Utah Royals fans have been waiting nervously for months to hear if Sydney Leroux actually would make the move to Utah, which acquired her rights when FC Kansas City Folded.
The answer came in Friday morning: No.
The Royals have traded Leroux to the Orlando Pride for their first round pick in the 2019 NWSL College Draft, which they acquired from Seattle earlier this week in exchange for two dispersal draft picks.
Leroux, one of the most well-known names in women’s soccer, has earned 75 caps with the U.S. women’s national team. She was a member of the 2015 World Cup championship squad, earning two starts and playing 181 minutes in four matches. The forward scored six goals in 23 starts for Kansas City last season.
"Let's score some goals." -Sydney Leroux #WelcomeSyd | #FilledWithPride pic.twitter.com/6CLb5WQzVC
— Orlando Pride (@ORLPride) February 2, 2018
“It felt like a long time coming,” Leroux said in a video shared by the Orlando Pride. “I knew as soon as Dom [Dwyer] got traded that we wanted to play in the same city together, and I think that Orlando is the perfect place to do it.”
Leroux, who is married to Dwyer, has requested trades to be closer to her husband before. Leroux asked in 2015, when she played for now-Royals coach Laura Harvey in Seattle, about the possibility of a trade to Kansas City. In the end she was sent to the Western New York Flash with Amber Brooks and a first-round pick in exchange for Abby Wambach.
Leroux finally joined Dwyer in Kansas City for the 2016 season thanks to a three-team trade. The couple’s first child was born that September. Dwyer left for Orlando in a blockbuster trade the next summer. He signed a three-year contract with the team last month.