The Utah Royals clinched their first-ever NWSL playoff appearance following a 0-0 draw against the Seattle Reign on Friday night, according to a October 24 report. The historic achievement occurred at America First Field before a crowd of 14,149 fans during the final home game of the 2026 regular season.
The Royals' defense secured the result by keeping their fourth home clean sheet of the season and their first since July 18 against the Orlando Pride. The defensive unit shut down Seattle's offense for the majority of the match, conceding only one shot on target during the 90 minutes of play. This marked the second consecutive shutout for Utah against Seattle, following a 3-0 victory in April.
Kate Del Fava, who recently played her first minutes with the USWNT against Spain on October 13, recorded her 19th career clean sheet with Utah, setting a Club record. Making her 94th consecutive regular season start, the Kenosha, Wisconsin native led the match with 10 defensive contributions and 92 touches. She was joined by centerback Kaleigh Riehl, who recorded her 100th career NWSL regular-season start and completed 70 of 71 passes with 99% accuracy.
Goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn served as the final line of defense, saving the single shot on target registered by Seattle. With this clean sheet, McGlynn has 14 total clean sheets as a Royal, moving her into third place in the Club's all-time standings. On the offensive side, Cece Delzer was named player of the match after creating four chances and completing the most dribbles in the match while playing on the right wing.
The Utah Royals FC will travel to face league leaders Gotham FC at Sports Illustrated Stadium on Sunday, November 1. The match is scheduled to kickoff at 3:00 p.m. MT.
