The 2025 NWSL season is officially underway with the Utah Royals looking to improve upon their 2024 11th place finish. The Royals drew 1-1 to Bay FC at America First Field to open the year, with four new faces making their debuts.
Mandy McGlynn: Dual Threat
The Royals’ number 1 had a major impact on the match through her signature shot-stopping. In just the 2nd minute of play, a giveaway gave Bay FC an opportunity to convert a mistake into a goal. The ball was intercepted by opposing midfielder Taylor Huff, who was able to receive a pass from her teammate near the penalty spot. She attempted to put a well-placed shot into the top left corner however, McGlynn was able to put a pivotal right hand on the ball to send it out of play and for a corner kick. Only a few minutes later, the Royals keeper saved another shot after a well-worked set-piece caught the home side off guard.
At the 11th minute, she began to showcase the full extent of her talent, this time with the use of her feet setting up Japanese forward Mina Tanaka in space to take a shot which was ultimately deflected out for a corner. Jimmy Coenraets' side— captained by Paige Monaghan who was replaced in the first half by newcomer Janni Thomsen due to injury— celebrated their first goal of the season after 13 minutes of play. McGlynn went from shot-stopper to assist maker with a calculated, well-placed pass that split the Bay defense like butter to find URFC debutante, Bianca St. Georges gave the team a 1-0 lead.
Unfortunately for URFC, an equalizer came at the 44th minute mark, just a few minutes before the whistle blew for the end of the first half. A left-footed screamer from about 30 yards out by Kiki Pickett left McGlynn with no chance and a 1-1 tie which would remain the final result.
Throughout the 90 minutes, she logged 4/5 saves, an accuracy percentage of 74% on 43/58 passes which included 2 key passes, and an assist. Despite the conceded goal, Royals fans have a lot to look forward to with their goalkeeper starting the season with an almost perfect game.
Bianca St. Georges, a Debut to Remember
St. Georges is no stranger to scoring at America First Field, having found the back of the net for the first time as a professional player on July 23, 2020 in Chicago’s semi-final Challenge Cup match against Sky Blue FC (now Gotham FC). It took just one match for the Canadian winger to make a statement to the Royal faithful by scoring the first goal of the season for the club and her ability on the ball was more than apparent. The first goal of the night was a true footballer’s demonstration of how to attack a one-on-one attempt against a goalkeeper. With just two touches, she set herself up in the 18-yard-box before calmly finishing into the back of the net, beating the keeper to give the hosts a 1-0 lead. The first touch, to set the ball up on her left foot and the second one to put it past Jordan Silkowitz, simply beautiful. The former North Carolina Courage player wasted no time making an impact, scoring her first goal in blue and gold during her debut for the Utah club. Her strike ignited enthusiasm in the home crowd, setting the stage for what promises to be an exciting season.
In 62 minutes, she logged 1/2 shots on target, an accuracy percentage of 72% on 8/11 passes, 22 total touches, 3/3 tackles won, a yellow card, and a crucial goal. She was replaced by Aisha Solórzano who would see out the rest of the match.
With her goal on Saturday night, St. Georges reached 10 career NWSL goals to go along with 4 assists in 61 total appearances. She previously played with the Chicago Red Stars for 3 seasons and the aforementioned North Carolina Courage for 1 season before arriving in the Beehive State.
