SANDY — For the first time in the franchise's short history, the Utah Royals walked away from a match with all three points Saturday.

But the excitement and energy of a 2-0 win over Washington dissipated quickly for Utah’s newest professional sports outfit.

It had to; they've got another game Wednesday at 7 p.m. MDT against the Orlando Pride, which will be streamed on KSL.com and the KSL TV app.

"We finally got our three points, and that’s an incredible feeling," Utah midfielder Desiree Scott said. "We really, really needed that; it’s been a long time coming. It’s good to get those three points, and now it’s just building on that and continuing to work hard on and off the field to keep getting those three points."

Between the two games — three days of recovery and preparation, with just under four days from final whistle to the next kickoff — the Royals (1-1-4) will stay busy. After a rest-and-recovery off-day Sunday, Utah was back at Rio Tinto Stadium for a light practice Monday morning. It continued with a game-prep walk-through Tuesday at America First Field, and welcomed the Pride to Sandy before Wednesday’s kickoff against the Pride (2-2-2).

That's a lot to take in for a team sitting at sixth in the league table, and with a "six-point swing" against a team that sits just one point above it in the league standings. But there is also a lot the players of Utah Royals FC can do outside of the two-hour-plus training sessions — hydrate, recover and get right for another go at it.

"There are going to be some heavy legs, but we’re doing as much as we can off the field to recover," Scott said. "Rest, getting our rolling and stretching and ice baths, fueling and nutrition; there are a lot of little things that can prep us to refuel for that Wednesday game."

Coming off Saturday's win helps, too — if not physically, at least in the mental stages of game prep.

"I think we felt that there was a little pressure building because we hadn’t got that win," Utah defender Rachel Corsie said. "We wanted it to come sooner than it did. But I think we played well, defensively we were solid, and we know that’s one of our strengths.

"We have to start using the home advantage. The fans were excellent again, and we’re hoping for another good turnout Wednesday."

About 7,500 fans turned out Saturday to witness the Royals' win over the Spirit — a far cry from the 19,000-plus crowd that showed up for a 1-0 loss to Chicago in the inaugural home opener.

But players, coaches and staff always expected a drop-off after the first match. It’s natural, if for nothing more than pop star Rachel Platten wasn’t performing a post-match concert and a lot of casual fans showed more interest in the “first” rather than the "second" or "third" at home.

Live stream

Watch Utah Royals FC on KSL

Watch the Utah Royals FC all season long on KSL.com.

With a win — and a chance at three more points — the Royals are hoping to bring more back to "the RioT" beyond the passionate core of fans and approximately 5,000 season-ticket holders.

"They're tweeting at us before the game, they have these banners and signs greeting us, and they've been great. But it does take time," Scott admitted of the fan base. "They want to see what we can produce on the pitch, and who we are as players and people. They have our backs, and we're going to show up for them."

Orlando won't make earning back-to-back wins easy. Utah drew with the Pride in their first-ever match, 1-1 at Orlando City Stadium on March 24.

Since then, the Marta-led Pride have added to the side, specifically in the midfield with the return to the league of several Australian internationals, as well as in the emergence of leading scorer Chioma Ubogagu (three goals).

Of course the Royals have also bolstered their own side, in former Matildas playmaker Katrina Gorry and former U.S. international Amy Rodriguez, who missed the opener while recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered a year ago.

Both Gorry and Rodriguez started Saturday, and though they didn’t score the goals (that honor goes to Kelley O'Hara and Diana Matheson, who earned NWSL goal of the week honors for her slide tackle-setup and strike from distance), the face of the team's attack has changed in recent weeks.

After scoring just one goal in the first three matches of the year, Utah has put five balls in the back of the net against league-leading North Carolina, Portland and Washington during a three-match unbeaten spell.

So Orlando is just the next step.

"It's always interesting when you have a short turnaround, and I think it’s more interesting when the other team doesn’t play (the weekend before)," Utah coach Laura Harvey said. "For us, it’s about making sure we get the team right, see how everyone feels, and decide how to move forward."

And even with the three-day turnaround, the Royals will get 10 days off before returning to NWSL play May 19 against the Houston Dash.

"It’s all-or-nothing Wednesday. We can absolutely give everything because we don’t have that game on the weekend. We have to use that to our advantage."

Related topics