SANDY, Utah – (Wednesday, May 29, 2019) – Utah Royals FC have signed GK Melissa Lowder and MF Alexa Newfield to National Team Replacement contracts until the return of the squad’s internationals from the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.
Both players are eligible for competition with immediate effect.
“We are excited to add Lowder and Newfield to our roster. They both will add quality depth to our roster during the World Cup tournament,” Utah Royals FC General Manager Stephanie Lee said.
Lowder was a standout player at Santa Clara University from 2015-2018, starting in 60 of her 63 appearances during her four seasons. She finished her career with 18 shutouts, posting eight solo shutouts in a breakthrough sophomore season in which she had a 0.68 goals against average in 20 starts, helping the Broncos to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and earning All-WCC honorable mention honors. As a junior, she posted four shutouts and a 1.43 GAA in 18 starts before finishing with six shutouts and a 1.01 GAA while serving as captain in her senior season.
Newfield returns to URFC after starting the season with Royals FC in 2018. She later made one appearance for the Washington Spirit in the regular season finale. In total, the University of North Carolina product has two goals in 26 NWSL appearances, scoring twice for FC Kansas City in 2017.
Utah Royals FC travels to the East Coast this week for the final match before the World Cup break, facing the Washington Spirit on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. MT. URFC currently sits atop the NWSL standings at 4-1-1 (13 points).
