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HARRISON, N.J. — The Utah Royals conceded a goal in the opening three minutes for the second week in a row and were unable to find an equalizer on the road at Gotham FC in a 1-0 loss Sunday.
Yazmeen Ryan scored the first, and only, goal of the match for Gotham in the third minute after Amirah Ali scored the fastest goal in San Diego Wave club history last week at America First Field just 30 seconds in.
"Conceding in the second or the third minute is an issue, that's a big issue, and that changes the game," interim head coach Jimmy Coenraets said. "Such an early lead gives them the comfort to do whatever they want to do and how they want to do it."
The Royals fired back with 12 shots of their own in the game, but only three made it on frame and none made it into the back of the net in what became Utah's third loss in a row.
Hannah Betfort with a header into the side netting and @UtahRoyalsFC are knocking on the door here in first-half stoppage time on the road pic.twitter.com/CH0yRRfl6e
— Caleb Turner (@calebturner23) September 22, 2024
The loss sends the team back to the bottom of the NWSL standings with five games to go, but captain Paige Monaghan — after becoming the 100th NWSL player to reach 100 games played — said she is focusing on getting better one game at a time and buying into the long-term vision of the club.
"It might be a little naive to say, but I'm just not even looking at the table," Monaghan said of Utah's place in the standings. "I'm just focusing on what I can control, and that's every single day. Today I played my heart out and did everything I could to contribute.
"I fell short, but I can look at myself in the mirror and know that there's things that I can learn, that I can improve for the next game, to be more dangerous, to put us in a better position to win," she added. "So it's really just one game at a time. It's a long-term thing, and I'm buying into that."
Mandy Haught made some history of her own Sunday with a club record and career-high nine saves to hold her former team to a single goal. Haught also received a championship ring on Sunday for her role in helping Gotham to the NWSL Championship last season.
Utah returns home next to take on Racing Louisville FC on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 5 p.m. MDT.
