SANDY, Utah – (Saturday, October 3, 2020) – Utah Royals FC (0-1-2, 2 points) finished out the 2020 home schedule with a 1-1 draw with Portland Thorns FCon Saturday night at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Amy Rodriguez scored in the ninth minute and Abby Smith made four saves, but a second-half goal from Portland meant a split of the points.
Postgame Quotes from URFCvPOR
For the second match in a row Royals FC got off to a fast start, with multiple chances at goal in the first few minutes. After being denied twice in front of goal, Rodriguez finally got retribution, deffinetivly putting away a blocked shot from Portland goalkeeper Britt Eckerstrom to take the early lead in the ninth minute. Portland nearly found the equalizer in the 34th minute, but Smith made the reaching goal-line save to deny Christine Sinclair and the score remained 1-0 heading into halftime.
In the 59th minute Sinclair swept up the rebounded shot from Smith to level the score at 1-1 and while Utah had opportunities to come up with the win with several near-misses in the final minutes, including Tziarra King hitting the crossbar, the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
UP NEXT: URFC finishes the 2020 NWSL Fall Series on October 17 in Tacoma, Wash. against OL Reign.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN:
UTA: Amy Rodriguez 9th minute: Vero Boquete led the Royals on the break, lofting a pass to Lo’eau LaBonta coming up the left side. Her initial shot was saved by Britt Eckerstrom, but the rebound spilled to Amy Rodriguez for the first-time putback for a 1-0 lead.
POR: Christine Sinclair 59th minute: In similar fashion to Utah’s goal, Abby Smith made the initial save to keep Portland off the scoresheet, but Christine Sinclair was able to secure the rebound to level the score.
NOTES:
- Forward Amy Rodriguez scored her first goal in the 2020 NWSL Fall Series, her second of the calendar year.
- Michelle Vasconcelos was on the bench for the first time since arriving in a trade with the Chicago Red Stars, but did not see action in the match.
Match: Utah Royals FC vs. Portland Thorns FC
Date: Oct. 3, 2020
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah
Weather: Sunny and 70 degrees
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Utah Royals FC 1 0 1
Portland Thorns FC 0 1 1
UTA: Amy Rodriguez 9’
POR: Christine Sinclair 59’
Lineups:
Utah Royals FC (4-3-3) Abby Smith; Katie Bowen, Elizabeth Ball, Taylor Leach, Mallory Weber; Aminata Diallo, Lo’eau LaBonta, Vero Boquete (Taylor Lytle 65’); Tziarra King, Amy Rodriguez, Brittany Ratcliffe
Subs not used: Michele Vasconcelos, Raisa Strom-Okimoto, Gaby Vincent, Kate Del Fava, Madeline Nolf, Melissa Lowder
Portland Thorns: (4-3-3): Britt Eckerstrom; Madison Pogarch, Becky Sauerbrunn (Kelli Hubly 69’), Emily Menges, Christine Westphal; Emily Ogle, Lindsey Horan, Rocky Rodriguez (Angela Salem 61’); Christine Sinclair, Sophia Smith (Simone Charley HT), Morgan Weaver (Marissa Everett HT, Tyler Lussi 90’)
Subs not used: Nadine Angerer, Autumn Smithins
Stats Summary: UTA / POR
Shots: 18 / 14
Shots on Goal: 6 / 5
Saves: 4 / 5
Corner Kicks: 7 / 2
Fouls: 7 / 8
Offside: 0 / 0
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
None.
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Karen Abt
Assistant Referees: Kali Smoth, Bennett Savage
4th Official: Brad Jensen
