The Utah Royals FC has a return date.
The Royals resume play Sept. 20 on the road against the Portland Thorns as part of the National Women’s Soccer League Fall Series. The Royals will play three other matches in the series, and those will be announced later this week, the club said in a news release.
The NWSL series will be played in home markets in three “regional pods” to limit travel. Utah is in the West pod along with Portland and the OL Reign, who play in Tacoma, Washington.
Utah has not released its roster that will be available for the series. Kelley O’Hara, however, has already been officially ruled out.
The Fall Series beings Sept. 5 with the Washington Spirit playing Sky Blue FC on CBS and CBS All Access. Utah’s game against Portland will be streamed on Twitch at 1 p.m.
The series marks the second slate of games in a 2020 season that has been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Royals In June and July hosted the Challenge Cup, a return to play tournament in that included eight of the nine NWSL teams. One of those team’s didn’t travel to Utah after experience a coronavirus outbreak.
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