A-Rod and a cloud of defense: Utah Royals move 1 point off lead with 1-0 win over winless Sky Blue

SANDY — Amy Rodriguez dribbled into the box, felt herself all alone and launched a shot against Sky Blue goalkeeper Didi Haracic.

The ball trickled wide to the right, and the 32-year-old Utah Royals FC striker screamed in disappointment.

Moments later, she got another chance — and made it count.

Rodriguez’s 16th-minute goal and the defensive shutout that accompanied it led Utah to their fifth win of the season, 1-0 over league-worst Sky Blue Face in front of an announced crowd of 5,777 fans Saturday night at Rio Tinto Stadium.

“The typical story of ours is that we go up early and let our foot off the gas pedal,” said Rodriguez, who had two of Utah’s 11 shots on the night. “We did that today, but there was also a side that brought so much grit and so much work. We fought for those three points. I think Jersey took it to us towards the end, but we didn’t have girls stopping. There were bodies behind the ball, players running their tails off, and that’s what you need to grind our wins in this league.”

Five minutes after missing her stand-alone goal opportunity, Rodriguez gave Utah (5-2-1, 16 points) a lead it would never relinquish. The veteran forward took a layoff from Gunny Jonsdottir in the Royals’ defensive third, sped across midfield and ripped a shot from just outside the box that sailed over the outstretched arm of Haracic to give Utah the 1-nil advantage.

Ambitious? Probably. Daring? Absolutely.

But it was a goal happily taken by Rodriguez, who scored her fifth goal of the season — just one off the league-high.

“I honestly didn’t think I could score from there,” Rodriguez said, “but I tried my best on it and am happy that it hit the back of the net.”

Apart from Rodriguez’s goal and a handful of other moments, Utah’s offense was dramatically out-played by the winless side from the Jersey shore. Sky Blue (0-6-2, 2 points) out-shot the Royals 16-9, though only five of those shots tested goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart, who collected her fifth shutout of the season.

“Sometimes you win pretty. Sometimes you win ugly. Sometimes you grind it out,” Royals coach Laura Harvey said. “Apart from Amy’s goal, and maybe the corner from (Sam Johnson), and a couple of things Vero did, the rest was just a grind. Sometimes games are like that.

“There’s just something different about this group. We have the mentality that we don’t want to be beaten.”

Barnhart thanked the post on one dangerous occasion and thanked her backline of Gaby Vincent, Sam Johnson, Michelle Maemone and Becca Moros on even more opportunities in the shutout.

“For the most part, our backline was very organized. The chances they got were mostly from outside the 18,” Barnhart said. “Our backline was willing to put their bodies on the line and block a few dangerous chances.

“It was just a gritty effort, all around — starting from the front to the backline.”

Sky Blue searched for the equalizer through the second half, putting Barnhart and the defense under siege. But the New Jersey side could get no closer than Raquel Rodriguez’s shot that was saved by Barnhart, parried into the path of Nahomi Kawasumi and tipped off the far post in the 52nd minute.

Erika Tymrak nearly bagged a second goal for the home side with 20 minutes remaining. But the Royals midfielder who finished a team-high five shots lined up 20-yard free kick that caromed off a Sky Blue defender before Haracic made the save, and the defense carried Utah through the rest of the way.

Next up

Utah hits the road for a Friday match at 9 p.m. MT at Portland. The match will be broadcast on KMYU and streamed live on KSL.com and Yahoo Sports.

Related topics