The Utah Royals will play the third match of their four-match home-stand this Wednesday when they host Orlando Pride, here’s what you need to know:
1. Utah Royals got their first franchise win on Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium against the Washington Spirit thanks to goals from Kelley O’Hara and Diana Matheson, their firsts of the season. Matheson’s goal has been nominated for the NWSL Goal of the Week. With the win, the Royals moved ahead of the Spirit into 6th place, with 7 points and a record of 1-4-1. A win on Wednesday would move the Royals ahead of Orlando.
With the win and recent results against Portland and North Carolina, Head Coach Laura Harvey feels they are finding their identity:
Catch Laura’s full interview with ESPN 700’s Gunther & Ben here.
A ROYAL VICTORY 👑 pic.twitter.com/J6wYt17NDU
— Utah Royals FC (@UtahRoyalsFC) May 6, 2018
2. The Royals and Pride faced off week 1 in Orlando. Gunnhildur “Gunny” Jonsdottir scored the Royals’ first ever goal in the 3rd minute of the match but Orlando equalized, thanks to a controversial penalty call against Becky Sauerbrunn, and the match ended 1-1. With the short turnaround, head coach Laura Harvey said it’s nice to have already played Orlando and know what to expect from the Pride.
3. Orlando is sitting in 5th place with 8 points and a record of 2-2-2. Chioma Ubogagu and Marta lead the Pride with a combined 5 goals in 6 matches. Orlando is undefeated in their last 3 matches but they are 1-0-2 on the road, with their lone road win coming at Chicago last week.
Because we’re still on the three point high. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/6Z9VXHDRQM
— Orlando Pride (@ORLPride) May 4, 2018
Coverage of Utah Royals FC vs Orlando Pride begins on Wednesday, May 9th at 7PM on ESPN 700.
