Sandy, U.T- For Week 11 of the NWSL, the Utah Royals hosted Reign FC and saw a 2-0 loss on their home turf. The win for the Reign put them in second place standings with the Royals sitting just below them in third place as both teams have equal points.
In the 30’ minute, the match saw its first goal scored by Reign midfielder Jess Fishlock. Fishlock worked with rookie Bethany Balcer on a give-and-go pass to score on Royals goalkeeper Nicole Banhart as Fishlock placed the ball in the right corner of the net. This marked Fishlock’s third consecutive goal in a match for the visiting team.
Several minutes later, the Reign were on the move again as Fishlock sent a pass through Utah’s backline to forward Ifeoma Onumonu. Onumonu now only had Barnhart to face and her shot to the back of the net secured the 2-0 lead for the Reign in the first half.
When the Royals returned from the half, they were eager to score and wasted no time to get on the net. Forward Makenzy Doniak took the ball up the right side of the field and sent it to the net. While on her knees, Reign goalkeeper Casey Murphy made the save as the ball bounced from her face to deflect the shot.
Both sides had an equal amount of saves throughout the night and with the Reign looking to find another goal, Barnhart was up to the challenge of the Reign’s attack. In the 80’ minute, Balcer sent a long ball to the net and with Barnhart’s speed, she deflected the ball from the inevitable.
“We weren’t good enough from minute one to minute 90. We were beaten by a better team. We were slow, lethargic and we didn’t have any spark,” Royals head coach Laura Harvey said. “In Portland, we were the complete opposite. The Reign played in Chicago on Sunday, traveled back to Seattle, traveled here, and we look like the team that’s been that, not them. So, there’s something not right. Tactics are pointless if you don’t execute, and we didn’t even get close to executing.”
At the start of the season, Utah started off strong with three consecutive wins, but have had inconsistent results ever since. The results from this match also showed that the Royals struggled to find the back of the net and weren’t physically up to the par of play.
“I think ultimately we weren’t good enough,” Royals midfielder Mandy Laddish said. “We didn’t fight hard enough, we were spread out, we weren’t connecting passes well. It just wasn’t a good night for us.”
For their next match on Friday, July 12, the Royals will head to the east coast to face Sky Blue FC at 7:30 pm ET.
SCORING SUMMARY:
SEA-Jess Fishlock (Assisted by: Bethany Balcer), 30’
SEA-Ifeoma Onumonu (Assisted by: Jess Fishlock), 35’
BOOKING SUMMARY:
SEA-Shea Groom, 49’ yellow card
UTA-Katie Stengel, 84’ yellow card
UTAH ROYALS: #1-Nicole Barnhart, #3-Rebecca Moros, #16-Samantha Johnson, #14-Gaby Vincent, #17-Sydney Miramontez, #7-Mandy Laddish (#42-Raisa Strom-Okimoto, 76’), #9-Lo’eau Labonta, #15-Erika Tymrak (#24-Katie Stengel, 60’), #66-Gunnhildur Yrsa Jonsdottir, #20-Mallory Weber (#13-Makenzy Doniak, 68’), #8-Amy Rodriguez
Subs not used: #46-Meghan Cox, #19-Michelle Maemone, #48-Alexa Newfield, #1-Abby Smith
REIGN FC: #26-Casey Murphy, #33-Stephanie Cox, #3-Lauren Barnes, #4-Megan Oyster, #8-Theresa Nielsen, #17-Beverly Yanez, #14-Morgan Proffitt, #25-Ifeoma Onumonu, #10-Jess Fishlock (#27-Addison Steiner, 54’), #2-Shea Groom (#11-Darian Jenkins, 57’) (#21-Christen Westphal, 89’), #24-Bethany Balcer
Subs not used: #48-Kori Butterfield, #5-Kiersten Dallstream, #44-Maegan Kelly, #30-Erin Yenney
TOTAL SHOTS: UTA 7-12 SEA
SHOTS ON GOAL: UTA 2-4 SEA
FOULS: UTA 5-10 SEA
OFFSIDES: UTA 1-0 SEA
Seattle Reign
Utah Royals FC
