The Utah Royals will play the last of their four-game homestand on Saturday against the Houston Dash, here’s what you need to know:
1. The Royals took 5 points at home in their last 3 matches, getting their first franchise win on May 5th against the Washington Spirit. Utah most recently drew against Orlando on May 9th and currently sit in 6th place in the NWSL, just above the Dash. During their match against the Pride Kelley O’Hara, who recently moved up into a more attacking midfield role, pulled up and appeared to re-agitate her hamstring. Head coach Laura Harvey joined Gunther & Ben to discuss O’Hara’s injury:
2. Utah played to a 0-0 draw at Houston on March 30th, just the Royals’ second ever match, but both teams have had important players come back from injury since their last meeting. Forward Amy Rodriguez made her season debut with Utah in the home opener on April 7th, the match following their visit in Houston, providing a vital spark to the Royals offense. Since the match in Texas, the Royals are 1-3-1.
3. The Houston Dash are 1-1-2 on the road this season, conceding 8 goals and scoring 5. Utah native Kealia Ohai is the captain of the Dash and has been with Houston since she was drafted out of theUniversity of North Carolina in 2014, scoring 22 goals in 75 appearances. Ohai made her season debut on April 28th against the North Carlina Courage after tearing her ACL last year. Rachel Daly leads the team with 2 goals, scoring in their most recent match against the Chicago Red Stars.
Our coverage of Utah Royals vs Houston Dash begins on Saturday, May 18th at 1:00PM with Greg Wrubell and Carla Swensen-Haslam, kick-off is at 1:30PM.
