Utah Royals Match Recap: Chicago Stars 4/3
- URFC Blog
- Apr 15
- 5 min read
Match Overview
The Utah Royals' last match against Chicago was like a college dorm party gone wildly off the rails: a never-ending lineup of shots spilling over the sides, gut-wrenching missed connections that had fans crying more than a rom-com, and a no-nonsense RA trying to shut down the fun faster than you can say "quiet hours." Honestly, it felt like they were playing beer pong with bouncy balls (lots of rockets, but nobody really scoring)!
Royal Review Vibe Check:
Score: I mean how did we only score 1 goal? on a PENALTY?
Ball: Possessed!
Standing: 7th - Best Yet for Royals 2.0
The Starting XI
We are getting even closer to our optimal starting XI! This lineup did great, though, and instead of talking about who we're missing, it's time we start celebrating the women making a name for themselves and proving their worth on this Royals team.
It's great seeing Pierre-Louis and Tejada getting some more consistency together in the lineup. Ultimately, while we don't know how things might change in the next couple of games, I'm happy we're able to see some players get more time together to improve communication and cohesiveness, especially for our midfield. Dayana had an AMAZING shot on goal that was so good that its block won Save of the Week.
Changes of note:
Thomsen and Riehl back in the back
Palacios for Prasnikar
Match Analysis
Overall Flow
The Royals were in complete control almost the entire game against Chicago. Truthfully, Chicago has been living on the struggle bus lately, so while dominating possession this match doesn't necessarily say a whole lot about the state of the Royals, it is a good indicator that we're definitely NOT the worst team in the league. It's important to note, however, that our momentum dried up quick in the second half. The Royals need to find a way to keep that energy high and continue setting the pace for the game to ensure we don't get overrun by late losses.
Shots
The Royals had 27 shots, the most in team history AND the most in the NWSL so far this year. That's almost quadruple the number of shots we had in the Boston game. Not only was the team shooting their shots like contestants on Love Island, their offensive choices and action in the box game them 3 xG (expected goals). Take a look at the Royals shot map for this game compared with the first game of the season against Kansas City. The first game? 4 shots in the box. Against Chicago? 16 shots in the box. Either Chicago's keeper (Atkinson) was having the game of her life, or someone on the Stars sideline was working some serious black magic.
Other Key Stats
Passes: 409 passes; 81% complete
Corners: 14
Long Balls: 56% accurate
Ball Possession: 61%
Goal
You know the rules in soccer: a goal is a goal. Do we wish that one of our 26 non-penalty shots would have found the back of the net? Absolutely. Are we lucky we got a penalty from a defensive slow step? Probably. While we can't say for certain that the Royals wouldn't have scored on the penalty-earning play or any of the following ones, we had to take what we could get, which was an expertly placed penalty in the 74th minute.
From the Mouths of Babes (Redditors on the URFC page)
Player Highlight
Cece Delzer
Anyone watching the game this week could feel Cece's energy this match. Cece was everywhere. And like redditor Volcanicon7 mentioned, you could see that she was having fun. Delzer definitely earned her Player of the Match recognition with two shots on target, two big chances, and 52 attacking touches. Also, as noted on the Expected Own Goals podcast, Delzer has the 3nd HIGHEST net g+ (goals added) in the league right now, just behind Barbara Banda and Tara Rudd. Goals added is a measurement that indicates how much a certain player is contributing to goal chances (for and against) based on their touches. Deep dive on goals added here.
Homework for Next Week
Integrating the 9: It's clear that Jimmy is telling his 9s (Palacios, this game) to press high and fluster the defense. This is working, but it's becoming one of the only significant roles of the 9. Unfortunately, the 9s are having a hard time integrating into other aspects of the attack, including shots, touches, and passes. I think the fans love seeing Palacios' commitment to chase down defensive 3rd passes like they're prey, but the primary job of the 9 is to create goals. That's just not happening.
Maintaining Energy: The Royals definitely dropped off in the 2nd half, and this is a pattern for our team. Consider this to be more of a trend than a rule, since the Royals have had some great 2nd half moments this season. This issue can likely be attributed to a weaker bench. We've got some current starters that will be competing for the start once Narumi, Paige, Nuria, Loera, and Hammond get healthy (and hopefully stay healthy!). This will strengthen our bench and help us push through the 2nd half slump.
Substitutions
Nothing unexpected happened here this week, aside from Prasnikar not getting a single minute. I'm wondering if she may have had a minor injury they were hoping not to aggravate?
Minute | In | Out |
64' | Miyabi Moriya | Janni Thomsen |
78' | Alexa Spaanstra | Kiana Palacios |
85' | Courtney Brown | Cece Delzer |
85' | Aria Nagai | Dayana Pierre-Louis |
86' | Brecken Mozingo | Cloe Lacasse |
Looking Ahead
The Royals are currently taking a short break with the rest of the league for international friendlies. This doesn't mean our players are resting, though! The Royals have a lot of players representing their international teams this month. Here is a short breakdown with some performance notes as of halfway through the month:
Player | Team | Notes |
Mina Tanaka | Japan | Earned the start in the game on 4/14. |
Miyabi Moriya | Japan | Earned the start in the game on 4/14. |
Lara Prasnikar | Slovenia | Lara went sent home during training due to injury. Hopes are high that she'll heal up quick, since she posted that she'll be back soon on Instagram! |
Janni Thomsen | Denmark | Janni came in off the bench to score the game-winning goal against Sweden in their match on 4/14. |
Kameron Simmonds | Jamaica | |
Cloe Lacasse | Canada | Earned the start and got an assist in the 23' against Korea on 4/14. |
Kiana Palacios | Mexico | Scored for Mexico in its 9-0 win over the U.S. Virgin Islands on 4/10. |
Dayana Pierre-Louis | Haiti |
Match Preview
Next Fixture: The Royals will face off against the Seattle Reign at Lumen Field on April 26th at 6PM Mountain Time.
What to Expect: Seattle has been a strong team this year, sitting 3rd in the table. Seattle is 3-1-1 for this season (2-1 against Orlando, 0-2 against Portland, 3-0 against Kansas City, 2-1 against Louisville, and 0-0 against Denver in their most recent match). Of these teams, only Orlando and Portland are above Utah in the standings, leaving this match up a bit up in the air. Truthfully, we're likely going to struggle, and will need a strong and cohesive midfield to break down Seattle's build-up.
Conclusion
The Royals had a strong game and more than earned the 3 points. We should have had some extra goals to increase our goal differential, which would have been nice, but a win is a win, and we are so so happy about it!
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