Kansas City transition to Utah Royals continues with Tymrak, Laddish signings

SANDY — FC Kansas City's unofficial move to the Wasatch Front took another step forward Monday.

Utah Royals FC continued its trend of commitments from former FC Kansas City players, adding midfielders Erika Tymrak and Mandy Laddish, the club announced Monday.

Tymrak and Laddish join Canadian international midfielders Desiree Scott and Diana Matheson on the roster, both announced last week. The duo follow in the footsteps of former Kansas City defender Becky Sauerbrunn, who was the first-ever player signing in Royals history a month ago.

Tymrak, 26, has played for FC Kansas City since 2013 but spent time on loan overseas twice. The 5-foot-5 midfielder made six appearances with Bayern Munich's women's side in 2013 and 14 appearances three years later with Melbourne City in Australia.

The 2013 NWSL rookie of the year, Tymrak had six goals and four assists after Kansas City drafted her with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2013 NWSL college draft. She went on to win a pair of NWSL championships in 2014 and 2015.

"I’m so excited to join an organization that prides itself on professionalism and growing the game," said Tymrak, a U.S. youth international, in a club statement. "I’m honored to be a part of this. I’ve only been here a few days and am blown away with the facilities, staff and overall professionalism of the entire organization."

Laddish, 25, is a Missouri native joined FC Kansas City in 2014. She scored one goal in 39 appearances with the club after a four-year standout career at Notre Dame that included a national championship as a freshman in 2010.

"I’m looking forward to playing for, and learning from, Laura Harvey," Laddish said in a club statement. "I've always admired her coaching style and feel that I will be able to refine my game while working with her."

The 5-foot-7 midfielder becomes the fourth midfielder to join the Royals before their inaugural season begins in March. In addition to Laddish, Tymrak, Sauerbrunn, Scott and Matheson, Utah also drafted former BYU standout defender Taylor Campbell Isom and Duke goalkeeper E.J. Scott in last week's NWSL college draft, signed U.S. internationals Kelley O'Hara and Taylor Lytle in a trade with New Jersey's Sky Blue FC, and picked up Icelandic international Gunnhildur "Gunny" Jonsdottir.

Also among the player rights allocated to Utah Royals FC from FC Kansas City, Royals coach Laura Harvey confirmed on a conference call with reporters after the draft that U.S. goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart has also committed to the roster.

Other Kansas City rosters whose rights have been allocated to the Royals but have not been confirmed include U.S. forwards Sydney Leroux Dwyer and Amy Rodriguez.

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