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SANDY — The well-known adage says a 2-0 lead is the most dangerous lead in soccer, but it was still too much to overcome for the reeling Utah Royals on Friday against Angel City FC at America First Field.
The visitors from Los Angeles scored in the 29th and 40th minutes to put the home team behind at halftime, with the second goal coming from the Royals' fifth penalty conceded this season.
"I said to them, 'We cannot leave the game with regret,'" assistant coach Frederic Brillant said on his halftime message, filling in for the suspended Amy Rodriguez. "I said to them, 'Not today, not today.'"
Dutch midfielder Dana Foederer scored her first NWSL goal in the 51st minute on a counterattack orchestrated by Paige Monaghan and Ally Sentnor to spark some belief in a comeback, but it was not to be.
Paige ➡️ Ally ➡️ Dana, and we got ourselves a goal 🤩 pic.twitter.com/Y2leRWX6Xa
— Utah Royals FC (@UtahRoyalsFC) May 4, 2024
Utah had its chances to tie the game, with eight shots on goal to just four for the away team. Fans and the Utah bench even clamored for what could have been a penalty for the home team when Sentnor went down in the Angel City box during stoppage time, but the Royals will have to keep searching for their second win of the season.
"We got so many chances and it's so annoying that we didn't win today," Foederer said. "Now we keep on going; we work on the good things (for) next week."
Another silver lining after last week's first clean sheet is that a fourth player scored for the Royals this season after the team scored just one goal during the entire month of April. Foederer joins Sentnor, Kate Del Fava and Olivia Griffitts as the only Royals to score in 2024.
The team hits the road next to face the San Diego Wave on Wednesday at 8 p.m. MST on CBSSN. The team's next home match is May 25 against Kansas City.
