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SANDY — A return to their home field after three weeks away wasn't enough to break a losing streak that extended to five games for the Utah Royals with a 1-0 loss on Saturday at America First Field.
The home team managed to make it 58 minutes before conceding a goal despite near-constant turnovers and attacks by the visiting Kansas City Current.
"We held a very powerful, high-scoring team to one goal tonight," head coach Amy Rodriguez said. "KC provided a lot of challenges for us. I don't think you saw our best moments out there at times and a few giveaways where we kind of shot ourselves in the foot."
Victory on the road as @thekccurrent extend their unbeaten streak!
— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) May 26, 2024
Utah vs. Kansas City match recap, presented by @Nationwide. pic.twitter.com/R6FRqiDI98
The Current — which moved to Kansas City from Utah in 2020 — entered the night among the top three teams in the NWSL and showed its dominance with 24 total shots and a staggering 15 shots on goal. The Royals managed just three total shots and one on target on the night.
Utah goalkeeper Mandy Haught was up to the task of stopping the barrage of shots for the most part, putting up six saves to limit the damage on the scoreboard. She showed off another impressive kick save in the second half after making it on to the SportsCenter Top 10 and NWSL Save of the Week with one last week in North Carolina.
"We put Mandy in some positions and asked for some big saves out of her, and she kept us in the game," Rodriguez said. "But, you know, per usual, I think we're missing that final action. Final third attempts were low from us tonight, and that's the next layer of our game is how can we now become a full pitch team?"
NWSL newcomers Macey Fraser from New Zealand and Ana Tejada from Spain made their debuts for the Royals in the loss. The team stays at home for next week's match against the Washington Spirit.
