On Thursday, the Utah Royals announced that goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn (formerly Haught) has signed a five-year contract extension with the National Women's Soccer League club (NWSL). The deal becomes the longest active contract in the league.
“I’m extremely excited to keep Mandy with the Royals long term. Mandy is a big part of the future of this club and what we are building,” said Sporting Director Kelly Cousins. “Her recent call-ups to the US National Team are a testament to her talent and hard work, and I'm excited to see her growth continue.”
She’s right at home on the throne 👑 pic.twitter.com/EaHssMwHKL
— Utah Royals FC (@UtahRoyalsFC) January 9, 2025
McGlynn joined the Royals ahead of their inaugural season back in the NWSL in 2024. The 26-year-old was coming off winning the NWSL Championship with NJ/NY Gotham FC in 2023. Utah spent $150,000 to bring her to the Bee Hive state.
In Utah, McGlynn immediately became the starter. Despite a difficult first half of the season for the team, she put in stunning displays and quickly enhanced her profile as one of the NWSL's brightest goalkeepers.
In 2024, McGlynn made 84 saves, which broke the previous club record of 80 held by Nicole Barnhart in 2018. With +7.1, she finished the season with the second-best post-shot expected goals minus goals conceded (PSxG-GA) in the NWSL, a metric used to measure how effective goalkeepers are at preventing goals.
In October 2024, she earned her first call-up to the U.S. women's national team and then made her debut against Argentina in Louisville, KY. She made one save, completed 100% of her passes and kept a clean sheet in a 3-0 victory for the USA.
This week, McGlynn was called up to the latest USWNT roster for the upcoming January training camp.
Last season, after just two wins from their opening 15 matches, the Royals sacked head coach Amy Rodriguez. After an impressive stint as interim (five wins, one tie, and three losses), assistant Jimmy Coenraets was promoted to head coach at the end of the 2024 season. Coenraets guided the Royals from the bottom of the standings to an 11th-placed finish.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mandy McGlynn Writes NWSL History with Utah Royals Extension.
