She's back: Royals goalkeeper Abby Smith caps lengthy recovery with US call-up in new hometown

SANDY — Abby Smith vividly remembers the date, reciting it from memory with ease.

It was May 16, 2016, just under a week after suffering a season-ending knee injury, that she went under the knife to repair her anterior cruciate ligament and patellar tendon during her rookie season with the Boston Breakers.

At the time, the Breakers' medical staff told her it would take around two years to fully recover from the traumatic injury, which she suffered on a non-contact play in the 29th minute of a 1-0 loss to the Chicago Red Stars.

It was anything but an an easy recovery; Smith had platelet-rich plasma injections to the same knee in June of the following year because of complications in her recovery, causing her to miss much of the 2017 season.

But when the Breakers folded and the expansion club Utah Royals FC had the chance to bring Smith to the Wasatch Front with the No. 5 pick of the 2018 NWSL dispersal draft, they couldn’t resist — even with the injury question marks.

The move has paid off for the Royals — and for Smith, who received her first international call-up to the U.S. women’s national team in over a year in advance of the June 7 friendly against China at Rio Tinto Stadium.

"There have been a lot of highs and lows," Smith said after Royals training. "But I am glad I am finally in a place where I can see progress and start feeling normal consistently — to just not be in pain."

Smith’s return to the national team picture has been brewing for some time. The 24-year-old keeper has never been capped with the U.S. senior team, but she was called into camp and named the team’s second goalkeeper for friendlies against Sweden and Norway in May 2017. She didn’t play in either match.

But her time is coming.

"Since she’s got here, her professionalism has been exceptional," Utah coach Laura Harvey said. "To keep someone like (Utah backup goalkeeper and U.S. international) Nicole Barnhart out of the lineup is a huge achievement, and I'm just glad for her that she’s gotten the recognition on the international level."

With Smith in goal and a back line anchored by U.S. center back Becky Sauerbrunn and Scottish international Rachel Corsie, the Royals have allowed a league-low seven goals in 2018 — despite their 2-2-5 record.

Smith’s 13 saves in nine matches aren't awe-inspiring — but her four shutouts prove that she’s either one of the top goalkeepers in the league, or has the best defense in front of her.

"To start this season, there's no question she's performed as one of the top-four goalkeepers in the country," Harvey said. "It isn’t a shock to me that she got called up."

She also has the support of her teammates, including Barnhart, who has been capped 54 times for the United States and will protect the Royals' goal until Smith returns, with second-round draft pick EJ Proctor serving as the backup.

"To see her get that recognition is exciting," Barnhart said of Smith. "The more people we can get in from our team, the more excited we are."

While Smith was joining the national team, Barnhart anchored the Royals' defense to a 2-1 win at Sky Blue FC — the first road victory in the first-year franchise's history.

Smith refuses to be comfortable with any international duty — "it's always a blessing to be called in," she maintains — but admits it would be a little extra special to receive her first playing time with the United States in Sandy — a place that has become home for the U.S. women’s national team and for the keeper who grew up in Plano, Texas, and went to college at the University of Texas.

"Just being at home — and this is like home for me — is always fun," she said. "You have your home fans and a lot of supporters, and this is such a great environment for soccer. Playing at the RioT is always fun, because it’s such an intimate environment."

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