On March 12, 2023, NWSL and Real Salt Lake announced that the Utah Royals FC will return to the NWSL in 2024. The Royals were sold and moved back to Kansas City after allegations involving the former owner of RSL and the Royals, Dell Loy Hansen, and former head coach Craig Harrington. Both Hansen and Harrington were accused of sexual and misogynistic language and misconduct towards female staff and players.
Harrington was fired in 2020 while Hansen was forced to sell both RSL and the Royals, which sent the Royals back to Kansas City. However, David Blitzer and Ryan Smith, the new owners of both clubs, made it a mission to bring the Royals back to Utah.
With the club back in Utah, President Michelle Hyncik and the two owners looked for a person to lead this franchise. Former team captain Amy Rodriquez will join the team as the head coach. She will now attempt to lead the Royals back to how they were before the allegations and the relocation.
Hyncik is excited to bring her old friend back as the head coach.
“Amy’s commitment to excellence, winning, community and family aligns with our Utah Royals creed, and we are honored to have her at the helm to lead us into the next era,” Hyncik said.
Rodriquez was born in Lake Forest, California, but eventually moved to Rancho Santa Margarita, California, to attend Santa Margarita Catholic High. It was here that she would meet her now boss Hyncik. The two were teammates but split after high school as Hyncik went to Columbia Law School and Rodriquez continued her athletic dreams at the University of Southern California.
Rodriquez went to USC as a red-hot freshman. She scored nine goals and led the team with 25 points on the season. She battled injuries during her sophomore year, only getting four goals and three assists. Rodriquez had a breakout junior year as she led the Trojans with 10 goals and three assists as USC defeated Florida State 2-0 to win the 2007 National Championship.
After her time at USC, Rodriquez made the move over to the National Women’s Soccer League, joining the Boston Breakers. She made 17 appearances and scored one goal for the Breakers. Fast forward to 2014 with Rodriquez now on FC Kansas City. She led Kansas City to back-to-back NWSL championships in 2014 and 2015.
When the Utah Royals got established in 2017, one of their first calls was to the seasoned veteran Rodriquez. She joined Utah and it was a match made in heaven. She made 51 appearances and scored 15 goals, proving to be an integral piece of the Royals. After a final season with the North Carolina Courage, Rodriquez decided to retire from the NWSL in 2021.
Rodriquez appeared in 162 games and scored 64 goals over her 13-year career. She also enjoyed an international career with the United States women’s national team. Rodriquez won 13 total trophies for the USWNT, including a FIFA World cup and two Olympic gold medals. She scored 30 goals and 19 assists in 132 games for the USWNT.
After she retired from playing for good, she decided to take her talents to the touchline. Rodriquez took the assistant coach job at her alma mater USC. In her lone season as the coach, she led the Trojans to a 12-3-3 record, ranking them third in the Pac 12.
After one year with USC, Rodriquez’s high school teammate Hyncik called her with an offer to coach the Royals. Rodriquez was excited about the opportunity to return to her former team.
“Returning to Utah is a dream I never knew I had, and it is with the utmost humility that I step into this role as the club’s head coach,” she said. ““The moment that the Royals organization gave me the phone call, I had butterflies in my stomach.”
The Utah Royals will look to build their team from the ground up again, and bringing in a leader and winner as their coach is a surefire way to do that.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JaydenBarfuss10