Utah Royals FC announced today the signing of 27-year-old center back Taylor Leach to add depth to the defensive line. With the retirement of Sam Johnson in the middle of last year, the Royals needed some additional backup to cover for Becky Sauerbrunn’s call-ups to the USWNT, and Rachel Corsie’s for Scotland.

Leach comes to the Royals from Sweden where she has played for the last 4 years, and helped Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time. Her previous teams were 2nd division Östersunds DFF, and Sunnanå SK. She attended college in the United States at the University of South Carolina where she scored 6 goals in 86 matches and was voted a member of the First-Team All-SEC for her junior and senior years.

She earned a degree in Exercise Science, with a minor in Psychology; she then went on to earn a Master’s degree in Exercise Science Rehabilitation.