How the Utah Royals turned into NWSL contenders overnight
The Royals have surged to second in the NWSL table despite lowly pre-season predictions
The Utah Royals are second in the NWSL table after a sloppy, but effective, 2-1 victory over Racing Louisville on Sunday night.
Despite the middling performance, the Royals extended their franchise-record unbeaten streak to eight games. Winning is a result this team have grown accustomed to this season, seemingly turning into a contender overnight after 11th and 12th-place league finishes in their first two seasons.
The Royals’ first goal came in the 21st minute when Paige Cronin’s centring cross deflected off Louisville’s Lauren Milliet for an own goal. Later, in the 68th minute, Louisville equalised after Ana Tejada turned the ball over in a poor position and Kayla Fischer scored.
But Mina Tanaka scored the winning goal in the 77th minute as substitute Cece Delzer cut a ball back to her for a tap-in finish.
“Momentum was kind of swinging back and forth”, Delzer said, “so [I] just wanted to attack at them.”
Through 10 matches, the Royals are second in the NWSL table, just one point behind the league-leading San Diego Wave. They have been driven by a focus on executing clear game plans, with players understanding team standards, said coach Jimmy Coenraets last week.
While there wasn’t significant turnover on their roster in the offseason, with seven average additions, perhaps that was just the point. This team has no “divas”, Coenraets added last week.
The Royals are still meshing in possession, he said, but their out-of-possession play has been excellent. Those flaws were evident Sunday as they turned the ball over numerous times in their attacking third.
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