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BOYDS, Md. — Utah Royals FC got back to winning Wednesday night.
Amy Rodriguez scored a first-half goal, and Nicole Barnhart earned the shutout in goal to help Utah to a 1-0 road win over the Washington Spirit at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Maryland.
The Royals clinched its third win over the Spirit in their inaugural season.
With the win, the Royals (8-7-8) move to 32 points on the season — one point ahead of Chicago for fourth place in the National Women’s Soccer League standings with one game remaining.
Chicago (7-4-10, 31 points) has three games left in the 2018 season, including a road match at fellow fourth-place contender Orlando (8-8-6, 30 points) at 5:30 p.m. MT Saturday.
Christen Press slipped a pass to Rodriguez in the 12th minute that the striker put on target. After an initial save, Rodriguez redirected the ricochet into the back of the net for her fourth goal of the season to give the Royals the 1-0 lead.
Barnhart and the Royals backline, including U.S. international Becky Sauerbrunn, held the Spirit (2-16-4, 10 points) without a shot on goal.
Utah out-shot the Spirit 14-1 in the first half, but led just 1-0 at the break while starting four attacking players in Rodriguez, Press, Taylor Lytle and leading scorer Katie Stengel.
Press nearly doubled the advantage in the 70th minute, but her shot from the edge of the penalty area slid into the side netting to keep the visitors up 1-0 for the final 20 minutes of regulation.
Coach-less in Washington
The Spirit were playing without head coach Jim Gabarra, whose position was terminated Tuesday after the club’s 2-15-4 start that ranked only better than winless Sky Blue FC in the league standings.
Assistant coach Tom Torres was promoted to interim head coach for the remainder of the season and Washington president Chris Hummer assumed Gabarra’s responsibilities as general manager, the club said.
Welcome back, Kelley! pic.twitter.com/LChgyfo783
— Utah Royals FC (@UtahRoyalsFC) August 23, 2018
Called up
Utah utility winger Kelley O’Hara, who started the match on the bench for the Royals, was called up to the U.S. women’s national team for a pair of friendlies against Chile beginning Aug. 31 in California.
The NWSL will take a short international break during the friendlies, with Utah’s next match — the regular-season finale — coming Sept. 8 against the Chicago Red Stars. The match, which will be broadcast on Lifetime TV, is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. MT.
O’Hara made her first appearance with the Royals since June when she subbed on in the 75th minute for Rodriguez.
