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SANDY — The Utah Royals were held scoreless for the first time since the season opener Friday at America First Field in a 1-0 loss to the Orlando Pride.
It was the first win of the season for an Orlando squad that finished tied in its first three matches, and it seemed like they were headed for a fourth straight for most of the match until Brazilian legend Marta entered the game in the 62nd minute and scored in the 68th minute to mark the difference for the Pride.
"That one time on a right foot was crazy," Utah goalkeeper Mandy Haught said of the goal. "I was like, 'hit the post and go out,' and it hit the post and went in. It was an excellent finish by her, but everyone needs to check over their shoulder and be aware of where she is."
It marked Marta's 31st goal in 103 matches for Orlando going back to 2017.
The 200th goal in club history belongs to Marta
— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) April 13, 2024
The @ORLPride take the lead! pic.twitter.com/u0A3TMj7Kn
Utah made several substitutions in the second half to try and find an equalizer, including a triple-sub to bring on three BYU alumni in Michele Vasconcelos, Cameron Tucker and Mikayla Cluff.
The Royals got all five of their shots on frame in the match, and Orlando came up with five saves to hold onto the win despite just four of its 14 shots being on goal.
Ally Sentnor nearly had her third outside-the-box goal of the season during stoppage time, but the keeper got to it and the Royals were sent searching for answers after losing three of their first four matches of the season.
"(I) thought we just had too many turnovers and didn't take care of the ball like our normal selves," head coach Amy Rodriguez said. "There's a lot to go back to this week and review, and hopefully make those adjustments for next weekend, because we weren't the better team today."
Next up is a road match at Racing Louisville FC on April 20 before returning home to face the Houston Dash on April 27.
