Utah Royals FC goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn twice shouted, "Why the f--- not us?!" in her team's postgame huddle on Friday night at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego.
The message could be heard around the NWSL as the 2026 playoffs began with a major upset.
McGlynn said she channeled "Superman vibes" in her standout performance as the Royals pulled off a stunning 1-0 road upset over No. 2 seed San Diego Wave FC in the quarterfinals of the NWSL playoffs.
McGlynn made four saves to deny and lift the No. 7 seed Royals to victory in the franchise's first playoff match.
"Why not us? Don't count us out," McGlynn said after the match. "Our play proved that today. That's just the mentality. I think it does free us and it does feel liberating to just be like, we're gonna go out there and play ugly soccer, good soccer, we don't care; we're gonna go win this game and find a way."
Forward Kiana Palacios scored the game's lone goal in the 30th minute, pouncing on a cross from winger Cloé Lacasse.
Utah will travel to face either the Washington Spirit or Portland Thorns in next week's semifinal.
Utah had lost all six previous games against the Wave, including a 4-2 loss in San Diego in August.
The Royals were also without attacking midfielder and leading scorer Mina Tanaka due to a hamstring injury for the fourth straight week. Utah had lost five games and drawn one in six previous games this year without Tanaka.
Tanaka had trained with the starters earlier this week but had a setback on Wednesday, Utah head coach Jimmy Coenraets said.
Utah was the surprise team of the NWSL season, making the playoffs for the first time.
"That's our standard," McGlynn said. "And that's how we want to carry ourselves in this league, and we want to be a playoff team. We want to be a championship team. I just feel satisfied that we've reached our standard, and it's not so much a validation of proving people wrong, it's just who we are."
Coenraets and his staff decided to have the Royals play in a less aggressive defensive posture on Friday against the favored Wave. Utah has been successful this season when applying high pressure on teams, but the Royals dropped their line of confrontation on Friday and made San Diego uncomfortable.
"If you were to describe San Diego, you'd go, 'fast paced, good football,'" Coenraets said. "
They love to get on the ball. They love the ball centrally, so we did everything to go against those things. We broke the rhythm when we had to, we made some falls on the fouls on the opposition's half when we had to. We stood lower in terms of the defensive block, completely locking up the midfield -- which they felt."
Still, McGlynn's heroics were necessary nearly from the opening whistle. San Diego outshot Utah 16-8 and the Wave held 62% of the possession.
McGlynn made her first save five minutes into the match, denying Wave forward Melanie Barcenas' open header from 7 yards.
Five minutes later, McGlynn made a fingertip save on a shot from Lia Godfrey that came from the Wave's short corner kick.
She got help from her defenders with a goal-line clearance in the 17th minute, and tipped a cross-turned-shot over the bar just before halftime.
McGlynn's most athletic save came on another partial cross in the 77th minute, as Utah held onto its lead late. Wave forward Gia Corley's strike drifted toward the near post as McGlynn was already moving in a different direction. The Utah goalkeeper adjusted her body and tipped the ball over the bar.
"Emma, are you watching?" Coenraets said of his goalkeeper's performance after the match, referring the United States national team head coach Emma Hayes.
McGlynn has six career caps for the U.S. and has been a contender for the goalkeeper role over the past year. Hayes has been searching for a starter ahead of the 2027 World Cup. McGlynn was not called up to the most recent U.S. camp for games against Brazil.
She made her case for a recall on Friday, but an exuberant McGlynn was focused on praising her team's victory, and looking toward another win in a semifinal.
McGlynn won an NWSL Championship on that same field at Snapdragon Stadium in 2023 with Gotham FC in a memorable final that saw her sent off in the final moments a play that ultimately preserved the victory.
On Friday, the full-time whistle blew on Utah's historic upset with the ball in a fitting location: held tightly in McGlynn's hands.
