Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- The Utah Royals lost 1-0 to the Houston Dash after Delanie Sheehan's late goal.
- The Royals dominated possession and shots but conceded in the 80th minute.
- Brecken Mozingo impressed, while head coach Jimmy Coenraets anticipates player returns amid ongoing injuries.
HOUSTON — For large swaths of Friday's road tilt in Houston, the Utah Royals looked like the better team.
The away team led in possession, total shots and shots on target, but all it took was one chance in the 80th minute for Delanie Sheehan to sneak one past Mandy McGlynn to send the Royals home pointless for the fourth time in six matches.
What. A. Strike 🤯
— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) April 26, 2025
From outside the 18, Delanie Sheehan gets Houston the lead! pic.twitter.com/2th506Lovr
The Utah goalie faced off against fellow USWNT keeper contender Jane Campbell, and the two combined for eight saves on the night to keep things deadlocked at 0-0 until the final 10 minutes.
An initial shot off a free kick by Houston was blocked, but Janni Thomsen gave the ball right back to the Dash at the edge of the box, and Sheehan delivered a banger to the upper-right corner for the difference in a tight 1-0 result between the two teams with losing records.
Sandy native and BYU alum Brecken Mozingo had perhaps the best chance of the night for Utah just minutes earlier on a strike across goal that forced an outstretched one-handed save from Campbell for one of her five on the night.
Jane Campbell followers up her USWNT teammate Mandy McGlynn's save with this reacher on a dynamite shot from Brecken Mozingo. Still 0-0 between Utah and Houston heading into the final 15 pic.twitter.com/g8lYHzPrA9
— Caleb Turner (@calebturner23) April 26, 2025
"She's a great player when she has that confidence and can go into those one-v-ones, which she did at the end of the game," head coach Jimmy Coenraets said of Mozingo. "I think we've seen maybe 40% of what Brecken is capable of, so it's exciting to just keep on believing in her and giving her the opportunities."
Speaking of opportunities, two Utah players made their season debuts on Friday, with Lauren Flynn returning from injury and rookie Aria Nagai making her first NWSL appearance.
New signing Cece Kizer also made her first start for the Royals after debuting as a substitute last week. Coenraets knocked on wood when discussing the returns and additions of players for a snake-bitten Utah team, and repeated the phrase "need to get fit" more times than one can count.
The latest in a stream of injury announcements came just before Friday's game when offseason addition Bianca St-Georges was ruled out with a thigh injury. Claudia Zornoza left the match in the 23rd minute due to injury, giving way to Flynn's return and allowing Ana Tejada to move up into the midfield for the first time this season.
Coenraets said he expects St-Georges to miss a couple of weeks, but also hopes to gain a few players off the injury list in the coming weeks as well.
"We should definitely get three to four players back in the next few weeks, and then we can start building again," Coenraets said. "Because as much as you build on a few things today, whenever you bring in four or five new players, you have to build again. And I think that's the hardest part of where we're at right now."
Utah returns to America First Field next week for a home match against last-place North Carolina as the Royals sit three spots below the playoffs and three spots above the bottom, just six games into the 26-game season.
