- Utah Royals secured their first win of the season, defeating Boston 2-1.
- Milazzo and Prasnikar scored, while Justus made a crucial save for Utah.
- Coach Coenraets praised the team's mentality during their exhausting three-match week.
SANDY — Cold, tired and facing the newest team in the NWSL, the Utah Royals could've packed it up or packed it in after a three-match week.
Instead, they'll return to the Beehive State with 4 of a possible 6 points from a two-match east-coast road swing.
Tatumn Milazzo scored her second goal of the season, and Lara Prasnikar converted a penalty for her second goal in a week to lift Utah Royals FC to its first win of the season 2-1 over NWSL newcomers Boston Legacy FC at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachussetts.
Mia Justus made one save to preserve the win for Utah (1-2-1, 4 points), which rotated heavily for its third match since Sunday and each one roughly 72 hours apart (with travel days, as well) capped by a brand-new opponent playing in front of an announced crowd of 10,012 fans in a temporary NFL stadium.
"Should we be happy with the way we played? No, not at all," Utah coach Jimmy Coenraets said. "But I think it takes a lot of mentality and work behind the scenes to get a team on the pitch like we did today.
"We all talk about values, standards and philosophies," the second-year manager added. "But it's these kinds of games that help you create an identity and a culture. It wasn't easy, I'm not going to lie. … But to show up in the way we showed up was great."
The Legacy (0-3-0, 0 points) out-shot the Royals 11-7, but Utah put three shots on target to just two for Boston to keep the expansion side away.
One week after helping Japan to the AFC Asian Cup title, Mina Tanaka and Miiyabi Moriya made their first starts of the season in a Royals shirt. Tanaka, who scored the late equalizer in Wednesday's 1-1 draw in Washington as a second-half sub, moved into the No. 10 attacking midfield role that pushed Cece Delzer further up the attack.
Cloé and Tatumn: dynamic scoring duo 👯♀️ pic.twitter.com/4PZbCXXMly
— Utah Royals FC (@UtahRoyalsFC) March 28, 2026
Alexa Spaanstra, who is on loan for the first half of the season from Portland, also made her initial start for Utah, filling into the back line alongside Miyabi on the left and center backs Milazzo and Kate Del Fava.
Del Fava's start was her 55th straight in a Utah shirt — dating back to the return of the franchise to the Beehive State in 2024 — and the Royals iron woman's 68th consecutive start, the longest active such streak in the NWSL and eighth-longest in league history.
But it was Milazzo that gave Utah the lead with a goal in the 32nd minute.
The 27-year-old defender who missed all of last season with an ACL injury scored her second goal in three matches. After missing Wednesday's match due to a red card in Sunday's home-opening loss to San Diego, Milazzo found Cloe Lacasse's cross into the six-yard box from a short free kick and put the ball inside the far post with one touch.
Cece Delzer nearly doubled the advantage in first-half stoppage time. But Boston goalkeeper Casey Murphy made the save to preserve the 1-0 halftime deficit.
Prašnikar opened the second half with a goal from the penalty spot to give Utah a 2-0 lead. Moments after Tanaka drew a foul in the penalty area, the Slovenian striker converted her second goal of the season to double the Royals' advantage.
"Obviously, last week when I was pulled off the pitch it was 1-1 and we conceded a goal; that made me very sad," Prasnikar recalled after the match. "So I'm very happy to get this first win. I hope and I know we can keep on going."
Aïssata Traoré pulled one back for the Legacy, scoring the first goal in the first-year franchise's history in the 72nd minute to pull within 2-1.
But the Royals held Boston to just two shots on goal to take all 3 points back home in the club's third match in seven days — an "exhausting" stretch, Justus admitted.
"It was hard," she said, "but it was nothing our team couldn't handle. We had a great mindset that we weren't going to let this week get to us.
"We took it one day at a time, one recovery day at a time. It was a super professional approach," Justus added.
Utah returns home next Friday, April 3 to host the Chicago Stars at America First Field in Sandy. (7 p.m. MDT, NWSL+).
