BOYDS, MARYLAND (August 22, 2018) — Utah Royals FC collected three crucial points on Thursday night.
At the Maryland SoccerPlex, the Royals defeated the Washington Spirit, 1-0. Under new leadership, the Spirit, who are out of playoff contention, lost its ninth-straight match. Tom Torres took over for fire head coach, Jim Gabarra, earlier this week.
Amy Rodriguez Strikes Again in 1-0 Utah Royals FC Victory Over Washington Spirit
However, Utah is currently in playoff contention.
With the victory — and three points in the bag — the team moved from sixth to fourth place. Right now, the Royals currently have 32 points.
However, there is a tight race for the final playoff spot. Right behind the Royals, the Chicago Red Stars have 31 points and the Orlando Pride have 30 points. Orlando has been in a slump recently, with the club’s last win on July 14.
On Thursday night, Amy Rodriguez scored her second goal in two matches. Her goal — which was unassisted — was scored in the 12th minute.
“It’s always good to be playing in front of our home crowd,” Haracic said. “We had to adapt today, and I think we did. Overall, it was a good performance. It wasn’t the result we wanted, but we have to look at the positives and move on from it.”
"I've said this all season, our team is going through an evolution. But, I think, now, this is the standard that we've set." pic.twitter.com/d5zCpHQHTa
— Utah Royals (@UtahRoyalsFC) August 23, 2018
Three Takeaways
- Can Utah really hang on? Right now, it seems like the Royals really only have competition from the Chicago Red Stars. The Orlando Pride have been shaky lately, despite having some of the best players in the world on the roster. However, Chicago has been creeping up for that final spot. Can Utah really hang on, or will it fall to consistency issues?
- Washington fans, be patient: Haracic is right: it’s been a long season. The end is only going to be longer. Despite having Tom Torres in charge, there won’t be much real change going on. The team is out of playoff contention, so the players are currently fighting for pride — and potentially roster spots on other teams, a try-out of sorts. Washington fans need to remain patient, but loyal to the club they love.
- Haracic or Bledsoe? Torres’ big call: For the last couple weeks of his tenure as Spirit head coach, Gabarra had rotated between Aubrey Bledsoe and DiDi Haracic. Bledsoe was the crown starter early into the season. She has performed admirably well, despite the win-loss record. However, Haracic has been fighting hard for the start spot. The off-season decision of who will be the start will be huge for Washington moving forward.
Highlights from tonight's defensive battle. #WASvUTA pic.twitter.com/gid7yogmp4
— Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) August 23, 2018