Utah Royal defender Becky Sauerbrunn (Photo by Jeff Wong).
Sandy, U.T- The Utah Royals held their second consecutive game at home for Week 14 as they met Sky Blue FC on the pitch. Royal fans celebrated as forward Christen Press scored her first goal with Utah in her second match since joining the Royals. Forward Katie Stengel also bumped up the score for the Royals as she scored two goals within a four-minute time frame.
Utah came out strong at start of the match, and saw an early goal in the 7th minute. Midfielder Katrina Gorry crossed the ball from the right side of the field to the middle of the box, but the ball went past midfielder Gunnhildur Yrsa Jónsdóttir. Press saved the ball and her shot made its way to the back of the net and marked her 36th NWSL goal, which gave the Royals an early 1-0 advantage.
In the 12th minute, Sky Blue was hopeful as forward Carli Lloyd shot the ball up the field to Shea Groom, who went one on one with goalkeeper Abby Smith, who was was out of the box above the eighteen. Her kick deflected off Smith to give her a lead on goal, but defender Becky Sauerbrunn was right on her trail and quickly cleared the ball before Groom could continue.
Stengel was persistent and almost scored in the 14th minute when she cut the ball past Sky Blue’s backline, putting goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan on her toes when the shot was taken, which hit the crossbar.
It wasn’t until the 24th minute when Press crossed the ball right in front of Stengel’s feet where she was once again found herself with Sheridan blocking her from the goal. Stengel took the shot that went over Sheridan, who had ended up on the ground. Stengel’s shot extended the lead for Utah 2-0.
JUNE 27, 2018 – PORTLAND, OR: Sky Blue captain Carli Lloyd (Photo by Diego Diaz/Icon Sportswire).
The opportunities for both teams happened back to back as they each were determined to score. Stengel broke this streak four minutes after her first goal. Utah was given a free kick, which was taken by Gorry and Stengel was in the right place at the right time to finish the ball with a header that was too high for Sheridan. With pure joy Stengel ran to the side of the field and took a quick seat on the Royals throne. Stengel made history as she had three shots with two on goal and another two chances.
In the second half, Sky Blue created plays that saw them closer to the goal, but were unsuccessful. It wasn’t until the 62nd minute when their work paid off. Forward Janie Beckie passed the ball to Groom and took a shot on Smith, who deflected the shot with her left foot. The ball was cleared by Utah’s defense, but Lloyd captured the ball at the top of the box and took a shot that curled into the back left corner to put the score at 3-1.
Utah continued to put in work and Press had another opportunity, but her shot was too wide from the goal. In total, Press finished the match with four shots with one on goal and marked her second match playing the full 90 minutes.
The Royals will hit the road and travel to Providence Park for their next match on Friday at 11:00 p.m. ET to meet the Portland Thorns.
SCORING SUMMARY:
UTA-Christen Press, 7’
UTA-Katie Stengel, 25’
UTA-Katie Stengel, 29’
NJ-Carli Lloys, 62’ (Assisted by Imani Dorsey)
BOOKING SUMMARY:
NJ-Mandy Freeman, yellow card, 89’
UTA-Erika Tymrak, yellow card, 90 + 1’
UTA-Gunnhildur Yrsa Jónsdóttir, yellow card, 90 + 3’
UTAH ROYALS FC: #1-Abby Smith, #3-Rebecca Moros (#20-Elise Thorsnes, 56’), #16-Smantha Johnson, #4-Becky Sauerbrunn, #6-Katie Bowen, #19-Katrina Gorry (#2-Rachel Corsie, 72’), #11-Desiree Scott, #21-Christen Press, #23-Gunnhildur Yrsa Jonsdottir, #15-Erika Tymrak, #24-Katie Stengel (#17-Sydney Miramontez, 83’)
Subs not used: #18-Nicole Barnhart, #9-Lo’eau Labonta, #10-Diana Matheson, #8-Amy Rodriguez
SKY BLUE FC: #1-Kailen Sheridan, #9Amanda Frisbie (#21-Savannah McCaskill, 46’), #17-Dominique Richardson, #22-Mandy Freeman, #8-Erica Skroski, #16-Sarah Killion, #28-Imani Dorsey (#24-Michaela Abam, 72’), #73-Madison Tiernan, #10-Carli Lloyd, #12-Janine Beckie, #6-Shea Groom (#5-ThaisaMoreno, 87’)
Subs not used: #27-Caroline Casey, #31-Christina Gibbons, #2-Mckenzie Meehan, #11-Raquel Rodriguez
TOTAL SHOTS: UTA 11-6 NJ
SHOTS ON GOAL: UTA 5-2 NJ
FOULS: UTA 6-14 NJ
OFFSIDES: UTA 3-4 NJ
CORNER KICKS: UTA 4-2 NJ
SAVES: UTA 1-2 NJ
Utah Royals
