

“I think it’s not getting concerned about the playoffs. It’s just focusing on the game we have ahead, and we have Kansas coming to us,” Coenraets said following Tuesday’s training.

Sooooo ready to check these items off tomorrow 😆 https://t.co/4hYKCmbq2p

— Utah Royals FC (@UtahRoyalsFC) October 16, 2026

A rematch seven months in the making

Utah opened its 2026 campaign on March 14 at Kansas City, falling to the defending NWSL Shield winners in a match Coenraets still believes his team could have won.

“It goes back to the very first game of the season, where we go one-nil up through a set play and then, second half, kind of just made a few mistakes, and I don’t think we should have lost that game,” Coenraets said.

Much has changed since that opener.

Kansas City, under first-year head coach Chris Armas, has scored 48 goals in 27 matches, second-most in the NWSL behind North Carolina’s 50.

Temwa Chawinga leads the Current with 12 goals in 16 appearances, while Haley Hopkins has nine and Debinha has eight. Croix Bethune has contributed 10 assists, tied with Utah’s Cloé Lacasse among the league’s leading creators.

The Current have won three of their last five matches, including consecutive victories by three and four goals.

For Utah, Mina Tanaka leads the Royals with nine goals, followed by Lacasse with eight and Cece Delzer with five.

Lacasse’s 10 assists have her tied for the NWSL single-season record. One more would give her the record outright.

The final stretch

Utah enters Saturday following a dramatic 1-1 draw at Racing Louisville on Oct. 3.

Trailing 1-0 deep into stoppage time, substitute Brecken Mozingo chested down a clearance outside the penalty area and drove a left-footed shot past Jordyn Bloomer in the 96th minute to rescue a point.

The draw ended Utah’s streak of 11 consecutive matches alternating between wins and losses.

Coenraets acknowledged the international break presented challenges beyond simply preparing for Kansas City, particularly with players away representing their national teams.

“You don’t know what to expect. You don’t know who will be available, who wouldn’t, because that changed the game for a lot of teams,” Coenraets said.

“We have to focus on ourselves and make sure we have a solid idea of what we want to do based upon who we are.”

The Royals have already established club single-season records for wins and points, but their position in the standings remains far from settled.

Only four points separate Utah in fourth from North Carolina in eighth, with Angel City and Portland also chasing home-field advantage in the postseason.

After Saturday, Utah hosts Seattle Reign on Oct. 23 before closing the regular season at league-leading Gotham FC on Nov. 1.

For now, Coenraets is looking for the home crowd to help the Royals take the next step.

“We have to focus on ourselves,” he said, “and then relying on the fans of Utah, relying on them rallying us to win.”

How to watch

Who: Kansas City Current at Utah Royals FC
Where: America First Field, Sandy, Utah
When: Saturday, Oct. 17, 4:30 p.m. MT
TV/Streaming: ION
Listen: KSL Sports Radio (102.7 FM / 1160 AM)