Utah
Seattle Reign fall to Utah Royals, 3-0
It started ugly.
An uncharacteristic mistake by Madison Curry, and then an uncharacteristic mistake by Phoebe McClernon, and then an uncharacteristic mistake by Claudia Dickey – all within the opening 50 seconds of play, all culminating in a Paige Cronin goal off a patient cutback assist by Mina Tanaka.
1-0, not even 1 minute in.
The Reign continued to struggle with the combination of Lumen’s new-look grass and Utah’s relentless press, and conceded again all too quickly. Recycling after a corner, the ball popped out of the area to Narumi Miura, who struck it well with her laces. Dickey stretched for it, but the ball took a vicious deflection and she had no chance.
2-0 in the 7th minute, practically over before it even really began.
The Reign started finding their feet after the 15th minute. Brittany Ratcliffe found a chance on the break in the 19th minute, but ultimately couldn’t challenge Royals goalkeeper Mia Justus enough to pull one back. Jess Fishlock started one of the best attacking moves of the game in the 30th minute, looping a ball over the top to Nérilia Mondésir and continuing her run, crashing in late for a shot from the top of the six yard box – only to rattle the crossbar, missing cutting the Reign’s deficit in half again by an inch. The Reign kept possession, and Fishlock had another chance for an emphatic goal, but was unable to connect with the bicycle on Mondésir’s cross. Maddie Mercado got in behind on a ball over the top in the 36th, and Justus took her down in the area for what would’ve been a stone-cold, no doubt about it penalty, but the whole play was ruled dead on a somewhat questionable passive offside on Ratcliffe.
And all that promising play was undone in a split second on the other end again, as Ana Tejada found the seam to put Cloé Lacasse into the penalty area. Despite Dickey reading the play well, Lacasse finished neatly, delivering one last sucker punch to the Reign in first-half stoppage time.
3-0 at the halftime whistle, and too much wondering what might have been.
Though the scoring was done by halftime, there were more ill tidings for the Reign on a night where everything went wrong, both self-inflicted and otherwise.
The worst of it came in the 64th minute: Maddie Dahlien found Maddie Mercado at the top of the area, and Mercado delivered a stinging shot that looked destined for the back of the net, perhaps only a consolation, but what would’ve been a deserved finish and a lifeline in the final half hour of the match.
Except it didn’t go that way.
The timing was just wrong. The ball struck a leaping Jess Fishlock’s ankle, she came down hard, and her ankle rolled beneath her. She left the pitch on a stretcher with her ankle in an air cast. We can only hope the injury is less serious than it looked.
After that, the Reign kept pushing, finding moments here and there, but the energy was gone from the match, the captain was gone from the match, and a bad day at the office seemed determined only to get worse.
The Reign hit the woodwork again, rattling the frame of the goal but failing to ripple the net.
Emeri Adames got taken out – and may have picked up an injury of her own, though she tried to run it off for the last few minutes – at the top of the area, to a disinterested “play on” from the ref.
Nine minutes of stoppage time melted away in an inconclusive series of fouls, counter-fouls, shoves, and pulls in the middle third of the pitch, and Matthew Thompson blew his whistle for full time.
3-0, and in so many ways, a much worse outcome than the scoreline.
WHAT WORKED: Not all that much
Nervy and wrong-footed out the gate, the Reign struggled to adapt to the playing surface early on, making a number of poor passes on the World Cup grass that Utah was only too happy to pounce on. Finding their footing as the half went on, the Reign couldn’t make anything count, instead conceding again late despite multiple chances to change the scoreline.
Searching for anything to build off of in the second half, the Reign instead lost their captain, talisman, and legend, potentially for the long term – a strike that seemed destined for goal instead the catalyst for a potentially devastating injury.
All throughout the match, the Reign’s mistakes were punished ruthlessly, their spells of good play fizzled to nothing, and they couldn’t find either the moment of skill or the moment of fair fortune to change the narrative.
WHAT DIDN’T WORK: Absorbing the press
Though the Reign were certainly co-architects of their own downfall, veteran players making mistakes in defense and possession that one seldom sees them make, Utah’s aggressive, high-energy press forced the issue, giving the Reign fits and demanding they play cleanly to break the danger.
They proved, for the first 10 minutes, largely incapable, and coughed up two goals in the first seven minutes, and had many more hiccups and near-disasters as the match progressed. While Utah ultimately didn’t create very much, the Reign gave them far too many opportunities to steal dangerous chances, and the Royals were happy to oblige. And unfortunately for the Reign, panicked and self-inflicted goals against count just the same as beautiful and creative ones.
WHAT DIDN’T WORK: Finishing your chances
For all the disasters of the match, the Reign had opportunities to change the narrative. After going down 2-0, they took four shots from high-leverage spots, hitting the crossbar, missing inches wide, and forcing a save out of Mia Justus along the way. Maddie Mercado got in behind, and, notwithstanding the perplexing offside decision, could very easily have had a penalty kick awarded for her trouble.
They created enough danger to get something out of the first half. Unfortunately, they couldn’t make that count, and rather than pulling back into the match, they conceded again to end the half after controlling play for almost 30 minutes.
WHAT DIDN’T WORK: Getting healthy
With a two-week break for the international window, the Reign looked to get the team healthy and get more of their ideal lineup back together again. The match saw the welcome return of Maddie Dahlien and Mia Fishel, and another appearance for Ryanne Brown as she continues working her way back from her own long-term injury.
Sometimes, the soccer gods just take and take and take, though. Jess Fishlock left with an ankle injury, one that looked potentially severe. Emeri Adames looked shaken up and limped badly through the end of the match after absorbing an ugly challenge in the late stages. Jordyn Bugg still hasn’t made it back to the pitch after suffering another injury in camp with the U20 national team. While they’ve navigated it reasonably well to this point, the Reign have been short multiple important starters every single match of the season, and in the midst of a demoralizing home loss, it may have just gotten worse, rather than better.
“We were not ready when the whistle blew”
Sofia Huerta made no excuses and minced no words about the disastrous opening for the Reign as she offered her breakdown of the match.
“I think how it felt being out there was – we were not ready when the whistle blew. Like the moment the game started, I think Utah was on their front foot and we were a little slow to start. Hence the goal that happened so quickly, and the second one that followed. […] They had three shots on goal and scored three really good goals. We had a few opportunities that we didn’t capitalize on. And when you don’t do that, and then they capitalize on their opportunities, that’s when things go downhill.”
Brittany Ratcliffe agreed, adding that the Reign responded well after a disastrous opening 15 minutes, but wound up with nothing to show for their better stretches of play.
“I think for for me and for our team – I think we take accountability for everything that happened today and going forward. We were the ones out there. We have control in what we do. I think to Sofia’s point, I don’t think we were ready and then it’s always – and credit to Utah, they finished their chances – it’s always hard to be down 2-0, and feel like oh, now you have to make up for it. […] I think to Sofia’s point, I’m thinking after the game, like, ‘dang, that’s really terrible, 3-0’, like, you don’t ever want to see that. But I think it’s an opportunity to grow. Like you said, we were off by just a hair. In the next game, those go in, you know?”
“So, I think for us, we have to be hard on ourselves and take today and be like, ‘okay, that’s not acceptable, we are better than that.’ And then tomorrow, okay, how can we improve?”
“Unfortunately, we didn’t do that well enough today”
Laura Harvey’s diagnosis was simple: Utah’s pressure and out-of-possession play is excellent, and you have to do your best to keep the ball where they can’t hurt you with it. The Reign were unable to do so, and were also unable to take back the momentum with a goal when they had the upper hand.
“We’d spoke for the last two weeks about how Utah are very aggressive in their pressure. They’re going to come on the front foot and we need to make sure that we put the ball in areas where they can’t hurt you. Unfortunately, we didn’t do that well enough at times today, and got really punished for it. […] I said that to the group at the end. I think in those moments when you have a momentum and you’re getting you’re really pushing to get back into the game, you ideally want to score in those moments, but you definitely don’t want to give up a goal. And that third goal was like a sucker punch.”
She added that the Reign tried to adjust at the half to play a more direct game, after Utah victimized the Reign in their buildout too many times early.
“I think we did them in the second half. We pressed them better. We forced them to give us the ball back more. We passed forward more. When you play against a team like Utah, if you want to play backwards and square, they want that – they desperately want that – and we fell into that trap. We’d spoken all week about not doing that. I thought in the second half we did a better job of it, which meant we got a bit more momentum.”
The Reign won’t have much time to dwell on this loss, as they return to action Friday, May 1st at 5:00 PM PT when they visit the Houston Dash. The match will stream on Victory+.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah athletics is making a notable change to the Huntsman Center gameday setup, but the move is about more than where the team sits.
The Runnin’ Utes are moving the team bench from the east side of the Jon M. Huntsman Center to the west side, returning the bench to the side it occupied during the Rick Majerus era. The change will also move the MUSS and band from the west side to the east side.
The shift is part of a larger effort by Utah Athletics to improve the student-section experience, create a more consistent setup inside the Huntsman Center and better connect the arena to the university’s growing College Town Magic initiative.
Enhancing The MUSS And Fan Experience
Nowlin said the primary motivation behind the change is improving the MUSS and the overall fan experience.
“The reason we’re doing this is we want to enhance the MUSS,” Utah’s Deputy Athletics Director & Chief Revenue Officer, Patrick Nowlin said. “As an ongoing effort, we’ve been working on for the past two years, how do we enhance the fan experience?”
One issue Utah identified was that the MUSS had been located in different areas for different events. Moving the student section and band to the east side gives the department a more consistent location to build around.
“We wanted to create a better fan experience,” Nowlin said. “We wanted to be able to have one spot that we can build on, which means we can brand. We can enhance everything about it.”
The move also ties directly into College Town Magic. Nowlin said the area around the Huntsman Center will include more than 2,900 total beds, including more than 1,400 new beds, giving students a direct path from nearby housing to the student-section entrance.
“There’s over 2,900 new beds that are right there, which will be right at the branded entrance, right where the student section is,” Nowlin said. “They don’t have to go far at all. So it’s just a walk straight down from the dorm, right in the door.”
And according to Utah’s Patrick Nowlin, the move is not limited to men’s basketball.
“It’s not just men’s basketball. It’s all Huntsman Center events,” Nowlin said.
A Nod To Utah Basketball History
While the move is primarily about fan experience, there is also a clear basketball-history component.
The west-side bench location is where Utah sat during the Majerus era, when the Runnin’ Utes were one of the top programs in the country and the Huntsman Center had a different level of edge. Alex Jensen was part of that era as a player, and now, as Utah’s head coach, the move reconnects the current program with one of its most successful periods.
Nowlin said the historical connection was part of the conversation, even if it was not solely Jensen’s decision.
“Yeah, it’s a nod to history,” Nowlin said. “I think Alex, him being here, he’s a steward of the program. There’s a lot of history to having it on that side.”
Still, Nowlin made clear the change was not simply pushed through by Jensen.
“It wasn’t a push from him,” Nowlin said. “It was a concerted effort from everybody to where, how do we create an area that the MUSS can have, but also how do we lean into our history, but still move forward in a way that we can honor that, but create an unbelievable environment.”
That is the heart of the move. Utah is trying to bring back a piece of its basketball identity while also reworking the building for the future.
How Fans Will Be Impacted
The change will affect some season-ticket holders, donors and fans seated near the current bench, MUSS and band areas, but Utah tried to limit the disruption.
Nowlin said the department spent months working through the seating impact and expects fewer than 200 accounts to be directly affected. Those accounts are in sections T, U and V.
“This wasn’t something that just came about,” Nowlin said. “We’ve been working on this for a few months now, and we wanted to find a way that we could minimize the accounts that were directly impacted, but still create the fan experience change we were after.”
Utah’s plan is to work individually with affected fans and mirror their seat location as closely as possible on the other end of the court.
“If you’re on one end and now you’re going on the other end, we will work with you to get you in the seat that is similar to where you were and allow you to have the same experience you’ve had, just on the other end of the court,” Nowlin said.
Utah will also hold a virtual seat-selection process from July 7-17, allowing fans who want to move to choose from available options.
“We’re going to take care of everybody, but we’re also going to allow people the choice and the freedom to be able to make the changes they want to make,” Nowlin said. “We want to create every opportunity we can to give our fans opportunities to choose their own experience.”
Not Part Of The Huntsman Renovation
The bench and MUSS move is not directly tied to the larger Huntsman Center renovation discussions. Nowlin said the change is instead connected to College Town Magic and Utah’s effort to improve the student and fan experience inside the building.
“It does not have to do with the renovation, but it does have to do with College Town Magic,” Nowlin said.
The move could create some new seating and premium opportunities, particularly around courtside and floor seating. Nowlin said Utah is still evaluating those possibilities.
“By doing this, this will create additional opportunities for us on courtside and floor,” Nowlin said. “We’re also looking to how do we enhance our premium experience across the board. So this is a step in a process that will continue.”
The Bottom Line
Utah’s bench move is not just a nostalgic callback to the Rick Majerus era, and it is not just a seating chart adjustment. It is part of a broader effort to reshape the Huntsman Center experience.
The team bench is moving back to the west side, where Utah sat during some of the program’s most successful years. The MUSS and band are moving to the east side, where Utah believes it can build a stronger, more consistent student-section identity tied to College Town Magic.
For Utah Athletics, it is another step toward rethinking how the Huntsman Center looks, sounds and feels on game day. For Jensen, the move reconnects the program to its winning past.
The symbolism will matter to longtime Utah basketball fans. The logistics will matter to students, band members and season-ticket holders. But the larger goal is simple: make the building feel more intentional, more connected and more like home again.
Steve Bartle is the Utah insider for KSL Sports. He hosts The Utah Blockcast (SUBSCRIBE) and appears on KSL Sports Zone to break down the Utes. You can follow him on X for the latest Utah updates and game analysis.
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SALT LAKE CITY – The San Juan County assessor has resigned partway through his second term, following a recommendation that he be removed from office.
Rick Meyer’s resignation became effective on Monday, according to San Juan County Commissioner Lori Maughan. A copy of Meyer’s resignation letter was not immediately available.
This comes after the Utah State Tax Commission determined that Meyer had failed to follow the law and was “unfit to perform his duties.” In a letter last week to San Juan County commissioners, the tax commission recommended “the immediate removal of the San Juan County assessor from office to protect the public interest and restore the integrity of the property tax system in San Juan County.”
Among other things, Meyer was accused of failing to tax agricultural buildings, misclassifying property, and giving property tax exemptions to certain parcels, including vacant land, when he shouldn’t have.
The recommendation to remove Meyer from office was the first under a recent state law giving the Utah State Tax Commission more power to take corrective action against county assessors who aren’t doing their jobs properly. Assessors play a major role in the property tax process by determining the value of property throughout their counties.
Yet, it was unclear whether the San Juan County Commission could have actually removed Meyer from office had he not stepped down.
With Meyer’s resignation, the San Juan County Assessor’s Office has just one employee left. Deputy assessor Nathan Pitts will run the office until the San Juan County Republican Party recommends a replacement and the County Commission appoints one.
“It’s me holding down the fort here,” Pitts told KSL on Thursday, noting that he has spoken with the Utah Association of Counties and the state tax commission about plans for this interim period. “Everybody’s on board to assist and try to make it the best as we can, (but) I’ve definitely got my work cut out for me.”
Pitts said he does not plan to run for county assessor to replace his old boss.
“That is not my intention at all,” he said. “I’m quite content as a deputy assessor.”
Meyer was first elected as San Juan County assessor in 2020 and won reelection in 2024. His current term was set to conclude in 2029.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
FLAGSTAFF, AZ (AZFamily) — The Rock Canyon Fire, burning in northern Arizona near the border with Utah, doubled in size overnight to 4,512 acres and was 5% contained.
The fire has caused firefighters to evacuate hikers and campers in the area, and some roads in the Kaibab National Forest are closed.
People in Jacob Lake — less than 20 miles from the Rock Canyon Fire — say the new fire is stirring up anxiety after last year’s devastating fire season. They say they’re confident in firefighters, but after the trauma, they’re still holding their breath.
Memories of last year’s fires
For over 100 years, Jacob Lake Inn has been serving cookies to guests who want to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon or explore the Kaibab National Forest. Melinda Rich Marshall’s family has owned the inn since 1923.
Last year, they were evacuated during the White Sage Fire that burned close to 60,000 acres, and then the Dragon Bravo Fire, which destroyed nearly 150,000 acres, shut down the North Rim.
Now the Rock Canyon Fire has already burned thousands of acres north of the inn.
“I mean, honestly, our reaction was not again,” Rich Marshall said. “I mean, that’s really what it was.”
Rich Marshall said last year was hard enough, so once they heard about this new fire, it brought back bad memories.
“I’d say we have a little PTSD from it, seeing smoke and smelling smoke and all those things,” she said.
Fire burning in old burn scar
The Rock Canyon Fire was sparked over the weekend by a lightning strike.
Parts of it are burning in the White Sage burn scar. Bureau of Land Management spokesperson Dolores Garcia said old burn scars will usually slow down a new fire, but this time it’s actually fueling the flames.
“In some of those areas, we’re seeing quite a bit of fuels,” Garcia said. “We’re not seeing that the burn scar is helping much, especially with the winds as strong as they’ve been in some days and as dry as it’s been, those fuels are just tender and cured and really flammable.”
She said firefighters are attacking it from the ground and the air, but the high winds are limiting their ability to make water drops.
Hikers and campers were evacuated from the area. Garcia said she knows how stressful this must be to the surrounding communities after last year’s fires.
“We still understand that, it’s still a very fresh wound to many of the people who live up there, who’ve recreated up there for years,” she said. “That’s definitely at the forefront of our minds.”
Rich Marshall said while it’s scary, they have full trust in the firefighters.
“We’re really just grateful to see them and know the work that they are doing,” she said.
Rich Marshall said this is usually their peak season, but they’ve seen a bit of a slowdown even after the North rim reopened. She said people can support them by staying there or even just stopping in and getting some of their famous cookies.
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