SANDY — The Utah Royals were officially eliminated from playoff contention on a cold and rainy Saturday night in Sandy after a 3-2 loss to the San Diego Wave at American First Field.
The result also ended the club record eight match unbeaten streak dating back to August with the last Royals loss. One word summarized Saturday's outcome for Utah.
"Disappointing," head coach Jimmy Coenraets said. "I think we put up a good fight. The first 15-17 minutes were actually really good, we pushed them completely back, created some opportunities and scored, as well. I think we just gave up three goals today, I didn't see hard played opportunities that really caused a lot of damage. We gave three goals away in a way that shouldn't happen."
The Royals got off to a fast start getting a goal from Janni Thomsen in the 9th minute on a nice pass from Nuria Rábano to give Utah a early 1-0 lead. San Diego then responded in the 29th minute with a goal from Dudinha to even the match 1-1.
Utah would get a bad bounce in the first-half stoppage time when San Diego delivered a corner kick that deflected off of Royals defender Kate Del Fava to give San Diego a 2-1 lead heading into halftime.
The Royals then squared the match at 2-2 when Mina Tanaka was able to find the lose ball after San Diego was unable to clear. San Diego then scored in the 72nd minute to give them the final 3-2 win over Utah, ending their playoff dreams.
Despite the disappointing result, there was much to be proud of, captain Paige Monaghan said.
"I think being fully transparent our first half was rough, we had a lot of people injured myself included. I think we were just adjusting and there was a lot that wasn't going right and it wasn't fun," Monahan said. "The second half of the season the resilience that this team had and the work that our staff put in to give you the team that you see in front of you today. That's what resiliency is. And that's a club I'm proud to be a part of."
Although there are still two matches remaining in the season, Coach Coenraets is optimistic about next season.
"Looking forward to next season I think we all need a break at the minute. I don't want to disappoint any fans because I know an offseason is a long period," Coenraets said. "I do want to bring joy again next season. I want to be the one that brings energy to this place as well. I just want to build further upon what we did. We have the right people in the building that will do their jobs to make sure we have the right weapons to be more competitive."
The Royals will travel to Seattle to take on the Seattle Reign on Oct. 17 before ending the season in a home finale against the Washington Spirit on Nov 2.
